I just inherited a grill from my neighbor it works great but the
grates I'll be cooking on are pretty rusty. Is it ok to put meat
directly on to this grill or should I cover or replace them?

Joe wrote:
I just inherited a grill from my neighbor it works great but the
grates I'll be cooking on are pretty rusty. Is it ok to put meat
directly on to this grill or should I cover or replace them?

wire brush it to knock off the loose stuff, and wipe down with a cloth
and some cooking oil.
After heating and re-seasoning, the grates will seal themselves off
pretty well. Ingesting a little iron oxide won't harm most people with
normal metabolic functions.

This might not be good for some folks with liver conditions. (Ask Kili)
but most other people could use a little extra iron in their diet.

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
I just inherited a grill from my neighbor it works great but the
grates I'll be cooking on are pretty rusty. Is it ok to put meat
directly on to this grill or should I cover or replace them?

While you can always replace those grates, what should also work well is

1.Heat them up over some coals.

2. Once they are nice and hot, take a wire brush to them (use long handled
pliers or channel locks to hold on to the grates when brushing) to get as
much of the rust off as you can.

3. When cooled down wipe them down generously with veggie oil of your choice

4. Finally, heat the oiled down grates over coals again.

shawn wrote:
Joe wrote:
I just inherited a grill from my neighbor it works great but the
grates I'll be cooking on are pretty rusty. Is it ok to put meat
directly on to this grill or should I cover or replace them?

wire brush it to knock off the loose stuff, and wipe down with a cloth
and some cooking oil.
After heating and re-seasoning, the grates will seal themselves off
pretty well. Ingesting a little iron oxide won't harm most people
with normal metabolic functions.

This might not be good for some folks with liver conditions. (Ask
Kili) but most other people could use a little extra iron in their
diet.

As I was reading this, I was thinking, nope, not eating at his house! LOL.

kili

kilikini wrote:

As I was reading this, I was thinking, nope, not eating at his house! LOL.

kili


I'm with you! I wouldn't want to even consider eating
anywhere that someone would even contemplate such a thing.

--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
kilikini wrote:

As I was reading this, I was thinking, nope, not eating at his house!
LOL.

kili


I'm with you! I wouldn't want to even consider eating anywhere that
someone would even contemplate such a thing.


Actually, now that I think about it a little bit, I'm
smelling troll pretty strongly.

--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
Steve Calvin wrote:

kilikini wrote:

As I was reading this, I was thinking, nope, not eating at his
house! LOL.

kili


I'm with you! I wouldn't want to even consider eating anywhere that
someone would even contemplate such a thing.


Actually, now that I think about it a little bit, I'm smelling troll
pretty strongly.

Nope, no troll. Ive done it, and you can really re-season them after a
cleanup. Most people don't realize it, but anytime you cook with Cast
Iron anything, it adds a measurable amount of iron to the food.

"shawn" wrote in message
...
Joe wrote:
I just inherited a grill from my neighbor it works great but the
grates I'll be cooking on are pretty rusty. Is it ok to put meat
directly on to this grill or should I cover or replace them?

wire brush it to knock off the loose stuff, and wipe down with a cloth
and some cooking oil.
After heating and re-seasoning, the grates will seal themselves off
pretty well. Ingesting a little iron oxide won't harm most people with
normal metabolic functions.

This might not be good for some folks with liver conditions. (Ask Kili)
but most other people could use a little extra iron in their diet.

I suspect you'd probably get more iron from drinking some kinds of well
water than from a rusty grill.

shawn wrote:

Nope, no troll. Ive done it, and you can really re-season them after a
cleanup. Most people don't realize it, but anytime you cook with Cast
Iron anything, it adds a measurable amount of iron to the food.

Not quite sure I agree. Of course you can clean CI and
re-season it. My reasoning for the "troll" comment was that
anyone would even think about cooking on something that was
rusted without cleaning it up first. NFW I'm eatin' what
they're serving. And I'm still smelling strong troll smells. ;-)

--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
shawn wrote:

Nope, no troll. Ive done it, and you can really re-season them after
a cleanup. Most people don't realize it, but anytime you cook with
Cast Iron anything, it adds a measurable amount of iron to the food.

Not quite sure I agree. Of course you can clean CI and re-season it. My
reasoning for the "troll" comment was that anyone would even think about
cooking on something that was rusted without cleaning it up first. NFW
I'm eatin' what they're serving. And I'm still smelling strong troll
smells. ;-)

Long ago, I had CI grates in a grill and yes, they'd occasionally have
some rusty areas. That's one reason why I still prefer the more
practical SS bars for the cooking surface. In my case, I never used any
chemical to loosen or remove the rust. I would just hit it with a wire
brush, wipe on cooking oil and wipe the grates clean with a towel. I'd
then repeat the process until the towel would finally come away
reasonably clean. That got rid of any rust that would have transferred
to food.

I know that a CI grate will probably leave a better sear mark in meat,
but the SS bars do it well enough for me.

Nonny

--
---Nonnymus---
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Nonnymus wrote:

I know that a CI grate will probably leave a better sear mark in meat,
but the SS bars do it well enough for me.

Nonny


Dunno what kind of grill you have but if it's a Weber get
the porcelain coated CI grates. While they don't mark as
well as CI, they're pretty dang close.

--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

Steve Calvin wrote:
Nonnymus wrote:

I know that a CI grate will probably leave a better sear mark in meat,
but the SS bars do it well enough for me.

Nonny


Dunno what kind of grill you have but if it's a Weber get the porcelain
coated CI grates. While they don't mark as well as CI, they're pretty
dang close.


Do you feel that would be superior, still, to SS bars, like I presently
have? They're absolutely 0 maintenance, outside of occasionally
covering with aluminum foil and heating to clean off debris. The SS
bars give me decent sear lines.

--
---Nonnymus---
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Nonnymus wrote:


Steve Calvin wrote:
Nonnymus wrote:

I know that a CI grate will probably leave a better sear mark in
meat, but the SS bars do it well enough for me.

Nonny


Dunno what kind of grill you have but if it's a Weber get the
porcelain coated CI grates. While they don't mark as well as CI,
they're pretty dang close.


Do you feel that would be superior, still, to SS bars, like I presently
have? They're absolutely 0 maintenance, outside of occasionally
covering with aluminum foil and heating to clean off debris. The SS
bars give me decent sear lines.

I can't honestly say. The only "SS" ones I've had were on
the el cheapo grills of the past. I had CI grates with I
bought the Weber and threw them out almost immediately due
to rusting problems and switched to the porcelain coated CI.

If you're happy with 'em, then they work fine. ;-D

--
Steve
http://adirondackoutdoors.forumcircle.com

On 22-Apr-2007, Steve Calvin wrote:

Steve Calvin wrote:
kilikini wrote:

As I was reading this, I was thinking, nope, not eating at his house!
LOL.

kili


I'm with you! I wouldn't want to even consider eating anywhere that
someone would even contemplate such a thing.


Actually, now that I think about it a little bit, I'm
smelling troll pretty strongly.

--
Steve

Come to think of it, every grill I've ever owned before I moved
to Flor i duh got rusty in the wintertime. And I don't remember
every doing anything particularly special to the grates when
the grill finally reappeared from under the snow. I just turned
on the heat, brushed them like I always do and got on with
the cooking.

If it's going to kill me, it better hurry up.

Brick (Youth is wasted on young people)

Steve Calvin wrote:
shawn wrote:

Nope, no troll. Ive done it, and you can really re-season them after
a cleanup. Most people don't realize it, but anytime you cook with
Cast Iron anything, it adds a measurable amount of iron to the food.


Not quite sure I agree. Of course you can clean CI and re-season it. My
reasoning for the "troll" comment was that anyone would even think about
cooking on something that was rusted without cleaning it up first. NFW
I'm eatin' what they're serving. And I'm still smelling strong troll
smells. ;-)

You mean the OP was troll smelling, and I just fell for it?