Grill Grates

Grill grates on my grill. They will never be this clean again.

The first time I fired up my grill this year, I looked at the grill grates and thought, gee, I'm going to need to replace those nasty grates pretty soon. The enamel coating had chipped off in spots, and they looked pretty terrible overall.

As I was researching replacement costs, I got an email from a company called GrillGrate that makes ... well, grates for grills. They said that their grates were better, and I thought, "How could they not be better? Mine are rusty."

The GrillGrate website has all sorts of information about the heating properties of these grates and why they're better for grilling, but I don't always believe the hype. I said yes because I figured they couldn't possibly be worse than my rusty grates, and this would save me the cost of replacement.

At worst, they'd perform the same as the grates that came with the grill, and that would be perfectly fine with me. And if they were better ... well, then that would be a huge bonus.

The grates come in a few different sizes and shapes for different types of grills, from rectangular gas grills to round charcoal grills, but they don't need to be super-precise if you want these to lay on top of your existing grates. (You can also get them to replace your grates, which does need to be more precise.) My gas grill setup was pretty standard, but if you've got a weird grill or you need something special, you can also get custom grates.

The grates come in sections that link up, which makes a lot of sense for packaging, shipping, and handling. And even for washing.

While you're supposed to let these season - like a cast iron pan - if you drip some goopy marinade on them, it's nice to be able to pick up small sections that will fit into the kitchen sink, so you can wash off the goop.

But never mind all that. In the end, it's all about performance. How about some grill marks?

Here's another shot where you can see grill marks on the burger in the foreground.

I've cooked different types of meat and even salmon patties on the grates, as well as vegetables. There are holes in the valleys of the grates, but you're not going to drop anything through the grates and into the fire, so that's a plus. But the holes do let smoke though, for flavor. BUT! Even if there's a flare-up under the grates, you're not going to burn the food.

Well, I suppose if you tried really hard you could start a fire ON the grates, but you'd have to work at that pretty hard to make that happen.

I have to say that I'm beyond thrilled with these. I've never gotten grill marks like these from any of the many grills I've owned, and it really does seem like these even out the heat, so food cooked more evenly. Food didn't stick, and I think the nonstick properties will be even better as the grates "season" from being used repeatedly.

Since there's no enamel coating, like my old grates, these should last a long time - I don't expect I'll be replacing them, ever. And, if I upgrade my grill, I can still use these.

I really can't see a downside to these grates, except of course that they're not standard equipment on grills.

For more information about why these work, how to order, videos, recipes, and more, check out the GrillGrate website.

Who's it for: People who have grills.

Pros: Check out the grill marks. 'Nuff said.

Cons: Hmmm. Hmmm. Can't think of anything.

Wishes: Wish I had found them sooner!

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.