Wok heat source

BigGreenKev

Stir fry posts seem to go in phases it seems on here and what people are cooking on.  At one point a number had used the egg, turkey fryer base and even a wok ring welded to the top of a charcoal starter.  What's everyone using these days and what have you tried in the past and moved away from?

Hub

I'm a huge fan of Asian food but not very good at cooking it.  To me, the answer to your question is both consistency and high heat.  Therefore, I'm always going to recommend gas flames.  Other here with a whole lot more experience may care to differ. 

Mickey

This is frying but i do the same for wok. 

BSR

I plan to make a flat stainless top for it too.

RRP

I’m a big fan of woking on my L egg. I use a spider legs down and direct.. I let my dome temp stabilize at 325 to 350. Open my dome and then close my bottom vent which keeps the fire stable and not become a raging inferno. As you know a wok cook is fast!

HeavyG

I agree with @Hub about using gas.

You have a bunch of options from turkey fryer/ "banjo" burners to something designed more for woks specifically.

It's really helpful to be able to adjust the heat because not all wok cooking needs the full afterburner running. Adjusting heat output is easy with gas, not so easy with charcoal.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Well...I’m with Ron on this. But I never shut the dome and I go inferno when needed/wanted. 

ColtsFan

Another CGS Spider user here. I've never had issues getting the temps that I needed

fishlessman

have wokked in the egg with a spider, but my cluny range has a wok burner and is more practicable for daily use

Fielder906

I use a woo in the BGE

Mattman3969

I’m sure that wok’n on gas is more better but I’m maxed out on cooker space so I use the egg with the spider 

I light a spot in the center and never close the dome. Once I get a good hot fire on goes the wok and the fun begins.  You need a really hot fire or you are just sautéing. I like to see the flames coming up around the sides of the wok. 

Carolina Q

I would like one of these...

fishlessman

Carolina Q said:

I would like one of these...

i would like the ones built in a sink

https://youtu.be/pWH2KlzWRTQ

Botch

fishlessman said:

have wokked in the egg with a spider, but my cluny range has a wok burner and is more practicable for daily use

Jealous!  Every few years I try to find a rangetop that has a wok burner built-in, have never found one.  

fishlessman

Botch said:

fishlessman said:

have wokked in the egg with a spider, but my cluny range has a wok burner and is more practicable for daily use

Jealous!  Every few years I try to find a rangetop that has a wok burner built-in, have never found one.  

its a compromise in a range top, mines a 20,000 btu burner which works ok with a 14 inch wok. bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today but the cluny i can rebuild myself down the road, its 20 years old now with zero problems

BigGreenKev

fishlessman said:

Carolina Q said:

I would like one of these...

i would like the ones built in a sink

https://youtu.be/pWH2KlzWRTQ

fishlessman said:

Carolina Q said:

I would like one of these...

i would like the ones built in a sink

https://youtu.be/pWH2KlzWRTQ

Now THAT is amazing!

fishlessman

BigGreenKev said:

fishlessman said:

Carolina Q said:

I would like one of these...

i would like the ones built in a sink

https://youtu.be/pWH2KlzWRTQ

fishlessman said:

Carolina Q said:

I would like one of these...

i would like the ones built in a sink

https://youtu.be/pWH2KlzWRTQ

Now THAT is amazing!

the takeout near me has a 4 burner sink with 36 inch woks. ive never seen one this small

Botch

fishlessman said:

Botch said:

fishlessman said:

have wokked in the egg with a spider, but my cluny range has a wok burner and is more practicable for daily use

Jealous!  Every few years I try to find a rangetop that has a wok burner built-in, have never found one.  

its a compromise in a range top, mines a 20,000 btu burner which works ok with a 14 inch wok. bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today but the cluny i can rebuild myself down the road, its 20 years old now with zero problems

Thanks for the info, I haven't heard of either brand (and I actually thought "cluny" was a typo for "clunky"!)  

SciAggie

I have a two part answer. 

First, I use a wok in my mini max often. I’ll do small stir fries for me and my wife. For those small stir fries, I basically empty the MM. i get a chimney of lump raging and fully lit - and dump it into the MM. Then I’ll put the wok on and go for it. If I don’t overload the wok it works fine. 

