"Oil the food, not the grate . . ."

Jamie, good evening. Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise with us.

There are at least two schools of thought on the issue of whether the cooking grate should be oiled before food is placed on the grill.

I have heard you advocate oiling the food, and not the grate. Meanwhile, another prominent author of grilling cookbooks well known to the members of this board (let's call him "Mr. R") urges his readers/viewers/students to always oil the hot grates by, for example, using an oil-soaked paper towel folded into a wad and held with tongs.

You clearly know what you are talking about; I have prepared many of your recipes with uniformly spectacular results (thank you, by the way).

On the other hand, Mr. R is also a well-respected authority, and on this issue, acolytes like me are left to reconcile apparently conflicting teaching by two of our "high priests."

I recognize, of course, that there is room for different approaches, and perhaps this dichotomy is just one illustration of how cooking over live fire is as much an art as it is a science. I sure would be grateful, though, if you could discuss the relative pros (and perhaps cons) of oiling the food as opposed to oiling the grate.

I suspect that many on this board will be paying close attention. Thanks for all of your help over the years.

Sure, Kevin. First of all, I have tons of respect for Mr. R. Let's just call him Steven, a brilliant guy with a world of grilling knowledge. The truth of the matter is that either method can work but I have my reasons for preferring the "oil the food" method. One reason is that it conserves oil. When you brush the grate with oil, much of it falls through the bars and is wasted. That bring me to another reason. Often that wasted oil hits the coals and ignites. Then you have got oily flames to combat. Another reason is that oiling the food assures you of a more thorough coating of the food, so the food is less likely to stick. As if that were not enough, I like the flavor of a good olive oil on most foods. When I worked in restaurants, I oiled the grate just like Steven recommends, the main reason being that I had to work really fast. Grilling 100 steaks and 75 fish fillets and 80 pork chops each night for waiting customers, I didn't have the time to grill each piece of protein. So I wiped the grate a cheap oil and did my best to avoid the towering infernos. At home we have the time to take more care with each piece of food.
Jamie