Gas grille, which grates?

[rob_s]

I have a 4 year old Weber and it needs some servicing. Among other things I was going to replace the grates. The enamel-coated grates it came with are working, and have worked, well but I'm considering changing to the cast-iron grates. Any thoughts one way or the other?

[orionz06]

I went to an infrared grill this summer and absolutely love it. Prior, I had both cast iron and enamel grates. I preferred the cast iron because they could be cleaned much easier and without fear of damaging the enamel. I had 4 grates chip on their own, but they were replaced by the mfg. The cast iron, once seasoned, also seemed to resist sticking much better.

[rob_s]

I have to admit I've been impressed with the Weber enamel grates. I have no chipping at all, must a lot of caked-on crap that's not cooking it's way off. I'm somewhat reluctant to mess with success, but always heard good things about the way the cat iron retained heat for things like steaks etc.

[orionz06]

They did seem to sear better for steaks. I guess I will elaborate a bit more. I cook at a very high temp for steaks, and the cast iron performed better. For lower temp stuff like burger and such, either will be fine. My sole reason for switching grills last summer was for steaks.

What is the current price difference?

[rob_s]

That's a good question, and I don't actually know!

Amazon has...

Stainless for $54 (http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7527-Stainless-Replacement-Cooking/dp/B000WEMG4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268670184&sr=8-1)

Enamel for $29 (http://www.amazon.com/Weber-9860-Porcelain-Enameled-Grates/dp/B00004RALH/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268670184&sr=8-4)

enameled cast iron for $65 (http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7524-Porcelain-Ennameled-Cast-Iron-Cooking/dp/B000WEKMNE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268670184&sr=8-5)

I'm thinking that last option sounds like it might be best of both?

I am also going to go with the enamel falvorizer bars this time vs. the bare chrome/stainless/whatever that came originally.

[Irish]

I have the porcelain covered grates and would recommend them. About 5 years ago when I bought mine the only place that Weber sold their grills with these grates was Home Depot. Same model, same price, different grates at other stores.
My only complaint is I wish the burners went fore & aft VS side to side.

[orionz06]

The porcelain grids look to get great reviews, and require a simple burn off and wipe to clean. The durability also seems to be there per reviews. The main idea between enamel and cast iron is for size, but they are all the same general size. I suggested the cast iron assuming the grids were much thinner and closer to the traditional thin wire. You want more metal on the bottom to help conduct heat into the meat.

go with the last ones.

Good call on the flavorizer bars.

[militarymoron]

isn't there a chart somewhere comparing the different grilles?
if there isn't; there should be... ;)

[rob_s]

isn't there a chart somewhere comparing the different grilles?
if there isn't; there should be... ;)

If you knew how many charts there are for how many silly things... someone would wind up wanting to lock my ass up. :eek:

[Robb Jensen]

I like the porcelain covered steel grates.

[jvencius]

I love the cast-iron grates that came with my Weber grill but, like any piece of plain cast-iron cookware, they take a while to season before food stops sticking to them. I solved that problem fairly quickly but cooking pretty much every variety of sausage meat product I could find (bratwurst, kielbasa, baloney (don't knock it--grilled baloney is actually fairly tasty), scrapple, Italian sausages, etc... until the grates were so saturated with grease that nothing would stick.

[orionz06]

Sausage party?

[EzGoingKev]

isn't there a chart somewhere comparing the different grilles?
if there isn't; there should be... ;)
On the grill forum right now there is someone bashing "Olympic" grills while everyone else is happy with their Webber 6920 grill.

The cast iron seems to absorb the heat and transfer it to the food being cooked on it.

[Artos]

silly gas grillers...real bbq guys cut and split their own.:D

Got this finished a couple weeks ago.

[rob_s]

silly gas grillers...real bbq guys cut and split their own.:D

Got this finished a couple weeks ago.

I also smoke....

on an electric smoker. :P

[mtneer13]

i rebuilt my enamel covered with stainless last yr and now regret it...much easier to clean the enamel and the stainless after one season looks TERRIBLE...i'd go cast iron, i've been wanting to do that and hindsight is 20/20...

my grill is a 1999 Silver, so it is a bit older...check with weber, some of the components are under a 10yr warranty, if you haven't already...i don't believe that the flavorizer bars or grill grates have a great warranty, i replaced everything inside for around $200, about 1/4 of the cost of the grill i was looking at...we still received some free stuff though, the manifold and some other 10yr warranty components...

i am considering converting my gas to charcoal this year, i could not ever get the heat up above 350 deg, even when it was new in mild weather...and i don't want to buy a new one, i'll just weld a grate and start stacking charcoal on the grate...

good luck...

[rljatl]

My two cents...I also have a Weber gas grill that came with porcelain grates. After they got rusty, I replaced them with stainless steel. Can not tell any difference in flavor or sticking. Do you use a brass brush to clean the grates? I think that may scratch the porcelain enough to let rust creep in. I would think cast iron would be very rust prone, especially in Florida. Spray the cool stainless with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Then light the grill.

[chadbag]

I think my grill has the porcelain covered cast iron and they work great...

[chadbag]

I also bought some simple steel grates that were smaller than the grill surface (ie, slipped down inside the lips) and stuck them directly on the burner tops, which are the roof shaped angled ones. On these grates I stuck the porcelain briquets you can buy. I heat up the grill on high and then usually turn it down when I stick the food on and use the radiated heat from the briquets to cook more than the gas heat, which is on low and used to keep the briquets hot...

[sinister]

Man, that sounds great. I cook on charcoal, but that sounds like the way to go for propane.

[spamsammich]

I got an E310 for Christmas and absolutely love the enameled cast iron grates. We also did the "sausage party" technique to get them seasoned quickly. They're the best thing I've found to sear bison steaks without overcooking them so far. I have two charcoal grills to supplement the gas grill for summer grilling parties.

I think my grill has enameled "flavorizers", haven't given those much thought, I would think they could cause flare ups eventually. I haven't cooked anything really greasy like skin on chicken yet. I've had the opportunity to use grills from Charbroil, Brinkmann, and Coleman. I keep coming back to Weber grills. Kinda like Surefire for flashlights, I'll try others, but I go back eventually.

[spamsammich]

I also bought some simple steel grates that were smaller than the grill surface (ie, slipped down inside the lips) and stuck them directly on the burner tops, which are the roof shaped angled ones. On these grates I stuck the porcelain briquets you can buy. I heat up the grill on high and then usually turn it down when I stick the food on and use the radiated heat from the briquets to cook more than the gas heat, which is on low and used to keep the briquets hot...

That's a fantastic idea. I'm definitely going to try it. I'm happy with the gas consumption, but I think this will make my grill way more flexible. That's will be a great way of doing things like pork shoulders.

[rob_s]

Well, $250 later, here's what I bought:
-enamel cast iron grates
-warming rack
-cast iron griddle (replaces one grate when needed)
-enamel flavorizer bars
-new burner tubes (easier than trying to rehab the existing)
-new brushes (one "T" and one square)

Looking forward to making my blackened steaks on the griddle insert, as well as breakfast on the patio in the coming months. NOT looking forward to taking the whole mess apart, cleaning out the inside, and putting it all back together with the new parts.