Is there such thing as "Cast Stainless Steel?"

[Jon Tofte]

One of our members did a fantastic write up/comparison of different SS grill grates and that string is chock-full of good advice and educated opinions. I tried cast iron grates on my Weber Genesis and got about 3 or 4 years of heavy use out of them (lots of cheeseburgers, steaks, and chicken).

Here's a pic I took of the grates before I tossed them in the dumpster. I probably could have gotten more miles out of them if I had kept them a bit cleaner and dryer between cooks. I decided to change them out because the metal was peeling off in places and I didn't feel good about cooking on them anymore.

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I installed some new grates from Hongso and they fit nicely and seem to be holding up well so far. Here they are doing their job on cheeseburger night. I have a little dish of butter up on the warming rack getting ready to brush onto some buns!

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I think you did pretty well. The modern porcelain-coated cast iron grates all start peeling as the temperature changes affect the porcelain and cast iron a little differently. I personally like the very old cast iron without the porcelain, but they are getting hard to find and only fit the x000 and Silver/Gold/Platinum grills. With no coating they do rust easier and require more care. But at least you don’t have to worry about eating pealed-off porcelain!

Thank you for the kind words about my stainless grate review. My wife was not as impressed and would have been less happy had she realized how many grate sets I bought!