Grill Grates Temperature

[DesertRat]

I have not used my grilled grates very often. And so I wanted to use them on my propane grill. Turns out they were too large, so I was looking for smaller ones on Amazon and ran into a discussion about their not getting hot. One fellow said he was running his cooker, whatever it was, at over 400° and not getting any Sizzle when he put steaks on his grates. So he measured the temp and found them to be in the upper 200s. Took forever to get hot. Is that why I have not been satisfied growing stakes and burgers on either side of the grill grates? Anyone else take measurements?

 

[Jim6820]

I have not used my grilled grates very often. And so I wanted to use them on my propane grill. Turns out they were too large, so I was looking for smaller ones on Amazon and ran into a discussion about their not getting hot. One fellow said he was running his cooker, whatever it was, at over 400° and not getting any Sizzle when he put steaks on his grates. So he measured the temp and found them to be in the upper 200s. Took forever to get hot. Is that why I have not been satisfied growing stakes and burgers on either side of the grill grates? Anyone else take measurements?

In general, grill grates will run 100-150F hotter than the grill temperature, BUT they take a while to heat up. You can’t just toss them on the grill for 5 minutes and start searing. My limited (and, albeit 2nd hand) experience with grill grates is that they take 25-30 minutes to come up to full temperature.

If someone is running a grill at 400F and “not getting any sizzle” on the grill grates, something is not right. If left on the frill for the appropriate amount of time, those GGs should be reaching 500-550F and that’s hot enough for a “sizzle.”

That said, I much prefer a gas grill when I need a good sear. My gasser has an infrared burner “sear station” that reaches 1800F in just a couple of minutes and will provide a very nice sear. You just can’t do that on a pellet grill, even with GGs.

 

[Greg Jones]

1800° temps WITH grill grates is not the droid you are looking for!

 

[Jim6820]

1800° temps WITH grill grates is not the droid you are looking for!
View attachment 19517

Right you are, @Greg Jones. My point in discussing my ”sear station” was in the context of using the right tool for the job. You can drive nails with a Crescent wrench, but the result is pretty ugly. Searing steaks on a pellet grill is not quite that bad, but I submit that there are better tools for doing the job.

 

[DesertRat]

Right you are, @Greg Jones. My point in discussing my ”sear station” was in the context of using the right tool for the job. You can drive nails with a Crescent wrench, but the result is pretty ugly. Searing steaks on a pellet grill is not quite that bad, but I submit that there are better tools for doing the job.

Thus, my ThermoSteel gasser.

 

[SmokeZilla]

All,
If you look at the Grill Grates disclaimers, you will realize they have an upper temperature range limitation. I use them on my Bull and have the professional version that I use on my Gasser periodically for things like smash burgers, veggies (dare I speak of such a blasphemy on my grill), and salmon to crisp up the skin as they do not have the perforations (holes) cross drilled in their structure like the configuration for my RT700. I have taken the pro series up to ~750F and the Bull’s to around 650F. Each can sear if you remember to move the proteins around after each flip so the GGs can recover (which takes about 5 minutes (YMMV) to full temperature again. This is greatly (no pun intended) influenced by the BTU output of your grill and other factors such as the cover being open or closed to ambient temperatures. I am a little spoiled in general when it comes to searing. My Lynx Professional gasser has a trident burner and it is rated for temps above 1300F. I also have their side burner that can achieve temps in the same range consistently and within ~2-3 minutes for recovery time. In summary, understanding any limitations that exist for any of your equipment (as Greg Jones demonstrated) is your best way to create a pathway to success.

Enjoy your cooks,
S’Zilla