Grill Grates - Damaged or Dirty?


 
Any wisdom on getting the good crust on thinner cuts with fast cook times?

Crust and grill marks are not exactly the same thing. But they are related. Let's do the thermodynamic science to answer your question.

What you are asking about generally is the browning of the outside of the meat.

The best/most efficient method for outside browning is conduction -- meaning hot metal in direct contact with the food. Conduction is why/how you get grate marks. Because the hot metal grates touching the food brown faster than the hot air touching the food in between the grates.

If you want an all over crust/browning (rather than just stripes) using conduction, then cook on a griddle or a cast iron pan rather than on hot grates. Perfect example is how crusty the outside of a thin smash burger gets in no time at all when cooked on a flat top.

Another example is the story of how "black and blue" or "Pittsburgh rare" steaks started. Steel mill workers would supposedly throw a steak on the metal side of a 2,000 °F blast furnace, leave it for a few moments, and then turn it. The steak was charred/seared outside but raw inside.

Second best is thermal radiation aka infrared light energy. Charcoal grills cook mostly via radiation when in direct mode. Given the big IR from the charcoal, you can still get excellent browning even when using very thin metal grates. Gas grills have low IR, which is why some gassers add extra IR burners for better searing/browning.

Gassers cook mostly by convection -- flow of hot air over the food. Convection is the weakest for browning. So browning a thin cut on a gasser is sub-optimal.

So the best answer is to cook your thin cuts in a method that is mostly conduction or radiation. To get better browning from my gasser, I sear on an add-on griddle (actually the flat side of GrillGrates) covering half the grill top. Or you can cook direct over live charcoal. Or you can use an IR burner.

Cranking up the convection heat on a conventional gasser probably won't brown fast enough if you have a short cook time with a thin cut.

You can also try doctoring the surface with oil, butter, etc. But using a browning forward energy transfer method is the best way to go.

Meathead explains further:

amazingribs.com

The Thermodynamics of Cooking and How Different Cooking Methods Work

Learn about thermodynamics: the basis of all cooking! Find out how heat transference works in your grill, bbq, and smoker.
amazingribs.com
 
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You'd need either a lot of BTUs and or plenty of time to heat that large mass up. But once hot likely would take a week to cool back down LOL
 
Yep, great for longer cooks. But they are not stainless....OK, but not optimal and secondly, they would be tough to clean between the slats.. I guess a guy could find something to run between the bars.
 
Bruce said:
Yep, great for longer cooks. But they are not stainless....OK, but not optimal and secondly, they would be tough to clean between the slats.. I guess a guy could find something to run between the bars.
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Not like you're gonna hurt them. Big ol putty knife or such
 
LMichaels said:
Well many of those premixed seasonings have quite a lot of sugar which of course gives the black lines.
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My point in the picture of the pork chops was not the grill marks (made on cast iron, not GrillGrates FWIW); rather I was contrasting the overall color/texture of the three chops with the seasoning vs. the one with just some seasoned salt. Tsunami Spin from Dizzy Pig that I used does have sugar as an ingredient, so the “crust” - along with the grill marks - is primarily from caramelized sugar. I think it looks good, though, and it tasted good as well. That would be true even if I avoided making grill marks as much as possible.

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Believe me Jon. On those rare occasions I've wanted to "put on a show" I will actually sprinkle just a hint of sugar on. Not so much you would taste. But to make the lines for show. I've never done it on any photo I post though (as that would not be honest of me). Beside, everyone knows I really work at getting an overall crust. So I never (willingly) cook thin steaks or chops. Except for 2 people. 1 my wife who will only eat incinerated meat, and same for daughter's SO who is also like my wife and he only wants things incinerated. Hurts my heart what they make me do to meat
 
LMichaels said:
On thin cuts it's very difficult if not nearly impossible to get "lines" or even crust without an over cook.
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I totally agree with that statement I only do rib eyes and filets from costco which are very thick. I have stainless rod grates and have no problem getting sear marks. Get the Silver C to 550 or higher all three burners clean them shut off the back burner only run the front 2 burners which is 550 by now. We like less than medium rare almost the same method steaks room temp rub with olive oil salt and pepper 5 minutes aside always and I mean always never flipped to the same area move to the right on a clean section when flipped
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
I totally agree with that statement I only do rib eyes and filets from costco which are very thick. I have stainless rod grates and have no problem getting sear marks. Get the Silver C to 550 or higher all three burners clean them shut off the back burner only run the front 2 burners which is 550 by now. We like less than medium rare almost the same method steaks room temp rub with olive oil salt and pepper 5 minutes aside always and I mean always never flipped to the same area move to the right on a clean section when flipped
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That's exactly how I do them - comes out "grate" :D
 
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