Accessories to boost up your kettle charcoal BBQ
Do you know why kettles type BBQs are the most sold BBQ grills in the world, year after year after year? Simply put, it’s the workhorse of the industry. Lightweight and affordable, they are also very durable and versatile. Kettles have no gadgets, nothing fancy, and yet allow you to put out impressive quality meals once you’ve learned how to master them. With a fairly straightforward design, basic kettles are composed of not much other than a dome and a lid, both with air traps to manage oxygen. While this is already enough to get started and play around with, what makes kettles so popular is the wide range of accessories you can add to your set up to unlock its full potential. With the market always innovating with new products, here are the ones that stand out to us to boost up your kettle charcoal grills. I’ve saved the best for last.
The Max-Lighter
Starting your charcoal doesn’t get any easier than with the Max-Lighter.
Of course, you can always rely on your good old’ chimney to start your charcoal but one of the challenges of working with a kettle is temperature control. If you intend to do low and slow cooking on your kettle, chimneys tend to spread coals, which can in turn result in a hard-to-control kettle.
Lighting your charcoal with the Max-lighter allows you to ignite concentrated areas for a slow and steady spread over time. This makes for an easier-to-control BBQ and stable low temperatures.
304 Stainless steel Cooking Grate
One of the few downsides to kettles, or at least based on old misconceptions, is often related to the grate lifespan. Some kettles will come with regular steel grates and those may indeed rust out after a few years unless they are well taken care of.
One smart investment to make early on is to invest in a grate that will last as long as your BBQ. The 304 stainless steel cooking grate will bring peace of mind as it’s built to last. It will hold up more heat, offer better searing performances and the handles on both sides will facilitate charcoal resupplying if ever needed.
Gourmet Cooking Grates
If you are not ready to invest in the 304 stainless steel cooking grate, have you considered the Gourmet grill system?
What’s great about this grill is the ability to maximize your use of the kettle with direct and indirect zone. You can use the full power of your charcoal grill by charring up veggies directly in the flames, while cooking meat on indirect heat to the side, at the same time.
Char-Baskets
Controlling your flame in a kettle can be tedious for some users, but it’s never an issue if you gear up with some char-baskets. These baskets will help you create defined areas of charcoal for distinct direct and indirect zones in your kettle.
Those are so important that you would think they should come by default in any kettle. They are that good and useful.
Grate Lifter
Speaking of resupplying your kettle with charcoal, one of the most underrated tools out there to help with that, is the grate lifter.
Put yourself in context. You’ve been hard at work keeping your kettle under control for a low and slow cook, and you’re almost out of charcoal. Sure, you can do quick fixes by adding charcoal through the sides, but this will require you to open the lid every 30 minutes or so to add some more, putting at risk your temperature control and moisture. If you want to load up just once, you’ll need to move the hot grate away. This is where the grate lifter comes in handy giving you firm and safe grip on your grate for a faster charcoal refill.
Arteflame 22” Grill Insert and Grate Set
Show me someone who doesn’t like burgers and I’ll show you a liar. Smashburgers are getting very trendy these days because of the easy-to-pull approach and “diner style” presentation it offers. This is why we love the Arteflame grill insert and grate set.
It’s heavy duty carbon steel absorbs a lot of heat, making for nice and even searing, perfect for smashburgers, scallops or melted cheese.
It also allows you to run your kettle as an Arteflame which is known for its festive approach to BBQ.
All-In-One
Most likely considered as the best investment you can make to bring your kettle to the next level, the All-In-One accessory is designed to turn your kettle into a bunch of different things all at once.
This accessory, which was voted Vesta’s 2019 best BBQ accessory (kinda the Stanley cup in recognition), allows you to cook pizzas the traditional way, serves as a grill extender to cook or smoke twice as much meat and the outer ring can be used as rotisserie support.
Made out of 304 grade Stainless Steel, it’s built to last and will get you using your kettle a lot more than you already were doing.
