Mangrate?

Anyone used the Mangrate cast iron grill-tops?
http://www.mangrate.com/
Or used something similar?
Thoughts on whether it really improves taste, grilling, etc?
Thanks!

Saw an aluminum version awhile back but I really like
the way this system looks!

For you folks looking for CI grates for your kettles grills
check out what Larry Wolfe is offering. Best looking
and most versatile grates I've EVER seen for a Weber!

http://wolfepit.blogspot.com/2009/12/ca ... rates.html

-YB

Looks like a decent investment, if only I had something to invest with!!

I wonder if they got the idea from this forum? A few members here have been using spare CI grates from CharGrillers on top of their gas grill grates for the same results.

For that matter, Steven also has his Tuscan Grill, too:
http://store.grilling4all.com/sm8024.html

The thing I like about the new CG grates is that they're quite inexpensive and they're also reversible. The bars on one side are thicker than the other side, so you get a choice of two types of grill marks. I use the thinner side for chicken and other smaller pieces of meat, while the thicker side gives really fat grill marks on steaks of all kinds, like this fine example below:
]

The pic isn't really to scale - that's a 2" thick rib-eye steak. Those grill marks are about1/2" wide.

I really like that 22.5 inch round CI grate. I'll get one of those when I'm ready to replace the wire grate on my Weber.

The CG grates look nice too. Four of them would make an inexpensive replacement for the chipped and worn porcelain-coated CI grates on my Barbecues Galore Turbo Quad gas grill, except that at 19.75" x 6.75", they are a little too long and not quite wide enough.

Four of them would be 27 inches wide, which is 3.5 inches short of my grill width. Five of them would be 3.25 inches too wide. The length of 19.75 is .625 inches too long.

How hard is it to grind cast iron? Can it be done with a hand grinder? How about cutting cast iron with a cutoff wheel?

You can always get the CG cI grills and lay them on top of the other grates. being careful not to chip the porcelain.
Or just use the grates in the SFB and put them over the Porcelain grates.

I decided to spend my inheritance and get the CI grates, fit in real nice on the duo.

Thought about the Tuscan grates, but$$$ at present is not good.

I don't care for the idea of setting a grate on top of another grate. All of them get food and grease on them when you do that. Too much to clean.

yeh, but as the second or third choice of options it would work. I replaced the porcelain grates with CI -- they look great.

jayeffel wrote:

yeh, but as the second or third choice of options it would work. I replaced the porcelain grates with CI -- they look great.

They also tend to last longer if you treat 'em right, too. I don't like porcelain grates at all because they can sometimes lose small chunks of the porcelain coating and it winds up in your meat - and then in your teeth. This is especially true if you use a stainless steel brush and not a brass brush.

I have Steven's Tuscan Grill topper and use it all the time. It is one of my favorite grilling toys.

tex

I don't know how much these were before but they are on special now for $20 + $10 shipping.

YardBurner wrote:

Saw an aluminum version awhile back but I really like
the way this system looks!

Is the aluminum version the "Grill Grates" one that's advertised on TV and endorsed by Mike Mills?

Good grief, Brad.

I don't remember.
I posted that back in 2010

I'll have to do some diggin'.

-YB

Let me save you the trouble.

http://grillgrate.com/grill_grate_products.htm

ScreamingChicken wrote:

Let me save you the trouble.

http://grillgrate.com/grill_grate_products.htm

Not the same product at all. In fact, I'd venture to guess it's yet another cheap knockoff.

Aluminum doesn't work nearly as well as cast iron anyway, so the Mangrate and Larry Wolfe grates are in a whole different class of product. This I know from experience - I've wrecked a few cooks using aluminum pans and utensils. I think a lot of the reason behind this is that it just doesn't conduct heat well or season the way cast iron does. It also has an annoying tendency to scratch, and the fact that these aluminum grates are "aircraft grade" makes precisely no difference whatsoever.

At least I'm polite about it, though. A friend of mine who is an executive chef at the local Westin hotel said it more bluntly once when a new apprentice showed up with an aluminum pan in his toolkit. He said something like "keep that cheap ---- out of my kitchen."

I'm with him.