Summer is almost here, time to replace the grill...

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Organic 80/20 beef patties, mushrooms...

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toasted Parmesan cheese...

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1+1

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+mushrooms

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+ truffle oil and creamy mustard = ps9's Umami burger

 
Almost that time again.. my grill's seems to be holding up well.. gonna refill the tank for the summer... saw cedar plank salmon in the frozen section at Costco.. that should be easy.  gonna focus more on seafood this year... grilling prawns/lobsters/fish/calamari.......gotta work on timing as well.. eating cold bbq...is a waste of time. 

My mangrates are in pretty bad shape... anyone recommend a good cleaner for cast iron? 
 
I just used regular oven cleaner on the mangrates... Placed them in a trash bag and sat it out in the sun for an afternoon.  Used some Brillo or brush wire and then sprayed them down.

If its rusting it means you didn't season enough or it burnt off..
 
ps9, did you find a good way to clean your mangrates? My mangrates from last season are rusted. Debating whether I should bother cleaning it or just throw it away.
 
Spray Pam on it, high heat, and scrub with the brush.. Rust should come off, make sure it is super heated though... Otherwise I would replace them... Don't like using chemicals on them..
 
Your "mangrates" or whatever they're called are just a pre-seasoned cast iron, right? I am very familiar with cast iron cookware as I kinda have an obsession with Lodge cookware. I take pretty good care of mine, so, no rust. However, I've noticed a lot of info online about how to remove rust from cast iron when I was thinking about buying some antique pieces. I've even seen a video with a guy taking it to his garage to remove it -- I believe he used a wire wheel brush. Google it, you'll see. Others use steel wool, oven cleaner, I can't remember all the tips.

If I may make one suggestion to help... Maybe Ps9 has had good results wtih Pam, however, I've had the worst results with it. I don't let any cooking spray touch my cast iron anymore. It gunks up cast iron, gets sticky, will stick when you wipe it down. Before you know it, the spray build-up is as hard to remove as anything else. I hope this helps.
 
Decided to throw away my rusted Mangrates. I figured it's not worth my time and elbow grease to scrub all that rust off. I'm not a fan of the Mangrates. Too difficult to maintain. Even the Mangrate brush is completely rusted.
 
Costco said:
Decided to throw away my rusted Mangrates. I figured it's not worth my time and elbow grease to scrub all that rust off. I'm not a fan of the Mangrates. Too difficult to maintain. Even the Mangrate brush is completely rusted.

Let me guess.. after each time you grill you just leave the brush and mangrates alone without cleaning?  Happened to me the first time and then I just cleaned them and reseasoned them a day after use.
 
You re-season the grates after every use? That's some mad dedication to the craft. I guess I'm just too lazy to be owning Mangrates.
 
Costco said:
You re-season the grates after every use? That's some mad dedication to the craft. I guess I'm just too lazy to be owning Mangrates.

Scrape them with the brush to get the junk off and use a pump sprayer with oil in it to give a little oil coat to prevent rust.

You can probably get away with just brush scraping the gunk off.  Don't heat bake the gunk off and that'll boil your seasoning off too.
 
Costco said:
You re-season the grates after every use? That's some mad dedication to the craft. I guess I'm just too lazy to be owning Mangrates.

No, he's not stripping it and re-seasoning. That's a different process. He's just cleaning & maintaining the seasoning. Just as we don't wear clothes 1 time and throw them away / buy all new instead of cleaning them, the grill also should be cleaned. Unless, of course, you only wear your clothes once.

How did they became rusted to begin with? Cast iron needs moisture to rust. Seems hard to accomplish with grates unless they were left out in the rain or put in the dishwasher (God forbid). Cookware is more susceptible to rust.

