Grill mat or cast iron griddle or what?


 
Jeff Padell

Jeff Padell

TVWBB Pro
I was thinking of adding some functionality to my Genesis Gold and had thought about the grate plates or whatever they are called, since I was mostly thinking of indirect cooking, decided with my rib-o-lator I didn't need it.
Now I am wondering about some sort of grill mat or cast iron griddle, to do veggies or fish or who knows what. What additions are people using on their grills


Here is the rib-o-lator

 
The only reason to use a griddle is to keep your eggs from falling through the grates :). Me? I do EVERYTHING right on the grates (one of the reasons I hate the new Weber products). The grate spacing is so wide stuff can just fall through. But everything (fish, veggies, pizza, seafood,) goes right on the grates. Heck even bacon sometimes. IMO griddles are for pancakes and eggs period. If you know how to cook properly, and pre-season the grates to prevent sticking there is almost nothing you can't do on your grill (provided it has quality grates) and I don't include the new Weber grates or GrillGrates with the name "quality"
FWIW the spacing on the new Weber products is about 3/4". Ridiculous! They used to be only about 3/8". The reason a set of GrillGrates may work on these things is because they are basically ventilated "griddles". You can get the same effect using one of these https://www.lodgemfg.com/griddles-and-grill-pans/pro-grid-iron-reversible-grill-griddle.asp Yeah you get "marks" but not the same effects as working on a quality grill with quality grates
 
LMichaels said:
The only reason to use a griddle is to keep your eggs from falling through the grates :). Me? I do EVERYTHING right on the grates (one of the reasons I hate the new Weber products). The grate spacing is so wide stuff can just fall through. But everything (fish, veggies, pizza, seafood,) goes right on the grates. Heck even bacon sometimes. IMO griddles are for pancakes and eggs period. If you know how to cook properly, and pre-season the grates to prevent sticking there is almost nothing you can't do on your grill (provided it has quality grates) and I don't include the new Weber grates or GrillGrates with the name "quality"
FWIW the spacing on the new Weber products is about 3/4". Ridiculous! They used to be only about 3/8". The reason a set of GrillGrates may work on these things is because they are basically ventilated "griddles". You can get the same effect using one of these https://www.lodgemfg.com/griddles-and-grill-pans/pro-grid-iron-reversible-grill-griddle.asp Yeah you get "marks" but not the same effects as working on a quality grill with quality grates
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How about cooking some chopped mushrooms, al pastor, taco meat, fajitas, etc? Either a griddle or CI no doubt.
 
The grill mats hat I have seen, look like just another gimmick to me, a small cast iron pan works fine for the small stuff.
 
I have a grill mat that we use on the gasser and it works great. To many veggies were falling through the grates and the mat solved the problem. Haven't tried it on the Performer yet but will soon. To me anyway, it is not a gimmick because it has worked for me and to me that is all that matters.
 
Things like you mentioned (Martin) do not require a grill at all. It is still far better, faster and more efficient to simply put one of the Lodge CI units across 2 burners on the stove and go for it. That being said even if you want to use it on the grill it's still a great piece of equipment. I have 3 of them one very large 2 burner model, one small square raised grill one and one that is a single burner flat griddle. I use them all a lot. For things like fajita and such. HOWEVER, if I want grilled veggies I just throw them on the grates. Well made properly spaced grates nothing to worry about. If you're stuck with what Weber is producing now or some off brands than yes you need the "crutch" of the pan but than whats the point of "grilling"?
I guess if I could post photos here I could explain it better. However due to my simple mindedness I cannot get the hang of it no matter how many times I have tried. I think I got a photo to appear once but could never repeat the process. So for now all I can do is describe that when I "grill" I TRULY am "grilling" not using pans or closed off grates what have you. Thankfully the grates on my Genesis and my Summit have just under 3/8" spacing. and the only thing I have ever "lost" in them is pencil thin asparagus. My Wolf has VERY heavy CI grates with spacing of only 1/4" and even thin asparagus does not fall through.
And for chopped mushrooms I find using one of my heavy CI skillets on the stove or side burner of one of my grills is the best way to go. Gets them seared well.
 
I my old genesis 1000 has the rcplaner stainless steel grates. I throw most food directly on the grates. But I do have a couple of grill mats that I use sometimes for fish and smaller vegetables. I think they work great.
 
I been wondering just what those were. Just looked it up. So now I know. In any case IMO MEH. I have better things to do with the money. LOL
 
LMichaels said:
The only reason to use a griddle is to keep your eggs from falling through the grates :). Me? I do EVERYTHING right on the grates (one of the reasons I hate the new Weber products). The grate spacing is so wide stuff can just fall through. But everything (fish, veggies, pizza, seafood,) goes right on the grates. Heck even bacon sometimes. IMO griddles are for pancakes and eggs period. If you know how to cook properly, and pre-season the grates to prevent sticking there is almost nothing you can't do on your grill (provided it has quality grates) and I don't include the new Weber grates or GrillGrates with the name "quality"
FWIW the spacing on the new Weber products is about 3/4". Ridiculous! They used to be only about 3/8". The reason a set of GrillGrates may work on these things is because they are basically ventilated "griddles". You can get the same effect using one of these https://www.lodgemfg.com/griddles-and-grill-pans/pro-grid-iron-reversible-grill-griddle.asp Yeah you get "marks" but not the same effects as working on a quality grill with quality grates
Click to expand...

Come on L quite holding back, tell us what you really think about those new Weber grates:D
I have a large griddle that fits my 2000 and us it a lot to cook eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, grilled burgers etc. I also have CI pans I use exclusively on the grills outside. Why not do them inside, it keeps the heat outside when it's really hot so it doesn't heat up the house by using the stove or oven.
 
LMichaels said:
Fully agreed on keeping heat outside..................believe me I'm uncomfortable above 80F!
Click to expand...

I used to live in the 'burbs of Chicago (Franklin Park) and remember it being 95* with matching humidity in the Summer, that was so miserable. Take a shower and you couldn't dry off.
It gets hot here but the humidity rarely gets above 25%, so it's bearable. The only time I sweat is just before I open the power bill after running the a/c a lot.
 
I have a Weber griddle on my 330 and love it. I use it all the time. It's great for making things like sausage and peppers, eggs, pancakes, burgers, shrimp, pizza....
 
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