Grill Grate Materials - Cast Iron vs. Stainless Steel
Grilled on April 3rd, 2006 in GrillsThe pantheon of grill grate materials isn’t limited to the two listed above and you shouldn’t limit your choices to those two, those happen to be the two more popular choices. In addition to cast iron and stainless steel, you’ll often see porcelain coated cast iron and regular old iron. When it comes down to deciding which one you want, I think you have to go with a cast iron material, porcelain coated or naked.
Why Cast Iron? Cast iron retains its heat better than stainless steel and usually is more durable than all the alternatives. Steel, stainless steel and porcelain coated cast iron can all develop chips which can lead to further rusting and damage to your grill. Steel is most likely to chip and porcelain less so. However, with cast iron you must ensure that the grill is properly oiled. Sometimes the food you cook will provide that oil but you should keep your grill clean and properly oiled whenever you’re going to use it because otherwise it could get damaged.
I recently used my newly bought Charbroil grill and it created gorgeous grill marks on my chicken. Unfortunately I was foolish and didn’t properly oil my grill beforehand so there is a lot of burned/dried chicken on there. I won’t make a similar mistake next time.
I’m just using the stainless steel grate that came with my new and improved Weber. If it gets pitted or unmanageably nasty, there’s always a trip down to the Home Depot for a ten dollar replacement.
Quote “Steel, stainless steel and porcelain coated cast iron can all develop chips which can lead to further rusting and damage to your grill.”
I think your mistaking true Stainless Steel with that chrome coated steel on cheap grills. Solid stainless steel, like the grills found on Napoleon Grills will not chip.
I purchased the Jenn-Air 4 burner grill over a year ago. One of the things I liked was the 3/8 “” solid stainless steel round bar used for the grill grates. Previously with cheaper grills the lesser grates eventually rusted and wore out. I could not see problem with 3/8 stainless. However I was unaware of stainless steel’s poor heat retention. I can get good grill marks from my grill, but it requires the grill to be very hot. A friend purchased a grill from SAM’s at almost 1/3 the price of mine with cast iron grates. At first glance I thought “why did he buy this thing”, but after I cooked on it, I changed my tune. This grill creates the best grill marks effortlessly…..I am currently in the market for cast iron grill grates for my Jenn-Air….Anyone need any 3/8 stainless grates
hehe +1
Thanks! Really interesting. I wish i could spend my time on writing articles…just have no time for it.
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