I’m often asked, what is my favorite grill? With over 15 grills at hand, this might seem a difficult question. Would it be the Summit Grill Center and its 60,000 BTUs of grilling horsepower? The 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker with enough BBQ capacity to smoke meat for the entire neighborhood? Or my first generation and 19-year-old Performer, my oldest and most beloved kettle?
This seemingly tricky question is instead answered without pause or hesitation. It requires no thought. If I were forced to have only one grill, it would be the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill.
My answer is based on the efficiency and effectiveness as both a grill and a smoker. The Summit Charcoal Grill, or SCG for short, doesn’t compromise. It does everything great. I turn to it to grill, with more capacity than my 22-inch kettles and I turn to it to for low and slow, with a setup faster and easier than my smokers.
With the addition of the Gourmet BBQ System, the SCG’s lofty status in my backyard takes on an even loftier perch with a wide range of grilling accessories. It really does it all.
Let me explain.
Sear Grate It’s no secret, I love to grill steak. I especially love to grill steaks on the Sear Grate. While the cross-hatch lines of the thick porcelain-enameled cast-iron grate leave beautiful grill marks, my use of the grate is not visually motivated, it’s by taste. The taste of a great steak does not come from inside, but rather the flavorful crust.
The sear grate maximizes the amount of flesh touching the hot grill and in turn, produces an even better tasting steak. The fact my steak happens to tastes as good as it looks explains why I’m always grabbing this accessory.
Griddle I’m always converting meals I would make in the kitchen to the grill. Unfortunately, not everything is ideally suited for resting on a grate over a hot fire. Enter the griddle. Whether it’s for grilled delicacies like scallops, an early morning cook for bacon, hashbrowns, and eggs, or a dish for a rich Huevos Rancheros, the griddle only gives me more reasons to fire up the grill.
Pizza Stone Grilled Pizza is one of my favorite treats, and I’ve grilled pizzas about every way possible. My preferred method is to mimic a wood-burning oven by using the Pizza Stone on the SCG. By leaving the charcoal grate in the lower position and adding the diffuser plate, very high and indirect heat can be obtained. To get started, preheat the pizza stone and add in a few chunks of cherry wood to the hot coals.
Once the smoke starts to wisp, slide a pie on to the stone and grill for 6 to 7 minutes. Once cooked, expect a hot pizza with perfectly cooked crust to rival anything available via carryout in 30 minutes or less.
Poultry Roaster I like to grill a whole chicken once a week. Not only is it an easy dinner, but it’s also leftovers and the building block for a stock. It’s a lot from one bird. And with a whole grilled chicken, a little goes a long way.
Trussing takes time, and a beer can isn’t always the most stable solution to grill a bird. Thankfully, not only does the poultry roaster act as a beer can substitute with its liquid reservoir, the roaster also allows the addition of vegetables or potatoes to allow a complete grilled meal. For my Sunday night grilled chicken dinner, the Poultry Roaster is my secret weapon.
Wok It may not immediately come to mind, but the best way to achieve the very high temperatures required for authentic wok cooking is on the grill. The combination of the Gourmet BBQ System grate and Wok makes for the best cooking system to create the ultimate stir-fry.
A kitchen stove is incapable of providing the high heat necessary to fire a wok. The SCG, on the other hand, is the perfect source. With a mound of lit charcoal placed directly beneath the Weber porcelain-enameled cast-iron wok, perfect searing temperatures are achieved to make the best Asian-inspired cuisine.
Looking to push your wok boundaries even further? I’ve used my wok at much lower temperatures for chili, stews, and braising.