Cast iron grill grates

[ElizabethH]

Hi. I have a Weber gas grill with cast-iron grates that will not stay seasoned. I use cast-iron cookware and know how to keep them seasoned. But it seems the high heat of the grill burns off the seasoning, on the grates, leaving them dry and rust-colored. One day I seasoned them five times in a row, thinking I would build up the seasoning, but the first time I used high heat afterward the seasoning was gone.

Am I doing something wrong? Any advice would be appreciated.

[tommy]

it's an uphill battle in my experience. i don't know if it's a combination of high heat, moisture, and whatever else, but it's a hassle.

their site recommends *not* cleaning after use. you might try that if you're not already. but, that's just to keep oils and whatnot on the grates, and clearly the whole grate isn't covered when cooking.

also, once rust starts forming, it takes a *lot* of work to get it all off. if you don't get it all off, seasoning most likely won't help. it'll just spread again. i usually go for a full-out burn-off at that point. then i scrape the hell out of it. i was doing this by hand for a while, and then finally realized that a wire brush on a drill helps the process.

i also squirt oil on it whenever i'm done cooking, and when i start. and, if i happen to be near the grill when i'm *not* using it, i squirt some more.

i'm ready to re-season mine, and i'm thinking that i'm just going to do it in the oven, as i would any cast iron cookware. i can't help but think that if they are sitting in the oil to some extent, that it has to help. unforunately, making a pound of bacon every once in a while isn't an option with a grill.

Edited August 11, 2003 by tommy (log)

[Oreganought]

I always season the grates before I use them,then burn off anything that remains after cooking.With this type of heat (high) there wouldn't be anything including any reminence of seasoning as well.And then I just run the oil cloth over the grate when it has cooled.

And come to think of it my iron pan for blackening is not seasoned.

This is only my opinion,but with a BBQ cast grill,it is an ongoing seasoning

procedure for me,possible because of the way I resort to high heat after,

to burn off any crud left behind from different methods of cooking.And if I

did shut the gas off without burning off,then when I start the BBQ I will leave on high and scrub until its clean and dry.Then apply oil with a cloth/paper douced in the oil of my choice.

Regardless,when I have heated the BBQ,I apply the oil to the grate,just before I start cooking.

If you live in a moist climate or near a large body of water,you will need to

season more frequently I would imagine.

Which leads me to the conclusion that it might be impossible to

season a BBQ cast iron grate in the same fashion as a cast iron pan.

Might not be a correct explanation,but it's all I could come up with,without

actually doing some research.

Edited August 11, 2003 by Oreganought (log)

[ElizabethH]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will de-rust them and try seasoning them in the oven. And then wipe oil on them thirteen times a day, every day.

[howard88]

I have also struggled with the rust issue and finally gave in. I purchased very heavy porcelain coated iron grates for my weber. I love them. No rust.

[slkinsey]

With heat as high as one uses for grilling, there is no way you will be able to season this cast iron. You will continue to burn off the seasoning every time you crank up the heat. The same thing can happen to a decades-seasoned cast iron skillet if the heat gets too hot.

All you really want to do is prevent the iron from rusting. To accomplish this, simply oil the grates after you use them. I'd suggest scraping the grates with a wire brush and then rubbing an oil-soaked towel (keep one aside for this purpose) over the grates. If you do this after dinner, the grates should be cool enough so you aren't burning off all your arm hair.

[tommy]

sam, are you speaking from experience with cast iron grates on a grill?

[tommy]

I have also struggled with the rust issue and finally gave in. I purchased very heavy porcelain coated iron grates for my weber. I love them. No rust.

you and me both. i'm very pleased with the porcelain coated grates. although mine aren't all that heavy. i think the shipping weight was about 10 lbs.

my issue with the cast iron came not from use and high heat, but rather from a long wet winter of no use. they were just beyond hope, even after taking a coca-cola bath for a day.

[scott123]

I have also struggled with the rust issue and finally gave in. I purchased very heavy porcelain coated iron grates for my weber. I love them. No rust.

I knew that the heat I was planning on grilling at would be an issue with the seasoning on cast iron so I went with the heavy porcelain grates right from the start. These rock.

I'm curious, since they came with no documentation I'm not sure how to clean them. I've been using a brass wire brush and that works wonderfully. A wire brush is okay, right?

[scott123]

you and me both. i'm very pleased with the porcelain coated grates. although mine aren't all that heavy. i think the shipping weight was about 10 lbs.

From what customer service at Weber told me, the only place you can get the really heavy porcelain grates is home depot. They carry them exclusively. Not, cheap though. $50, I think.

[tommy]

From what customer service at Weber told me, the only place you can get the really heavy porcelain grates is home depot. They carry them exclusively. Not, cheap though. $50, I think.

for real? i know Home Despot carries the cast iron exclusively, but i had no idea about the porcelian coated. apparently these aren't even on the weber website, as i did a lot of research looking for what i thought were the heaviest.

that said, mine aren't heavy by any stretch, but they're just fine so far. i'll go to Despot this weekend, though, and check out their stuff.

[scott123]

that said, mine aren't heavy by any stretch, but they're just fine so far.  i'll go to Despot this weekend, though, and check out their stuff.

Do take a look at them. They are basically the Le Creuset of the grill grate world.

I inherited my grill with a slightly rusty set of the traditional porcelain covered steel ones so I've had experience with both the porcelain covered iron and porcelain covered steel.

I didn't do any scientific testing but the steel grates appeared to give me just as good burn marks as the iron ones. I think the iron ones might last a little longer but only time will tell. I did notice that the entire grate isn't covered with porcelain. There are two tiny spots that appear to be where the grate was hung in the kiln. If the grate starts rusting anywhere, my guess it will be at these vulnerable points first.

They are a work of art, though.

[tommy]

i just did some quick research online.

the grates i bought from amazon are item #9860. i see that homedespot.com has two grates with item #9860. one is steel, and one is cast iron. that's not very nice. i spent a good amount of time on the phone with weber before my purchase trying to make sure that item #9860 was the cast iron. it looks like they are, some of the time. oh well. they were only 25 bucks or so, and i'm still happy with them. but i think i'll have to get the porcelain enamaled cast iron soon too.

the moral of the story: make sure you know what you're ordering.

Edited July 11, 2004 by tommy (log)