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zany13

Question about the Capital Culinarian

Zany13
11 years ago

Hello all of you, I am new to this site and i have to say this forum is so insightful on everything home related!

I have a question about the Capital Culinarian gas range.

Can i flip the cast iron grate and use that as a wok ring?

I was at this store that had a CC on display and the sales told me i can do that and it would be perfect for wok cooking.

Any CC owners have an opinion on this matter?

Thanks,

Comments (9)

  • CT_Rob
    11 years ago

    I have the CC and thought about the exact same thing. I didn't actually try it but my concern is tha the airflow to the flame would be very limited by this. I sprung the extar $150 for the wok grate.

  • PRO
    Trevor Lawson (Eurostoves Inc)
    11 years ago

    The sales person you spoke to is an idiot of the highest order..... You can not turn the grate over and wok cook without creating dangerous gases due to lack of air flow.

  • Jon T
    11 years ago

    The wok grate is so worth it! If you buy the CC and want to use a wok, I would certainly recommend getting the wok grate.

  • Zany13
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Could i use any after market wok grate?

    I dont see why it has to be a capital branded wok ring and for $150 ouch!

  • jscout
    11 years ago

    As Trevor states you cannot flip the grate over. Even if improper combustion wasn't an issue, the grate doesn't sit right when flipped over. The inverted bowl of the grate also creates too tight of hot spot at the bottom of the wok.

    If you are into serious wok cooking where you rock the wok while cooking, aftermarket wok rings won't work well. It'll be all over the place unless you can notch it to fit over the tines of the grate. If you wok by leaving it stationary and just push the food around, you could probably get by.

    That said, the CC wok grate isn't perfect either. I have no idea why they would cast the base of the wok grate a little smaller than the standard grate. To remedy this, I just took a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and folded it over several times to create a spacer. With the spacer, I have no movement in the grate, and functionally it is as good/solid as a restaurant wok range. The only thing it lacks now is a little more BTU. When I'm done, I just put the spacer in a drawer next to my range for use next time.

    The CC wok grate does stack nicely on top of the standard grate when not in use, so maybe that's why it's cast smaller. But I wouldn't cook with it stacked. It's too high.

  • Zany13
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Jscout,

    But honestly, how well does the CC wok?

    How does it compare to real chinese resturant wok dishes?

    I have researched for a few months as to which home gas range has the closest "feel" of chinese resturant style cooking results.

    Am i going to be disappointed, or the CC does a good job of it?

    Also as a comparison to other high end brands, is CC the best out there in the market for residential use for Wok cooking?

    I bought my CC already, but i havent had it delivered yet, but the place i bought it, told me that you cant wok cook with a Wolf! I just wanted to hear from real CC or WOLF owners what they really think of that statement.

  • jscout
    11 years ago

    The CC woks very well. You won't be disappointed. For stationary wokking, the CC has almost too much heat. The desire for more heat is a personal thing. I regulate the heat through motion, so I wouldn't mind another 10,000 BTU. But that would put it into commercial range territory. You don't really need 100,000 BTU to wok. Wokking is as much about the oil as it is about the heat.

  • wekick
    11 years ago

    I have a Wolf sealed burner and you can wok with it but the CC has more heat and seems like it would be directed to the base of the wok a little more, so would be better. There is a reason they use 100K and more in a Chinese restaurant though and it requires learning how to use that kind of heat.
    It probably not all that healthy though.