Grate Question

[Freedom Forged]

I feel like this is a beginner question.....

I have had my RT for 7 years along with a stable of other cookers. After every cook I clean the grate to the degree it almost looks new. I see some pits have grates that are so loaded with carbon they are black. Is this desirable? Is there an advantage to this?
How does one achieve this? Just stop cleaning it?

 

[Gonefishin]

Mine is black, i just hit it with the wire brush before putting on the meat. Advantage is its faster.

 

[Snorebaby]

As @padlin00 does, I just use the wire brush most of the time. Food generally comes off pretty good. I will brush both sides when I clean the teflon drip tray mat and check/change the aluminum foil.

 

[Jim6820]

With my RT-340, I clean the grill after each use with dish soap and a scrubby, then rinse well. The reason is that I use it almost exclusively for low-and-slow cooks and it doesn’t get hot enough to burn off the residue.

The gas grill, however is used mostly for hot-and-fast cooks (400F on up) and the stainless steel wire brush works fine for removing the residue that has pretty much been reduced to ash. If I notice too much buildup, I will pull the grill grates and put them in the dishwasher for a more thorough cleaning.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Unless you have a sensitivity to food borne illnesses (e.g., residual bacteria, E. coli, or similar concerns). You don’t have to keep the grill or its grates pristine. Another potential factor is if you are somewhere that has a rodent or insect problem, which can be a game changer. In the country, we call your cleaning method “killing the seasoning and flavors”. I have an arsenal of cooking contraptions and don’t have an established cleaning routine other than scrubbing the grates with a wound steel bristle brush unless I am working with seafood or semi cooked poultry. For general cleaning, I give it a good preheat (usually above 400F), bring it back to cooking temperature, and grill on. That kills any potential mold, fungi, contamination or other residual stuff in real time, before use. I watch people clean their grills until almost spotless before they put them away and always wonder what has collected between that cleaning and their next use. I was in Alabama recently and opened a friend’s “showroom clean” grill and decided to lift the grease tray before firing it up and it was filled with rat droppings. The lessons learned were that you shouldn’t let the superficial blur the reality of what you are achieving.

So much for cleaning too early! By the way, we ate out that night, haha.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Did you check the dining establishment's kitchen? Ever seen kitchen nightmares, or bar rescue?

 

[DenStinett]

I only give the Grates (and Drip Tray) a thorough cleaning when we're switching Proteins
or readying the Grill for Baking

 

[DesertRat]

Wow, that's a grate question! Where shall I start?