New Grill and question?

Just bought a new Brinkman 2500 gas grill with the smoker box built in the front of it. Was not planning on the purchase but was a Walmart and they had them on closeout for $225 from $298. I have cooked a pork butt and my first brisket in it. Both came out tasty! I used hickory chips on the pork with good luck in the built in smoker box.
I am very pleased with the new grill. Having 4 burners is very nice to do indirect cooking. It lets you control heat pretty easy.
I so have a question? This has coated cast iron grates and I am worried about bushing off the coating. Any suggestions?
I like sweet / smoky sauces and they leave quite a residue on the side of these new grates that don't seem to burn off like my old stell wire grates.

rob

Rob, what you are experiencing, I believe, is grate "seasoning". With cast iron, the more you use it, the better the results. Just as with any cast iron cooking product, ie. skillet etc, you have to season it first to prevent sticking and get good cooking results. I wouldn't worry too much about rubbing the coating off, it might be there just to prevent rust while in the factory storage. Get yourself a good wire brush and remove all large pieces of food debris. After this step, rub the grate down with some good vegie oil or the like. Next put the grill on medium high and let the oil "burn in" for a half hour to an hour. After this procedure, your grates should be properly seasoned. Do this once at the beginning of your barbecue season, and one or more times during. After you experience the results, you will not want to return to using stainless steel again. Good luck.


Chris

Gentlemen, tonight I fired up the newest member of my family THOR <a brinkmann 2700, 6-burner, stainless steel hunka, hunka burnin bbq>!

Before I did so, I pre-heated my grill as I prepared the oil soaked paper towel to conduct the next step of lubricating. I placed my towel in between my new stainless steel tongs and began to rub down the grate I was going to use. What wasn't in the pamphlet of doing this was the dodging the flare ups and the stain to my grill-grate and the other flat part that covers my burner.

WHAT DID I DO WRONG? Have I somehow offended the bbq... my first meal was vege skewers on one of those metal skewer baskets (I forgot to defrost the tri-tip). So after I was done cooking, and THOR cooled off, I took my grill-grates and the cover part corresponding to the portion of the grill I used and went to my utility sink to clean up. My half-filled sink of hot soapy water welcomed the grill parts. There was no food bits on the grill parts, but a carmel colored stain. Is this normal? Is the clean up to just get the food and grease off, or is it to bring the grill parts back to their pristine stainless state?

Gentlemen, any direction is appreciate.

Yours In Grilling,
-Leah-

Cast iron grates .... work on building up a good seasoning on them, sorta like an old fashioned cast iron frying pan. Since the first pre-use burn for mine, the only cleaning I've done is to scrape them down after the grill has cooled a bit. The grill brush I have has an angled section of the scraper part that matches the sides of the grate rods. Does a good job of scraping those bits that cling there. After scraping/brushing, I lightly oil the grates.

Then, when I cook again, I give the grates one more light brushing after they're hot again. The heat kills any beasties so I don't worry them being clean from a health/sanitary standpoint. When ready to cook, I dampen a paper towel with cooking oil and oil the grates. Use tongs to apply the oil. Don't put enough oil on the towel for it to be dripping. A light coat of oil is all that's needed. Note: the more seasoned the grates become, the less oil is needed for the cook. In time, the grates will become like a non-stick frying pan.

Re- stainless steel grills.... A new SS grill is like a brand new pickup truck. (BTW, congratulations to both posters! ) Dread the day that something dings the truck bed. Work hard to prevent any scratches. But after a while, something will scuff the paint. Worry lessens a bit. Then scratch #2 happens. "Oh, heck, I bought this truck to use it." After a while, those small dings and scratches don't matter any more. Then, the real enjoyment of the truck begins, as it's used for what it was designed to do.

Same with a SS grill. It's beautfiful right out of the box. Looks too pretty to use! But, as with the truck, you bought it to use it. Heat will affect the color and shine. A well seasoned grill cooks better than one right out of the box. Sounds like the brown color is just the beginning of accumulating a layer of carbon on the grates. IMHO, that's what you want to happen. As you acquire a coating of pure carbon you're actually cooking on a non-stick coating. So, don't apply a lot of elbow grease to remove a protective and otherwise beneficial coating on your grates. Don't worry about those grill equivalents to a scratch in your pickup bed. Instead keep your thoughts on those great meals your well seasoned grill will provide.

Just my 2-cents this morning.

Longmill

I've seen the question about "stained" SS grates often. They are not stained, they're getting seasoned! The worst thing you can do to grill grates is to scrub them with soap. Just preheat them to HOT before each cook and brush the hot grates with a wire brush to remove any remining particles of food. The heat will destroy any dangerous bacteria, and your hard-won seasoning will be preserved. Remember, it's not about how good your grill looks, it's about how good the food tastes!