Do I need Grill Grates for my Weber Summit?

[jphilips]

I recently got a Summit and love it. Will Grill Grates improve performance, especially for searing sous vide steaks? Thanks.

[ecowper]

I just got Grill Grates for christmas ..... my Hasty-Bake was able to achieve 700F at the grate already. The grill grates took it up to 850-900F ..... amazing difference ..... on par with steakhouse grill temps

Also .... need seems like the wrong word. MCS doesn't care about need :-)

[Willy]

"need" and MCS. Agreed! To paraphrase Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven": "Need's got nuthin' to do wit it.".

[klflowers]

Need and MCS are polar opposites. Want and MCS are identical twins joined at the hip.

[Troutman]

The short answer is YES. I have them on my Summit and they do a grate (er great) job !!!

[Willy]

IMO, GrillGrates (or an equivalent) are an absolute necessity. I use the flat side far more than the grate side--a uniform sear across the entire surface of a steak is far better than crosshatched lines (especially for sous vide), despite the fact that all of our lives the visual image of crosshatched sear marks has represented grilling "perfection".

Them's my two cents.

[ecowper]

My daughter wants me to use the flat side to sear her steak .... you may be on to something :-)

[Willy]

ecowper Get them grates screaming hot (or use a CI skillet even) and sear a SV steak for 45-ish seconds per side. Wunnerful!

[Maineac]

I have 2 sections in my Gasser that have spent their entire life flat side up. They are a searing machine.

[CaptainMike]

When I rebuilt my old Weber Genesis I replaced the original grates with GrillGrates and love them. As mentioned above they can really increase your searing temps. I will take a couple of panels and use them on the Santa Maria grill as well. They're a nice, useful upgrade to any grill.

[tenphases]

I bought them real cheap, scratch and dent sale. They kill flare ups which I love. I would buy them just for the flare up factor. I BBQ burgers and pork for hours without shuffling. When I get recruited to BBQ family functions I bring the grates and improve upon the performance of their gassers.

[Spinaker]

I only use mine on the flat side, if at all anymore. The rail side is annoying, IMHO. They do get used as a hot plate for my outdoor table. I like it next to my BGE.

I don't think they are something you have to have, but they are pretty handy. Although, I never use them any more.

[dillywe]

To resurrect an old comment, is there a reason you don’t use Grill grates anymore, particularly the flat side for searing? Thanks!

[Spinaker]

Yeah, I eventually found them to be clunky on my grill surface. They always moved a little bit. I will still use them on the BGE from time to time, But they are not an exact fit there, so they tend to move when I am cooking, and it drives me nuts. On a gasser, they are much better. But I never really use my gasser any more. dillywe

[dillywe]

Spinaker makes sense - thanks for following up!

[(Arrow)]

Read a review on pelletgirl.com that talked about achieving 100 degree difference on her pellet grill.

[CaptainMike]

ecowper to back up Willy I did this to a SV rib steak on GrillGrates for my home-alone Christmas dinner. Wonderful crust!!

[CaptainMike]

Why no on the SV ecowper?

[ecowper]

CaptainMike it's just not interesting to me.

[EdF]

Things change!

[jphilips]

Thanks to all. I'll get some and give em a try.

[Spinaker]

Welcome to The Pit!

[theroc]

I have grill grates on my Weber Summit and really appreciate them, for many of the same reasons stated above: suppressing flare-ups, higher temps, searing. I also find them essential for grilling fish. Nothing else seems to release as cleanly as the grill grates using their spatula tool.

[DanMancuso]

I have them and love them.

[jfmorris]

I use Grillgrates on my Performer only when doing direct charcoal grilling, in order to use the entire grate surface area and not do a 2 zone setup. It’s great for burgers, chops and chicken. I don’t bother with them when using my Slow ‘N Sear for low and slow or reverse searing.

[jgreen]

I love mine, both the flat and the rail. Fire suppression is great and the extra heat is useful. I replaced my entire surface, and usually use three panels with the rail side up, and two with the flat side up.