Once you have invested in your stainless steel grill and barbequed for a while, you may begin to observe differences in your food that can be attributed to the grates. It is for this reason that understanding the role of grates in grilling can be very important in buying grates made from stainless steel or cast iron for your grill.
Mailard Reaction and Buying Cast Iron grates
When discussing grates with fellow grill owners it is very easy to get into an argument over what is better cast iron or stainless steel.
The traditional cast iron grill surrounding this argument is heavy and retains plenty of heat. Proponents of buying this grate suggest the heat transfer helps cook the meat. One important point these people forget is the relatively thick grate prevents heat transfer from the fire and smoke resulting in less browned food and potentially reducing the ability of the fire to completely cook the food. However, for charcoal grills that take time to refuel these are very handy to maintain the temperature.
Buying Stainless Steel Grates
While stainless steel grill grates may not have the potential to store heat as long as cast iron grill grates they are often the preferred choice and as such are very popular on many grill today.
To begin with, unlike the traditional cast iron grill grates buying grates of steel will save you a considerable amount of money, as they are almost one-third the cost of heavy cast iron grates. Many ask whether they can produce decent grill marks on food given, they do not store as much heat? The answer is yes.
In addition to that buying grates of stainless steel means your grill grates will last much longer, probably longer than the grill itself. While some suggest buying porcelain coated cast iron grates is a better solution, you need to keep in mind that these grates are very fragile and prone to chipping. Once these grates chip and the porcelain coating is damaged, they can get corroded and rust like ordinary cast iron.
Buying grates stainless – Thick or thin?
If you are settled on the advantages of stainless steel grates and feel these are ideal for you, another important thought you want to keep in mind is the thickness of the grates. While the grates are all of steel the thickness does play a role in how well you food is cooked on an open fire. According serious “BBQ makers” all food cooked on an open fire can be rated on how much radiant heat reaches the surface of the food.
For this reason, the thicker the grate the less radiant heat and quality of the food cooked. You want to note that these are thoughts from people who discuss BBQ on a wholesale degree and are making these suggestions based on what works in all situations. If you are not planning to grill prawns and present these as part of a 5-course dinner then these thoughts may not be as important.
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