Griddle/ Hotplate for CIG 22.5

Because craycort doesnt sell all their products on amazon I will review the inserts I have on this review. My first suggestion is since there is really no benefit of buying any of craycorts items on amazon itself, I would just buy directly off their website. Its almost exactly the same price (only shipping cost will vary). I have put my review of the 22.5 inch grate already. This will be just for the inserts.

The Griddle/Hotplate: Ill start with the Griddle side. On the griddle side it works exactly like a grill pan. I find I like to use this side for burgers as opposed to the grate because they dont dry out quite as fast and the griddle protects it from flare ups when cooking bacon next to them. I also use this side for paninis which works perfectly i might add. Works great for toasting buns or bread. Pretty much anything you want hot but not singed from the direct heat.

Hotplate: When you flip the Griddle side over you will see a completely flat side. The hotplate. This works just like a pancake griddle. Its perfectly flat with raised edges to keep food on the griddle. I use it to make pancakes, saute vegetables, and even cook eggs. I own four griddle/hotplates and the only thing you need to keep in mind that is if you do place all four griddle/hotplates on the grill you will severly reduce the amount of air that gets to your coals. So in hind site i probably would have only bought three at most. Also as a 411 the griddle/hotplate has raised edges on both sides of the insert so you cant say cook a pizza on the grill using these because its not completely flat. The raised edges are also thicker towards the font than the back causing a slight slope to the back of each inserts. It is designed that way so the grease,fat, oil etc will go down the draining hole which is the same place you put the lifter.

The Vegetable Wok: I have two of their vegetable woks. They have about half inch sized holes bored throughout it. It is a pocketed insert. It doesnt serve a function on the opposite side like the griddle/hotplate. Youll notice on craycorts website it says that it is ribbed on the other side. That is wrong. There would be no place to put the ribbing first of all and 2ndly everything would just slide off of it anyway. It serves as a deep pocket, I actually use this to smoke my vegetables. I fill the pocket with homefries, dump some olive oil on them which when the oil leaks thru causes a flare up and smokes the homefries. Anything vegetable cooked over direct heat with this insert will achieve a smokey flavor. It is the insert I use least often. In hindsight I probably would have only bought one of these since i prefer to saute most vegetables on the hotplate.

The only other insert for the craycort ring is the pizza stone. I do not own any of these. I bought a 14 inch cast iron pizza pan from Lodge Logic which I will be reviewing later. The pizza pan was a much cheaper option over the granite inserts. I love the idea but I really do prefer just cooking on cast iron. Maybe I will pick up the granite stones one day.