Aluminum grill grate covers


 
Jerry N.

Jerry N.

TVWBB Emerald Member
Has anyone used an aluminum grill grate cover like the ones below? If so, how did they work for you?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Clean-BBQ-Disposable-Aluminum-Grill-Liner-12212/202533766

Reason I'm interested is that we're taking a vacation and I know the condo we're renting has natural gas Weber Genesis'. Unfortunately, they are communal and I don't want to clean other people stuff off the grill every time I cook. I'd clean it up real nice if it was a grill exclusive to my unit for the week, but it's not. A cover would also keep me from having to clean up after myself. If not the above, any ideas? We'll mostly be grilling chicken but some steaks will be on the menu at least one day. It's my brother's 60th birthday so we won't be having BS chicken breasts that day :) Probably no lite beer that day either :D
 
I buy the aluminum veggi sheets some times when I am headed some where like that,probably about the same thing but very small openings that nothing can fall thru,
 
I just seen where your from,lived there in the mid 60's,mom worked at fisher body ,moved to MtClemons and left for the last time in 1972 from Rochester hills,like to take a trip back some time and hit a few places and see how bad things have changed
 
At best a waste of time and money. They will not hold heat properly to sear foods, if the food is at all acidic (lemon juice in the marinade, vinegar, etc) you run the risk of aluminum leaching into the food. Bad juju. My mother died of a disease called Lewis Body Dementia. Trust me this is BAAAAAAD stuff that Drs. told us may have been brought on with her generation's love of bare aluminum cookware. Me? I do not use bare aluminum cookware EVER. I am even becoming leery of anodized too. IMO thise covers are dumb at best
 
MikeCantell said:
I just seen where your from,lived there in the mid 60's,mom worked at fisher body ,moved to MtClemons and left for the last time in 1972 from Rochester hills,like to take a trip back some time and hit a few places and see how bad things have changed
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Depends where you go. Rochester Hills is very nice. Livonia is holding up well. Still one of the nicer suburbs in the first ring outside of Detroit. Detroit is really rough but there is finally a glimmer of light in the business and entertainment center of downtown. Overall, the area is holding up, but not what I would call thriving by any means. As I suspect to be the case most everywhere, if you have money, you're doing well and the area you live in is pretty nice. If you don't have money . . .
 
How about a Smokey Joe or a Weber Q? Small enough to travel well and you know where it has been.
 
Just clean the grate, seriously! The aluminum stuff is nasty.
If that’s too much work, carry the extra set of grates and then clean them the same way you would clean the ones you could have used when you get there, this is silly!
 
LMichaels said:
At best a waste of time and money. They will not hold heat properly to sear foods, if the food is at all acidic (lemon juice in the marinade, vinegar, etc) you run the risk of aluminum leaching into the food. Bad juju. My mother died of a disease called Lewis Body Dementia. Trust me this is BAAAAAAD stuff that Drs. told us may have been brought on with her generation's love of bare aluminum cookware. Me? I do not use bare aluminum cookware EVER. I am even becoming leery of anodized too. IMO thise covers are dumb at best
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4 points: 1. I've used them successfully for short periods of time for the same purpose you describe, at around $15, its a no cost option 2. you're going to be there for 7 days, and probably not be grilling every one of those, 3. sorry about your Mom, LMichaels, but you describe a long term use of aluminum cookware -- a far cry from a week. Life is too short, in my view, to fuss too much about low probability dangers 4. the grill does not "hold heat" unless you turn off the gas. The grill gets no hotter than the heat going into it. It is true than the alum will heat up faster than cast iron, but it will also, absent a heat source, cool off faster. As I said initially, for a few days, they are fine.
 
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I would treat it as my own grill, burn it off and brush and scrape.
I wouldn't go out of my way to buy anything unless the thing is a total rust bucket:)

Tim
 
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timothy said:
I would treat it as my own grill, burn it off and brush and scrape.
I wouldn't go out of my way to buy anything unless the thing is a total rust bucket:)

Tim
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I’m am on vacation you know, but you’re probably right. I guess if it’s nasty, I can use HD aluminum foil with holes punched in it.
 
Got back a couple days ago and wanted to report that the grills were actually kept up very well. I don't know if the uses keep the grills (grates) clean or if the property management staff do, but they were in very good shape. I took my own scraper/tools and cleaned them up no different than if I were at home. Happy I took the risk and didn't by anything. Best part is that the steaks I grilled turned out great (aged ny strips). I also did some chicken one day and that turned out well, but I realized that I did not bring my Thermapen. Should have done that. I don't mind a rare steak, but I do like to temp chicken. Oh well, the trip and the food all turned out well.
 
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