First real cook on the Q, less than impressed.


 
A

Andrew Gahagan

TVWBB Member
Cooked some chicken and assorted veggies tonight. The chicken stuck solid to the grate, something I've never had an issue with before. Is this just because of the type of grate used with the Q? I did put a brushing of olive oil on the grate, and still took some force to remove the chicken.

Any other method to prevent it from sticking?
 
I seasoned my grates a few times before using the first time and that helps alot. Use a higher temp oil like vegetable or canola for seasoning, NOT olive oil which tends to burn.
 
Scott C. said:
I seasoned my grates a few times before using the first time and that helps alot. Use a higher temp oil like vegetable or canola for seasoning, NOT olive oil which tends to burn.
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I was wondering if this was needed or not. What steps did you do on the grate? I've scraped off what I can of the burnt on stuff. I generally use Crisco for my seasoning, however I do have a large can of bacon grease to use :cool:
 
olive oil is not a good choice. but if its sticking its not ready to turn. it will release when its ready. also try a higher temp as mentioned. also oil both the grate and chicken. but i think oiling the grate and making sure the skin is dry is best. just experiment and see what works for you. you will never get perfect results the first try most times. thats what makes this so much fun !
 
George Curtis said:
olive oil is not a good choice. but if its sticking its not ready to turn. it will release when its ready. also try a higher temp as mentioned. also oil both the grate and chicken. but i think oiling the grate and making sure the skin is dry is best. just experiment and see what works for you. you will never get perfect results the first try most times. thats what makes this so much fun !
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Ditto what George said...
Keep grilling and it will get better.
 
Just did Salmon steaks on my 220 last night. No sticking. Perfect marks so unsure what went wrong for you.
 
breasts were skinless. I really didn't want to apply oil to the chicken, had a rub on there. I'll try veggie oil next time. I should say that I really did not oil the grate too heavily, up until now I've never had a need to. Chicken was definitely ready to turn though.

Food was placed on the grill when the temp. read 450, so I don't know if heat was the issue. I think I'm going to try scraping the gunk off the grate today and seasoning it like I do cast iron pans (Crisco shortening and into the oven at 325 for a while). Will this work with the grate or do I risk damaging it?
 
It'll work but it's overkill. Get the grill rippin hot. Brush the grate than oil it. Plain canola or such is fine. I usually spray it with Pam than light, heat cook
 
I like using canola, which works best with a spray bottle. Crisco in the tub is fine for pans that are easy to coat completely by hand. With the spray bottle, I use a large metal pan for changing oil in a car, and spray them good, let them drip off a bit, then stick them in the grill for about an hour or so at ~350. I just get them until they are just sticky and won't drip anymore, then put them in the oven at 350 and let them go for around 2 hours. I do that 3 or 4 times and get a nice hard baked on coating and it's like using teflon. Works real well. Trick is to not got too hot. I do this when new and do another coat after 3 or 4 cooks, when things start feeling a little "sticky".
 
Well I ended up doing this one a little differently than I thought I would.

Finished cleaning it off finally, then I put it in the oven at 250 for 15 minutes to dry off. After I took it out, I put a spoon full or two of the Crisco (all I had) onto a paper town and liberally applied it to the top of the grate. It was still hot, it basically melted all over the grate, no spots missed. Into the oven at 350 for an hour right now. I think this should work. Should have known to season it before hand though. I'm not used to new cast iron, I only by stuff used so its already got the good season on it.
 
When I finish cooking I brush the grate,wipe it and apply vegetable oil.I also oil it before the next cook.I always let it heat on high for 10 minutes and cu it to low on everything but steak.Yoy have to treat these grates like a cast iron pan.
 
Weber specifically states the grates on the Q320 (which I'm thinking about) are porcelain coated cast iron which would preclude the need for seasoning. I assumed all Q cast iron grates were the same. From what you folks are saying they are not? Marketing hype from Weber?
 
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Nope. All the weber CI grates are coated in some way. And actually even if not seasoned will work VERY well if used correctly
 
Weber states their Q - CI grates are porcelain coated, but they aren't. Not sure why they don't bother to correct this, but this misinformation has been published for along time and continues to this day. I think they need to rattle some cages with the marketing types over there.

That said, like most CI today you see out there, they only do a quick seasoning just enough to prevent rusting from production to sale. Just like a new CI pan, you really can help yourself alot in taking the time to season the grates a few times before using them, and regularly thereafter. If you take the time, CI can be almost as slick as teflon, and quite resistant to rust. However, you have to take care of it.
 
Scott C. said:
Weber states their Q - CI grates are porcelain coated, but they aren't. Not sure why they don't bother to correct this, but this misinformation has been published for along time and continues to this day. I think they need to rattle some cages with the marketing types over there.

That said, like most CI today you see out there, they only do a quick seasoning just enough to prevent rusting from production to sale. Just like a new CI pan, you really can help yourself alot in taking the time to season the grates a few times before using them, and regularly thereafter. If you take the time, CI can be almost as slick as teflon, and quite resistant to rust. However, you have to take care of it.
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It didn't look, or feel like porcelain coated grates so I'm glad to know I'm not crazy.

I'm a little worried about my grate now though. I can't tell if its rust, or some slightly burned grease on it. It hasn't been outside, and it has been grilled on once. I will say it took a lot of water and heavy scraping to get the burned gunk off.
 
Does sound like a big deal, but here's what you can do. First, put the grates back on the grill. Place a sheet of HD aluminum foil over the grates, light it up, close the lid, and run both burners on high for about 10-15 minutes. Open the grill, remove the foil and brush them good with a STAINLESS brush. If you use a cheap steel brush, it will embed little pieces of steel and that will promote rusting. Then let them cool. Once cool, brush them real good, top and bottom.

Then get a tub of hot water ( I got one from HD) and Dawn dish soap and let them soak for a while. Scrub them good, rinse, and dry very thoroughly. They should now be ready for seasoning and this will give you a good start point. I always do a few coats, over a few days, allowing the grates to cool before each new coat, and making sure each coat is completely dry (not tacky). Some folks think I go overboard, until they see what a difference good seasoning can make.

Good luck.
 
Sorry Scott gotta call foul on your recommendation. Weber CS has warned emphatically about this. That lower end is NOT designed to handle that much reflected heat. Also for the record the grates ARE porcelain coated CI. It is done using a new process that embeds the porcelain into the cast iron not just a coating. I have used Weber CI grates brand new out of the box with no special treatment and have had no sticking. They DO WORK as advertised. Seasoning does improve them a little but is certainly not a necessity. Anyway HUGE CAUTION do not put foil on the grates and ramp up the heat. I ruined a firebox on a Genesis doing that trick.
 
LMichaels said:
Sorry Scott gotta call foul on your recommendation. Weber CS has warned emphatically about this. That lower end is NOT designed to handle that much reflected heat. Also for the record the grates ARE porcelain coated CI. It is done using a new process that embeds the porcelain into the cast iron not just a coating. I have used Weber CI grates brand new out of the box with no special treatment and have had no sticking. They DO WORK as advertised. Seasoning does improve them a little but is certainly not a necessity. Anyway HUGE CAUTION do not put foil on the grates and ramp up the heat. I ruined a firebox on a Genesis doing that trick.
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You know LMichaels, I'm really not sure why you have this need to toss darts my way at every opportunity, but regarding the foiling to clean, that was Phil Harchers own recommendation. Look it up. I'm sure you will likely argue with him too, even though he's a Weber rep, right? Why don't you track him down and set him straight, OK? Again, this is from a totally cold grill, and you end it promptly. I do it on my 670 too, and the 4000 before that, that still runs like new 17 years later. I guess the Genesis series must have been the weak-link, as it couldn't possibly be you, right? ;) Obviously, you ran it too long if you ran into a problem, which wouldn't surprise me, so I can understand why Weber emphatically warned YOU to stay away from the grill. However, for those who pay attention and aren't easily distracted won't have an issue. Again, direct your complaints to Phil, and leave me out of it, OK? Or, maybe you should report him to the mother ship to protect mankind. ;)