The truth is though that the wok on the MM is less for stir fry and more as a “second burner.” I’ll saute, and simmer, and cook things that don’t require the intense heat for stir fry. I cook in the wok because it fits nicely and is efficient.
Second part, if I’m really wanting a good stir fry - especially if it’s a bit more food - I drag out the propane burner. It will give me the sustained heat and massive btu’s I need to do a good job and get that “wok hai”

Botch

fishlessman said:
Bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today...

Danngggg this place may have just cost me more than two Large eggs!
 
I poked around their website, very impressive and they do make 36" "cooktops" (with no oven below) which is what I'd need.  The "Build Your Own" section wasn't working well, but there is a dealer/showroom 30 minutes south of me.  
 
Fish, do you have a range hood over your stove?  All I have is a 12" fan, wondering if this beast would create too much heat/spray to handle.  

Botch

SciAggie said:

I have a two part answer. 

First, I use a wok in my mini max often. I’ll do small stir fries for me and my wife. For those small stir fries, I basically empty the MM. i get a chimney of lump raging and fully lit - and dump it into the MM. Then I’ll put the wok on and go for it. If I don’t overload the wok it works fine. 

@SciAggie, it looks like your wok is sitting right in the ceramic bottom bowl; doesn't that snuff out the fire?
Or is that the reason you light the coals in a chimney?  I would think you'd get the Mother of All Flashbacks once you removed the wok from the Egg...

SciAggie

@Botch No, it sits on a woo from the CGS. There’s a small gap. I just light the whole chimney of lump to have 100% of the lump giving me max heat all at once. 

SciAggie

Wasn’t it purdy when it was new?

rcone

I stick with a turkey frier and a wok ring, I would love to find a foot actuated valve for the burner.

55Kevy

Botch said:

fishlessman said:

Botch said:

fishlessman said:

have wokked in the egg with a spider, but my cluny range has a wok burner and is more practicable for daily use

Jealous!  Every few years I try to find a rangetop that has a wok burner built-in, have never found one.  

its a compromise in a range top, mines a 20,000 btu burner which works ok with a 14 inch wok. bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today but the cluny i can rebuild myself down the road, its 20 years old now with zero problems

Thanks for the info, I haven't heard of either brand (and I actually thought "cluny" was a typo for "clunky"!)  

I have a Bluestar and do all my wokking on it.  The grid ring lifts out and my wok fits perfectly in the space.  I don't remember the size of the wok - it's 39 years old.

Botch

SciAggie said:
No, it sits on a woo from the CGS. 

Man, I'm getting all kinds of mixed up. That doesn't look anything like the "Woo" I saw posted on a recent thread, nor does it look like my own "Spider" from several years ago (although I realize these designs change over time).  
I need to go to bed.  

SGH

rcone said:

I stick with a turkey frier and a wok ring, I would love to find a foot actuated valve for the burner.

Look around on talk glass.com. You can find them used for as little as 20 bucks. 

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/forum.php

fishlessman

Botch said:

fishlessman said:
Bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today...

Danngggg this place may have just cost me more than two Large eggs!
 
I poked around their website, very impressive and they do make 36" "cooktops" (with no oven below) which is what I'd need.  The "Build Your Own" section wasn't working well, but there is a dealer/showroom 30 minutes south of me.  
 
Fish, do you have a range hood over your stove?  All I have is a 12" fan, wondering if this beast would create too much heat/spray to handle.  

i dont have a hood. probably get more oil mist/spray cooking with the cast iron fry pans on lower btu burners verse the quick hotter cook in the wok. i do want a hood someday when the tiny kitchen gets redone, the biggest problem is breathing after burning the hot peppers in the wok, i watch that closely now

paqman

Anybody using the Blackstone burner?

tarheelmatt

I use a spider on my Large.  

Botch

Botch said:

fishlessman said:
Bluestar ranges have a 25,000 btu burner and cost less and the wok sits lower when you remove the grate. i would go with the bluestar today...

Danngggg this place may have just cost me more than two Large eggs!

And, sure enough, it did!      
 
This afternoon a video popped up on my EweTube, Kenji testing three outdoor wok burners.  They ranged (har!) from 60,000 BTUs to 200,000 BTUs (dwarfing the 22,000 BTUs on my new BlueStar in the back of my truck, waiting to be installed).  Guess what?  Total BTUs is not king!  He did some IR video and some explanation as to why, and I thought it was very interesting.  Enjoy!  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpoSvprBJpE