Last Update On : 27 January 2021
We usually grill beef steak, hamburgers, chickens, vegetables to make delicious, smoked as well as grilled foods. To make proper edible and healthy food it is important to grill them properly. It is also important to grill the food properly to get the absolute taste. We grill foods on grill grates and there are various kind of grill grates because they are coated or made off with various ingredients. Some grill grates are made of iron or stainless steel on the other hand, some grill grates are coated with aluminum's or metals. Well, here we will talk about how to season cast iron grill grates weber smoker.
Contents
What is seasoning?
We usually grill the foods which contains water as we have to wash them before cook or grill. On the other, after washing we also use various kinds of ingredients to marinate them and make the food tastier which also contains water substances. But water is not good for the grill grates because the ingredients, the grates are made of, are most of the metals and metals reacts with water and converts into rust when it comes in contact with water. To prevent this problem, you can coat the grates with oil which protects the grill grates from being rusty because of food and water and the way we coat the grates with oil is called seasoning.
The usefulness of cast iron grill grate
Iron is good metal which can contain a large amount of heat which makes easy to cook foods in less time. That heat also lasts for a long time which help to save fuel.
Before using iron grates, you need know about some facts for better use. Like though it is easy to use and save money too, it will rust at a time and then you cannot use then because it will not good for health. We also know that metals are chemically very active and as iron is a metal so it reacts so quickly with other elements and corrode very easily in less time. To avoid these problems, we need to season the grates properly.
Why seasoning the iron grates is important?
If you want a grilled food made by iron grates, you have to season them because it is very important to make the food healthy.
We know that rust is not an edible element as well as it is not good for health. So if you want to prevent rust, you have to coat the grates with oil.
We usually grill various kinds of foods using iron grill grates and so by time, the iron grill grates become very sticky while you are making grilled and smoky food. To get the food fresh and proper cooked, you need Proper seasoning with proper oil that can help you to avoid this problem.
To make the iron grates long lasting and keep them healthy you must avoid corrode of iron which can be possible by proper seasoning.
How to season cast iron grill grates Weber
Let’s talk about how to season the cast iron grill grates in Weber smokers. Its not quite hard but it is trickier. You need to get used to it.
Ingredients:
Water
Towel
Oil
Paper towels
Tongs
Oven
Processes of seasoning:
For the very first, you have to choose a grill grates which contains best qualities and made off good cast iron.
Bringing the grill grates at home, you need to wash them properly with normal water to make them clean, healthy as well as usable.
Use a clean towel to absorb the water because water is not good for cast iron and the grill grates is already made by cast iron.
Then you need to heat the grill grates at 200-degree Fahrenheit. You can use oven or other heat source.
Select proper oil to make the surface non-sticky.
Use paper towel or brush or tongs to brush the oil on the grill grates.
After applying oil, you need to put the grill grates in the oven. You must put the temperature at the highest point.
Keep the grill grates in the oven for one hour.
After one hour, you need to cool the grill grates. To make the grates cool properly, you have to keep them in the oven for about two hours
You have to repeat the same task for four or five times if you want to seal the cast iron properly.
When you go to shops to buy grill grates, you must choose pure cast iron grill because sometimes some grill grates are coated with porcelain or sometimes with enamel. You have to avoid the porcelain and enamel because of those it takes more time to cook any food as they create a layer which is makes problem to transfer heat properly. Even, if you somehow drop the grill grates on the floor, those porcelain or enamel coat will be broken. The result of broken porcelain or enamel coat will be very bad because this will burn the food in some places and besides you will find some foods which will not be edible because they will not get proper heat to be cooked properly. So, the coat of porcelain or enamel will not be so helpful on cast iron grill grates. It is better to avoid them to save heat and we directly can use cast iron grill grates to get fully cooked and healthy food.
ALSO READ: HOW TO CLEAN WEBER GAS GRILL BURNER TUBES!
Can we use every kind of oil or fat to season the grill grates?
To get a good seasoned grill grates, you have to choose your oil properly. There are so many oils which have different activates and so we need to choose the best oil to season the grates in the best way.
Usually we use oil to prevent the stickiness and make the food more smoked. If we want to explain it in scientific way, we can say that when we use oil in cast iron and heat it, the iron and oil made bonding as the oil convert in a form of plastic and we can describe this process as polymerization. To get proper polymerization, we need to brush oil for some times to make lyres of oil.
Grapes seed oil:
By the suggestions of experts, the best oil for seasoning cast iron grill grates is grapes seed oil because it has various purposes.
It is organic oil and so good for health.
This oil has a lot of polyunsaturated fats and these fats help to make best polymerization and coating which helps to make the food tastier and smoked.
Grapes seed oil makes the grill grates more long lasting.
To get proper smoked food grapes seed oil is the best as it has the high smoking point.
It is affordable.
Soybean oil:
Most of the people use soybean oil to season the grill grates.
Many people recommend it as it is a highly refined oil
It does not contain any proteins which occurs allergy.
It never has any animal oil or peanut oil.
It is so cheap
It is quite easy to buy. Every store sells soybean oil.
Butter and animal fat:
They are saturated fat.
They season the cast iron grill grates naturally.
You do not need to buy any special oil because you can find in your kitchen easily.
Flaxseed oil:
flaxseed oil also quite famous among experts.
It has low smoked point
It dries out very easily and naturally.
Flaxseed oil is quite expensive.
We can buy flaxseed oil from pharmacy and healthy food store. It is tough to find this oil in common stores.
Though it has bad smell, it is healthier than other oils.
We do not need to make layers when we use butter or animal fats.
Other oils:
you can use canola oil. Besides, vegetable oil is also good for health as well as for seasoning. You can also use sunflower oil which is very easy to get. Coconut oil, corn oil, palm oil is also good to use o season cast iron grill grates.
On the other hand, you cannot use olive oil though it has a great flavor and also makes the food healthier because it has low smoking point for which we cannot get the proper smoked flavor and ruin the food and it also not so good for polymerization of cast iron where it is the most important in cast iron grill grates. So, you have to avoid them.
Conclusion:
Always remember that, if you want to use your grill grates for a long time you must season it properly in proper heat and using proper oil. Proper seasoning is also important for good taste and best flavor.
ALSO READ:HOW TO SMOKE ON A GAS GRILL
