The All-in-One Cast Iron Grill, a cast iron body with a grill cover and optional grates, is a versatile outdoor cook's dream. With a cast iron frame and optional grate, the All-in-One Cast Iron Grill combines in hundreds of different configurations to expand your cooking possibilities and minimize what you bring home from the grill. They are sturdy and reliable, but the all-important Weber Smoke Rings helps make them even more convenient to use than ever before. The cast iron grill offers many more features than ever before, including a slide-out plate trays for easy cleaning, convenient charcoal tray attachment, separate ash collector and smoker basket, adjustable heat control settings, and a unique front door that easily opens and closes.
The top of the All-in-One has a cast iron grate and cover, which will protect the food from burning or scorching, and it has a front handle that makes it easier to put food on and to pull the grill base apart for cleaning. Under the top is a charcoal tray, which is also useful for maximizing your direct heat production, since the charcoal will heat up before the food, while the grate keeps the coals off your food and saves you time in removing them. The side walls of the All-in-One have a flexible rubberized covering that will keep the heat in and the smoke out, but will also prevent it from getting stuck on the sides. The easy to clean mesh grill opening is removable, allowing you quick access to your hot coals. If you have a chimney, there is a vent directly above the grill opening that lets all those smoke pellets out at once. Be sure to check out this website at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__NRUmsWCdQ for more info about grilling.
The All-in-One's major weakness, however, is its inability to handle coal properly. You cannot add charcoal as well as other kinds of wood to your grill. To add wood, you have to tilt the rack so that the coal comes up through the grate and then drop the grate to hold the wood in place. Otherwise, you have to tilt the rack to spread the heat evenly and then add more coal, which spreads the heat even further. To add charcoal, you have to open the top grates and pour in the chunks without disturbing the coal tray.
The All-in-One has a problem that the other major brands don't have: proper cleaning. Coal and coals need to be kept dry, which is difficult if you have a tall tripod that takes up a lot of vertical space. For that reason, some people like to use an oxygen-powered airbrush at the base of the tripod, which works great. It also prevents the coals from rolling away from the fire, which is a problem with most tripped over coals. However, because the All-in-One is so big, you have to really watch it for a few days to make sure that it doesn't spill over the side and cause a big mess in your house.
If you are going to cook vegetables on the All-in-One, you may want to put your charcoal tray on the ground beside the barebones cast iron grill, next to the tripod. This keeps the charcoal tray from getting burned on the grill and prevents excess ash and charcoal dust from getting into the food. However, it makes it difficult for you to transfer the food from the grill onto the plate. If you are using a regular barbecue brush, you can lift and transfer the food quite easily.
If you are going to buy a cast iron grill pan, look for one with high heat ratings and an enamel coating. Not only does this improve the life of the pan, it makes the pan easier to clean, which will save you a lot of time when cooking. The best pans are made of cast iron with a high heat resistant surface. If you want your grill pan to last for years to come, make sure it has a good enamel coating. Also, don't forget to keep your seasoning levels high so that your food is cooked to perfection every time.
