Lava Stones: how effective are they?

[Fayettejim]

I have a Weber Genesis, maybe four-five years old. I'm very happy with it. My brother-in-law has an old Lynx He cooked some great steaks last night and said it was due to the lava stones he used beneath the grate. My Genesis has the V-bars that go above the burners. In looking through the Pitmaster info I've never come across anything on lava stones. Anyone have some insight? My best guess is Grill Grates perform the same function but I'd just like some other opinions. Thanks in advance.

[jgreen]

Old gas units, and maybe still a few, use some form of rock instead of flavour bars. I had them on some old barbecues, but they do tend to collect grease after a while and While that probably adds flavour. I think you get more flare ups.

[bten]

I really like cooking over lava stones or ceramic briquettes in a gas grill. I believe that the flavor and even heat is better with ceramic. Grill grates are at the grill level and still metal. The lava stones/ briquettes soak up the juices and then send them back up. They are not just flared as they hit the metal v-bars.

Many people like the weber gas grills (my son included). I prefer something with lava or ceramics. A lot of it is personal preference.

[Fayettejim]

Thanks. I've seen where I'm be able to purchase a grate and stones to put over the burners. I just might try that.

[bten]

Sounds like a good way to try it at a reasonable price. You will be able to see if the ceramic or lava rock solution works for you, and gives more flavor. Let us know how it works out.

[EdF]

The TEC infrared gasser I have works on the same idea. The burners are completely covered by a plate of glass. Drippings land on it, and vaporize back up into the food.

[Troutman]

I had a very expensive DCS gas grill about 10 years ago that had ceramic bars arranged in trays underneath the grates. Grease wasn't too bad a problem since the ceramic got very hot and the grease simply ignited on contact or rolled off into a grease pan. The ceramic itself was the heat sink that keep even temperatures in the cooker. At first I thought it was great until they became brittle, would break and I had to replace them occasionally. Got to be a hassle and expensive.

I've also had one of those cheaper lava rock models and like others have said, they get real gunked up, are somewhat hard to clean and didn't do the job that ceramic did. I currently have a Weber Summit with the flavor bars made out of stainless. Not one bit of problem with them, I'm sticking with that solution.

[bten]

My current grill is a delta heat, with racks that hold ceramic briquettes. I have had it about a year, and am very happy with it so far. My last grill was an old stainless members mark, that had the 6"x6" ceramic flame tamers. I used it for 12 years, now my nephew has it....

I like ceramic best. The briquettes are fairly cheap. I used to take out the flame tamers in the past with cheaper char-broil type grills, and buy the grate and put in the ceramic. It worked great.

MHP still uses ceramic in their grills, as they have for the last 40+ (?) years......