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I enjoy summer grilling. In one sense, it marks a new season; grilling is a way to celebrate warming temperatures. It might seem abstract to say this, but grilled food has its own vibe: meats on the grill evoke a different atmosphere than chili in the slow cooker.
There are a lot of variables that go into grilling. High heat or low and slow? Direct or indirect? Lid open or closed? Marinate ahead of time or apply seasoning at the end? Each situation calls for a different arrangement, and cooks sometimes differ over what is best.
One challenge with grills is quite straightforward: making sure things don’t slip through the grates. Thicker meats like chicken breasts, steaks, and pork chops can just be tossed on the grates. Burgers usually play along nicely, too, especially frozen ones, which generally hold their shape well on the grates. Even hot dogs usually nestle just fine on the grill surface.
Thinner items like grilled veggies are great, but they present a dilemma. How do you keep those onions, peppers, mushrooms, or other veggies from slipping through? Where there’s a problem, there are solutions, and in this case a solution is a grill topper. Toppers let things cook without falling victim to the flames below.
I currently use a cheap topper from my local hardware store, which is adequate. Aldi also periodically sells toppers, including one earlier this year that was promising but also large and temperature restrictive. And then, not long ago, Aldi stocked a couple of models that looked like a better fit for my grilling needs. I picked up both.
The Range Master Non-Stick Coated Wok Grill Topper and the Range Master Non-Stick Coated Flat Grill Topper (Product Code: 832213) are both Aldi Finds. That means they are only in stores for a limited time. Once they’re sold out, you won’t be able to find them in stores until they come back, whenever that might be, and you won’t be able to order the online.
At the time of this post, both the wok grill topper and the flat grill topper cost $7.99. That’s pretty cheap compared to any other toppers like this I could find, outside of maybe disposable ones.
They come in both silver and copper; we opted for silver. In addition, here’s some of the information Aldi has provided about the two products, both on Aldi’s site and on the product packaging:
- Features:
- Side handles allow for easy transportation to and from grill
- QuanTanium nonstick coating offers easy use and cleanup
- Perforated design helps prevent food from falling in grills
- Directions:
- Before using, wash in warm, soapy water with a soft cloth. Rinse and dry thoroughly
- To preserve the life of the nonstick coating, always use nylon, silicone or wooden utensils. Metal utensils will cut or scratch your grill topper
- When grilling, avoid contact with a direct flame
- Hand washing your grill topper is recommended to preserve the nonstick coating
QuanTanium, as best as we can tell, is a nonstick coating reinforced with titanium to help improve durability. The toppers don’t list any temperature parameters for QuanTanium, although a few sites say its operating maximum is 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Both the toppers are made in China. There is no other obvious sign of who made them, and there is no after-sales or warranty support.
The wok topper measures 13.9 inches by 12.1 inches by 2.6 inches. The flat topper measures 15.9 inches by 11.3 inches by 1 inch.
Before I get into each of them individually, an observation about both: to me, they both seem sturdy. The build feels thick and substantial. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll last forever, but the initial build impression is a good one.
Let’s talk now about each of them on its own.
Range Master Non-Stick Coated Wok Grill Topper
I like the dimensions of this wok. It’s roughly a foot long in each direction — it’s slightly longer than it is wide — and it fit my 3-burner grill well. The sloping walls did a good job for me holding most of my food, despite the fact that we had a lot of veggies and mushrooms.
On the plus side, the wok didn’t warp or bend during cooking, and that was on high heat. The nonstick kept things from sticking, and cleanup after cooking went off without too much trouble. (As the instructions note, this should be hand washed with dish soap and water.) I used a soft utensil to stir the veggies. During cooking, I could see steam rising through my food. Also, the handles make for ease of picking up … just be careful not to burn yourself, as the handles get very hot in the grill.
One thing to keep in mind with this wok is that the more you put in it, the longer it will take to cook. The higher walls do allow for more food than the bottom surface might seem to allow, but that can be a little deceiving, as things take longer if you load up. That’s not a design flaw so much as a physical reality, one I ran into during my time using the wok.
Range Master Non-Stick Coated Flat Grill Topper
The flat topper’s packaging suggests it’s best used for the likes of corn or maybe kabobs. We decided to use it similarly to what we used on the wok — a mix of veggies and mushrooms.
The biggest positive side with this topper is that, as expected, the larger surface area equates to a faster cooking experience than the wok. I was able to grill up my mix in a lot less time on this surface than the wok. In addition, the nonstick surface did its job making it easy to move things on, around, and off the topper. I also like how the handles made it easy to remove the topper, although as with the wok the handles are very hot.
There are some tradeoffs. For one, the topper did warp under the heat. This is something I’ve seen with other flat toppers I used, and it does return to shape after it cools down, but it’s worth noting anyway. Also, the shorter lips and the lack of a lip on the front makes it easier to lose things into the grill.
Warped.
The Verdict:
Aldi’s two Aldi Find non-stick toppers are both solid choices for grilling without losing things through the cracks. With a low price and a promising build quality, both of them handle well the business of cooking things without losing them. Both will come out a little marked up after use but the build quality on each looks promising.
They each have their pros and cons. The wok sacrifices cooking surface for height and is the pick for grilling things if keeping things in the bowl is important to you. Our flat topper warped (temporarily) under the heat and was more prone to things sliding off but was better at grilling things quickly. I’m a little partial to the flat topper overall, but both of them are worth a look if you need something that can keep things on the grill from falling through the cracks.