To clean my cookware, I go like this:

- Wait for it to cool down.
- Scrub with a brush while rinsing in water. Do not put cold water on hot cast iron! You will risk thermal shock, which could cause it to crack.
- Do not use soap!
- Put back on the flame.
- Heat to completely evaporate water. Remember, we don't want it to rust.
- If there is anything still stuck to the pan, I heat 'til it smokes / burns off.
- Turn off heat. In a few minutes while it's still hot but warm enough to handle, apply tallow or shortening. Oil only if it has a high smoke-point. Never cooking spray. Wipe it around with a towel.

If I've cooked a high-fat food, I skip these steps because they simply are not necessary. You can just wait for it to cool down then wipe off.

For grates, you could use salt to help scrub off the cooked on food. You don't want to go too, too abrasive unless you want to strip it.

I'm thinking about getting that cute lil' Lodge grill.  :-* If I do I'll be sure to post here if I have any problems with it. My secret fantasy is to one day get an old-time chuckwagon to take camping with alll my cast iron and cobalt enamelware in it. I even want the triangle chuckwagon bell.  :-[ I think I was born in the wrong century.
 
Just bought a Weber Performer Platinum grill. I'm somewhat of a purist so I picked the classic American charcoal kettle grill but with an ignition button and a cart with counter. No more newspaper and chimney starter. I like the hinged grate and ash catcher. I grew up on the kamado (Big Green Egg). Thought about it again but we experienced the cracking problem they've been notorious for. Also the vent at the bottom would choke until we took it all apart to clean it out (messy). Slow to heat. I'm a fan of the One-Touch.
Most importantly the Weber is:
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'Merica! I try to support American jobs whenever possible. Weber is American. Plus I agree with the previous poster about wanting to avoid hazardous  \Chinese products.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DGpNgB7nm6Y[/youtube]

I really can't watch this video without laughing at the guys' tennis shoes. Something about the bright white laces, all tied perfectly. So girly.  :D Their preppy little khakis and the little pastel polo shirt. It's like they tried too hard to make them look "perfect" for the video. What man really looks like this when grilling? Not Iho. That's who. (I wonder if he'll actually read this. Hehehe.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nNxktbz6mQ[/youtube]
http://www.weber.com/grills/category/charcoal
 
WOW! Nearly $21,000! Check that out. Does it use stacks of bills for fuel?

Hey, you guys. Check out The Smoking Meat Forums sometime. It is pretty interesting. I found lots of good info there. Talk smoking, cold smoking,  recipes, techniques, advice, reviews on products, etc. I noticed several of the members have various cookers and can compare.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/

 
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Got it for $0.90 at Target at the district... Near the entrance with the rest of the cheap stuff...70% off....goes great with the Kalamazoo...

Note the distressed wood handle, just like restoration hardware...:). Bottle opener does make it just a bit trashy...
 
Little over two years, getting gross, time to replace the grill.  Saw this is at the North Irvine Target today:
http://www.target.com/p/char-broil-2-burner-gas-grill-black/-/A-12943130
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Looks the same as my old grill, just a newer model.  Online is $20 more, in-store it's on clearance for $70.  It's in the loser section in the back of the store.  Two left I believe.  Perfect grill for 99%er's, I can spend thousands on a built-in now that I have a real backyard, but I'm still not ready to commit.  $70 plus transfer over my mangrates and cover and it's a cheap fix for grillin'.  My old grill survived two years plus a move.  Never had any issues nor did it fall apart on me, hopefully the replacement will be just as trouble free.  Set aside some time to put it together, can be frustrating, a glass of wine or beer might sooth the tempers a bit.
 
I dunno, man.  I say buy a Weber Genesis and be done with it, instead of buying a new grill every couple of years.  Better burners, even (well evenish) heat and all around better build quality.  If you do decide to get a nice built-in one day, give the Weber to a relative or friend.  My 2 cents and not even worth that much.
 
Hmmm... $70 vs $700 ($500 is around a slickdeal).. the mangrates help with the weaker burners, and I get the nice grill marks.  Plus I'll chuck them when it gets nasty.  How much to replace the grill plates on the Weber? 
 
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