Stainless grill plate for fire bowl Cookking - 4 handles

A solid stainless steel cooking plate, pierced at its centre with a grate, which simply rests on the rim of the fire bowl. What sets it apart from our other plates comes down to four pieces welded around the edge : handles.

Why four handles change the use

A plate of this diameter weighs 12.5 to 19 kg, and once the fire is going it reaches temperatures that forbid any contact. With no grip, you fit it before lighting and leave it until the fire is out : it becomes a fixture of the evening.

With four handles you can take it off part way through, with two people and gloves, to revive the fire, add logs, or simply come back to open flames at the end of the meal. That is the difference between an accessory you put up with and one you control.

The central grate, and what you do on it

The centre takes a 37 cm grate on the 78 and 82 cm models, 47 cm on the 98 and 102 cm ones. The two zones do different things.

On the solid ring, heat arrives by conduction through the steel : it is a griddle. Vegetables, onions, slices of bacon, eggs, everything that would fall through a grate. On the central grate, the flame touches the food directly and marks meat like an ordinary barbecue.

In practice you cook at the centre and let things wait on the ring, which stays hot without burning. A plate of this diameter feeds a whole table without cooking in shifts.

Three millimetres of stainless, and why stainless

The thickness is about 3 mm. That is what gives the inertia : the plate stores heat and gives it back on contact, instead of cooling the moment you lay something cold on it. Nor does it warp under the temperature gradient between centre and edge.

Stainless steel is justified not by the cooking but by the upkeep. A cooking plate lives outdoors and takes fat, acids and water : in ordinary steel it must be oiled after every use. In stainless, you scrape it and put it away. It is handmade.

Choosing the right diameter

The plate rests on the rim of the fire bowl, so it has to be a little wider than it. The 78 and 98 cm versions are new to us and fill a gap : we only offered these plates in 82 and 102.

The manufacturer gives the compatibilities. The 78 cm is the most versatile and covers BALI, POLO, VIKING, INDIANA, SANTIAGO, PANAMA, BANDITO, PALMA, HAITI and MONTANA. The 98 cm and the 102 cm target the same models in large format. The 82 cm stands apart : it is intended for the DALLAS, KONGO, FAT BOY and SANTOS fire bowls. Check the outside diameter of your hearth before ordering.

Before you order

The plate sits in place with no fixing and no adjustment. It is made in Europe.

This item is not kept in our warehouses : it ships from the manufacturer. Check the lead time shown on this page before confirming. Plan to be two to handle the larger diameters.