Low Profile Slow 'N Sear on the Weber Summit Kamado

I have had the Weber Summit Kamado for three years now (Purchased June 8 2022) and it has been a fantastic, versatile cooker that truly thrust me into the world of grilling and smoking. I say cooker because it is both a fantastic grill and a fantastic smoker.

However, after three years, the Weber charcoal baskets that came with it have rusted and warped. They're still functional, in that they still stabilize the charcoal, but the warping is ugly and they no longer fit together perfectly adjacent and parallel. 

I probably would have stuck with the baskets except that the center grate on the Weber Gourmet BBQ system ALSO rusted out and warped. However, this is because I put it at the bottom of the grill and used it as an impromptu charcoal grate. It now no longer fits well into the center of the grates. Furthermore, the grates were perpetually covered in surface rust and I had to constantly scrape them down and oil them. 

 

So, I was in the market for new grill grates and new charcoal baskets and I decided to go all-in on Slow 'N Sear.

I was looking for baskets and grates that were 316 Stainless Steel but couldn't find anything, except a few grates for Propane Grills. The best baskets I found were 430 SS (only the Slow 'N Sear ones) and the best grates I could find were 304 Stainless Steel (found a few, including the Slow 'N Sear ones). I also went ahead and ordered the actual Slow 'N Sear Low Profile, as well as the heat diverter / griddle to round it out. (The griddle has not arrived as of this review, but it was all ordered from Amazon.)

All of this is better than the Weber original products which claim to be "aluminized stainless steel" and I don't think that holds up to heat as good as 316, 304 or even 430 Stainless Steel.  

Anyway, everything arrived well packaged and perfectly polished. I don't think there was even a finger print on any of them. 

 

The new baskets obviously look much better than the old rusted Webers. They are also solid, welded construction, very heavy, and came with a water trough for steam and for keep consistent temps.

They are taller than the original baskets, which is a mixed bag. The don't fit on the upper rack of the Weber Summit, but they do BARELY fit on the lower rack of the unit. I'm excited to use them, but we won't be doing it not for today's cook.

 

Today's cook we're using the Slow 'N Sear as well as the new grill grate. You can see how much sharper it looks, and it fits the Summit like a glove. It fits with the old grate as well as the new perfectly well.

The first thing I noticed was that takes exactly a full chimney of charcoal! Like, EXACTLY. I believe this has to be intentional. 

I poured the coals in and did my grill. Today I cooked up Salmon, Strip Steak, Beef Back Ribs, and Chicken Thighs. There were also some veggies, not pictured.
 

My first thought is the Slow 'N Sear, when used during a high-heat grill in this fashion, offers EXTREME two-zone heat. I actually don't like it for most of the food. It worked great for the steak but for everything else I prefer to have medium heat as an option. This could be accomplished by putting a few coals on the bottom grate to the side of the SnS, or by having a second-tier grate (which I have, and impatiently left on my old grate before this cook) allowing for further direct heat. For thighs, sausage, veggies, and salmon, having medium direct heat is fantastic. For the steak it did perform a great reverse sear and I did use their "cold grate" spin technique successfully. 

The grate itself was flawlessly constructed. SnS markets it as an "Easy-Spin Grate," and I was surprised to find that it actually does spin a lot easier than the standard Weber Grate. I'm not sure what SnS does to make it "Easy-Spin" but it works. Furthermore, the hinge sized exactly for the SnS proper feels cohesive.

The last thing I did was add a little bit of Lump Charcoal into the SnS and leave the Back Ribs on the grill for another 4 hours or so. This tested the "Slow" portion of the Slow n Sear and it performed flawlessly for that cook, just as easy and hands-off and set-it-and-forget-it as using the Weber Summit with the standard heat diverter. I would be comfortable using the Slow 'N Sear for a long, slow smoke, but I don't think it can hold enough coal to go for more than 6 hours, 8 tops. Meanwhile I have done 16 hour cooks on the Summit and had fuel leftover. 

 So, the million dollar question is, do I recommend the Slow 'N Sear for the Weber Summit? I suppose it does exactly what it advertises and from that perspective I can recommend it. I can recommend it if:

• You have trouble maintaining temps on the Weber Summit Kamado and want to try a new way to smoke.
• You like to refuel frequently and don't enjoy disassembling the WSK to add new Charcoal.
• You want a replacement for the Weber Baskets for Hot and Fast grilling.
• You're trying to perfect your Reverse Sear on steaks
• You're willing to spend $100+ on a premium product.

The SnS proper cost me $100 (and that was a sale) so its quite a premium above the $20 Weber Baskets or $10 knock-off baskets. Here's hoping they last!