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Cast Iron Vs Grill Grates: (Which do you prefer?)

Which do you Prefer: Grill Grates or Cast Iron?

  • Grill Grates

    Votes: 9 20.9%

  • Cast Iron

    Votes: 21 48.8%

  • Depends on what I am cooking

    Votes: 7 16.3%

  • Neither: i prefer another option: Stainless: Porcelain, ect...

    Votes: 6 14.0%
  • Total voters
    43
  • Poll closed .
F

Fiddy/Fiddy

Guest
I love my cast iron grates and they really have made a huge impact on the presentation of my meals. They are a tad high maintenance but well worth it for the gorgeous grill marks they impart on the meat.

I have been reading a lot of excellent review for the Grill Grates. They seem to do any excellent job preventing flare-ups especially on fatty cuts of meat. The cooking the meat in it's own juices seems a little gimmicky.

http://www.great-grilling.com/grill-grates.html

http://www.grillgrate.com/

I am wondering what the brethren would prefer? Cast iron or Grill Grates?
 
cast iron for sure.
i'm ordering the STOK brand cast irons for my weber kettle right now (homedepot.com)

The grill-grates seem gimicky. Those flare ups produce a really tasty smoke. Not to mention they're not really that hard to control unless you're grilling bacon.

Seriously. Just close the lid...
 
Count me as a fan of Grill Grates. :thumb:
They actually do a great job of exactly what they advertise (reducing flare-ups) and for steaks on the grill I won't use anything else any more.
 
I own both (so it is easier for me to judge) and 90% of the time, I will use my GrillGrates.

Gimmicky? Anyone that calls them that has obviously never used them. They do what they say they will do. Like I said, I use my GrillGrates 90% of the time when I'm doing a cook that requires (does better) using a cast iron grid.

I can easily recommend them.
 
Wow, tough call for me, I have both and use both a lot.

If I could ONLY have one or the other, I'd stay with my cast iron grates because they are my main grate and get used every I use my Egg, whether I'm grilling, smoking, etc.

But I use the Grill Grates extensively, especially with burgers & fish.
 
Get a Weber and u wont have to really worry about flare ups, unless u are cooking 25 70/30 burgers
 
Personally, I think both are unneeded, if not a little gimmicky.

Grill marks are just that... not sear marks, and cast iron is important for skillets, not my grill's grate. What produces a tasty sear ALL OVER the meat is the radiant heat from my kettle's hot coals.

From experience cooking on my kettle....mainly just not crowding the grate, I've learned to avoid flare-ups. Guess you could say the GrillGrates solve a problem I don't have. Don't miss maintaining cast iron grates on my old Char-griller, either.
 
I bought the Craycort cast iron to replace the flimsey nickel chrome grates my Weber Platinum Kettle came with. They offer better access to the fire. I've been adjusting my fire building techniques to make sure I don't build a fire that is too hot causing flare up.

I may consider a Grill Grate to cover my searing zone for cooking, fish, tri-tips and Rib Eyes. These meats seem to be very sensitive to any kind of Flare ups.

The thick fats on tri-tips, chuck burgers and Rib Eye cause Scortching even with the smallest flare-up. This is where I can really see the Grill Mates really out performing the cast iron.

I would like to see them make grill mates that cover the whole surface of the KJ (minus the flipping part of the grate) or the Egg.
 
Love the Grill Grates on the kettle, but especially on our Genesis gasser!! Haven't tried cast iron on the kettle yet.
 
I love my cast iron grates and don't own or have any experience with the grill grates, so I'm biased :)
 
The grill grates look really nice but never used them. Cast iron is just hard to beat and i cant see that the grill grates would be that great of an improvement
 
I thought the Ci grates were the $hit until I got some Grill Grates!!

I suppose if I lived in a climate that wasn't as damp as the Pacific Northwet the cast iron grates would probably hold up better. But the ones I have in my BGE and Weber Genesis flake and rust even after repeated use, cleaning and seasoning. Even if I remove them and store them indoors.
 
All of my 4 cookers have cast iron grates.
Bbqisland003-1.jpg
 
Grill gates work very well. Initially I was skeptical but they have made me a believer. Good sear on the meats, I've tried about everything.
 
Been using Craycort CI on the Performer for about 3 years.:thumb:
 
troytime said:
cast iron for sure.
i'm ordering the STOK brand cast irons for my weber kettle right now (homedepot.com)
Click to expand...

NICE :becky: for 40 bucks! I'll jump on that I never thought about using that CI grate:doh: for my kettle thanks
 
More than just pretty marks

Great thread sorry I've missed it! GrillGrates do much more than lay down great sear marks. That's the cherry on a grate sundae. The real secrets are based on the metal and the design.

  1. The Sizzle Back Effect (Mike Mills coined that term) as juices hit the valleys just below the food and explode into flavorful sizzling juiciness back up to the food. Foods are much moister, plumber, less shrinkage. Did I just say GrillGrates are the cure for shrinkage :becky:
  2. AL is far superior conductor than cast iron ( ci holds heat well but unevenly and slow to cool off) and the added mass creates a radiating effect which cooks food more evenly and helps again with shrinkage. Radiant heat does keep foods juicier.
  3. Many comp teams are winning with GrillGrates including a First and Second recently in Iowa in a rib-eye cookoff. AND a World Championship in AR recently as well. GrillGrates on a Weber Kettle.
  4. A final thought - restaurants (especially steak houses) are finding that GG deliver much juicier foods than their current cast iron. Either going right on top of their old cast iron grates or in place of them.
    Sledneck said:
    Grill grates hand down not even a competition
    Click to expand...
I think you will find Hard Anodized Aluminum more prevalently used in grill surface design in better end grills. It is a more "noble" metal, yes more expensive but delivers better results.

Thanks again for this great thread!

brad
 
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