Second, Weber could stick a a few flakes of gold in the molten cast iron, and call them gold grates if they thought the marketing ploy would help, BUT they are NOT the traditional porcelain coated grates you see on the Spirits and old Genesis's. I HAVE plenty of experience with those, and know the difference very well. You must not. These grates WILL rust, and behave just like CI, so if there is indeed some porcelain in them, you sure can't tell, it's definitely not a coating, and it certainly doesn't make much of a difference. If they act and behave EXACTLY like the traditional CI grates they've always had, and most importantly WILL rust, then they need to be seasoned, thoroughly, correctly, and regularly - Again, just like Phil recommended.

Lastly, you are entitled to your opinion that YOU think running the grates right out of the box is fine, and I'm sure many people do. I'm glad it works for you, but the OP is reporting sticking problems, and extra seasoning will only help. Why are you trying to suggest otherwise? It's pretty clear that instead of helping the guy, you'd rather find fault with him, as it couldn't possibly be the grates, right? Since when is extra seasoning ever a bad thing? You make no sense?

So again, what's your point? Just a slow night at the homestead?
 
Not "throwing darts" at you. Really. But I HAVE ruined a fire box personally because of using foil on the grates (and no I did not let anything get out of hand). It happened. I'd be happy to show you a photo but I threw it out long ago. When I called Weber on the carpet THEY are the ones who told me NEVER do this because the aluminum casting cannot and was not designed to take that amount of reflected heat.
As for the grates they ARE a PCI product. It is a totally new process (and not just Weber uses it now. High end stuff like Wolf (yes Wolf) makes them that way now (and yes Wolf still has CI grates available I know cause I have one), and used PROPERLY they really do work quite well out of the box. They are no more prone to stick out of the box than stainless or the old Weber porcelain steel stamped grates. Meaning YES they WILL stick if care is not taken. I NEVER said or indicated that ANY of them are non stick. But used properly they work quite well with no jumping through hoops. Will a little seasoning help them perform even better? You bet and I never said otherwise.
And no there is no such thing as a slow night at my homestead (not that I would not like one) but a very active 3 yo boy makes sure that is otherwise.
You may interpret my caution as "darts" but frankly they are not. I have no reason or desire to throw a dart at anybody. Only not wanting to see someone have what happened to me happen to them. As for darts I think I just felt one though your aim was a little off :-) Be well
 
Again, based on some of your posts, I have no doubt at all that you ruined your grill. No need to scramble for a photo. Trust me, I believe you, but I find it interesting that you attempted to 'Call Out" Weber on the matter? You can't be serious?? You just confirmed my hunch that they 'emphatically' hoped YOU would avoid grilling all together after that brilliant move.

So regarding the foil, if Phil recommends using foil for cleaning, and many others have used this method, including myself for many years successfully, it can't possibly be that you did something wrong, like running it too long, which is the only logical possibility? Here's a news flash, there is no possible way you melted down a grill with foil in 10 minutes. Surely this is something you have to be careful with, but it's not rocket science. You start with a cold grill, run it 10 min, (in the summer, a bit longer in the winter) and pull the foil and brush good. What is so hard to figure out here?? I'm not sure why you have this need to pick apart everything people post, but your stuff is getting old.

On the grates, I'm glad you finally admitted more seasoning is a GOOD thing and will only help reducing sticking, which is EXACTLY what I said. I don't care what they are made of, but if they rust - unlike true porcelain coated (until chipped) - then they need to be seasoned, Period. All you are doing is confusing the subject with your jibberish ambushes. If they work well enough out of the box for you, great. Point is, they will work BETTER to season them first, with NO adverse effects, so why suggest otherwise and blame the OP for the sticking? Come on already.

So again, what was your little tizzy fit, news flash all about? Everything in your "urgent" post was unfounded, other than admitting that you, in your infinite wisdom, ruined a grill. I'm proud of you - Really. Great work! Now, please stop responding and arguing with my posts, OK?
 
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