Goldens' Cast Iron Cooker

It's been about a year since I purchased the Golden's Cast Iron, had a PM from a member asking about comparisons between it and a ceramic. I thought I'd provide an update after a year of ownership for those who might be interested in this unit. (I've not posted in a while since my photobucket account caught up with me.)

I'm still as enthusiastic about this cooker as when I first received it. I've had zero issues with it, it gets used at least 3-4 times per week and has just about completely replaced the Bubba Keg which sits idle (Bubba is used these days to fire up the Weber chimney starter).

The Golden's had no problems with the New England winter, held temps quite well. I've been out there in below zero temps; sure, it took a bit longer in those freezing conditions to come up to temp but so would any cooker. Somewhere I have a picture of it with a line of thin blue smoke coming out of the vent and icicles hanging from the handle and cart (eventually they did melt off).

About the only negative thing I can think of is cleaning. I use the Bubba Keg grate tool to clean out the ashes along with my shop vac. Without the vacuum I do need to be careful not to dump ashes on the ground (this is due to the cart support bars being right in front of the ash door.) Other than that, nothing negative to speak of.

I would still recommend the optional divider plate, I use this quite a bit for things like reverse searing or simply to grill indirect without the need to break out the searing plate (Golden's equivalent to a BGE platesetter).

I'm still quite happy with the cart I purchased - still as sturdy as it was on day 1, no rust, no issues whatsoever.

Things I would do differently - I probably would not have ordered two additional half grates, one would have sufficed. I've only used one stacked half grate two or three times, it's impossible to use two.

I will admit I have still not done an overnight low and slow on this grill. It does seem to go through lump a bit faster than the Bubba Keg. With some all day cooks, I've had to add lump after about 8 hours or so. It holds temps quite well, I rarely have to adjust settings once it's dialed in.

That's about it. An old thread resurrected with updates for those who might be interested.

Regards,
-Dom

bschoen said:

Thanks so much for that update. May I ask about rust? I had a cast iron gasser many years ago, I really liked it, but I could never get on top of the rust on the grates and burners. I understand the seasoning concept well as I have had cast iron pans for over 40 years.

How does the Golden fare with oxidation?

TIA.

Click to expand...

Oxidation is not a problem at all. The grates are rust free.

Anything "steel" that's exposed to the elements on the cart is stainless steel, haven't had any rust on items like the casters or pins which hold the handles in place. The rest of the cart and the cooker itself is powder coated.

I think the inherent fear with this cooker is "it's cast iron" and folks seem to equate that with rust if it isn't seasoned. The inside of the cooker was seasoned after the first few uses as were the grates. I suppose if you were to not use the cooker for some number of weeks and moisture were to build up inside (it's happened with my ceramic), you'd get mold and some rust perhaps. Given my usage, that's not gonna happen.

Hope this helps.