She says oil your food, not the grate

[Bob Correll]

I know Steven Raichlen, and others, say to oil those grates, but Elizabeth Karmel says oil that food.
Oiling hot grates always seemed silly to me, it burns right off.

Grilling expert: You can avoid ‘most of your problems’ by following one simple rule

There’s one common grilling practice that Elizabeth Karmel can’t get behind, and unfortunately “a lot of chefs and writers tell people to do it.”

www.newsnationnow.com

 

[Brenda T]

I am also in the "oil the food" camp.

Although, I do put a dab on a paper towel to wipe down the grates after brushing.
My main reason for doing that is to catch any loose bristles.

 

[Bill F in Ontario]

I also oil the food not the grates, I have cast iron grates and only oil them for preventative maintenance , I have watched a lot of cooking shows including "Americas Test Kitchen " and by the time they oil the grates and put the food on all the oil has burned off.

 

[timothy]

I still spray Pam or some type similar on my WSM grates.
Kettle I do like Brenda.

 

[Chris Allingham]

I spray PAM on almost every meat I cook on my Summit gas grill because almost everything sticks until there's a good sear on each side, then I can flip effortlessly after that. I often loosen meat from the surface with a spatula on the first turn.

 

[Rich G]

I lube everything! Oil for the grates and food, bourbon for the cook!

 

[C Lewis]

Oil the food here too.

 

[Jim C in Denver]

Follow the science. Oil the food not the grates.

But oiling the grates does work, so long as the oil does not carbonize. Meaning the oiled grates don't get too hot for too long before the food (which cools the grates and oil down) goes on.

PSA: You Should Never Oil Your Grates Before Grilling

It won't stop your food from sticking -- and there's a better solution.

www.huffpost.com

 

[BFletcher]

Still, Raichlen makes everything he does seem believable and correct. My all-time favorite episode is with his buddy Frank Ostini at The Hitching Post using the Santa Maria grill. Their chemistry, the technique, and food make me wish I were there with them.

I know, I know; I haven't contributed anything useful here.

 

[Joe T Gomez]

Has anybody tried do use a sliced potato in half or an onion and rub your grills with it that releases the starch from the vegetables and will coat the great to some degree that might help

 

[JayHeyl]

I've not experimented with oiled vs non-oiled so I can't really address that, but I become skeptical when I read something I know is scientifically unsound. To me it casts doubt on all the points unless they're well proven. The idea that oiling your food will keep all the moisture inside is ludicrous. When you deep fry chicken or potatoes, you're dunking the food in oil. How much more oiled can it get? Yet the oil becomes extremely turbulent because the moisture is escaping the food, turning to steam when it hits the hot oil, and causing all that turbulence. Clearly, moisture is leaving the food even though it's completely coated with oil. So the later point about oil keeping all the moisture in the food is clearly not true and that, to me, casts doubt on the other unproven contentions as well.

 

[MichaelM]

I oil the food. It just burns off the grates and in some instances it does so in epic fashion! Never saw value in the flame thrower experience other than for entertainment.

 

[LMichaels]

Rarely oil anything and i don't have any issues. AMOF I have trouble getting some things to stick that I want to stick LOL. Like the skin side of salmon. I cook it skin side down, hoping for the "stick" so when I take it off the spatula slides cleanly between the skin and the flesh

 

[Jerry N.]

I always oil my grates and usually oil the food. I have SS grates. I heat up my gasser to burn off anything left over from last cook. I then brush/scrape the grates to clean them off. Last is a wipe with a paper towel with oil on it. May be totally off track, but I view that oil burning on the grates similar to seasoning a cast iron pan. The carbon should provide some non stick nature to the grates. Oh well, that’s my belief and I’m sticking to it.

I also oil most meat (not hamburgers). I put a coating of oil on the meat as a base for the seasonings/rub to stick. This also creates a bit of a marinade as I let the meat sit while I prep the grill.

I don’t know how this all works, but I don’t have anything stick. I attribute this to how I cook and not where the oil goes. I leave the meat alone until the meat cooks long enough to release. I’ll test the meat and if it’s still sticking, it’s too soon to flip it. I can’t remember the second side ever sticking.

 

[J Hasselberger]

I‘ll put oil in a pan or on a griddle, but when cooking over live fire, the oil goes on the meat. One thing that seems to help is to blot as much moisture as possible off the food before applying a thin coat of oil.
Jeff

 

[AndyK]

I normally don’t oil anything.
I will add avocado oil to a flattop.
I personally don’t know what is inside Pam and am not the trusting type.

 

[ChuckO]

Rarely oil anything and i don't have any issues. AMOF I have trouble getting some things to stick that I want to stick LOL. Like the skin side of salmon. I cook it skin side down, hoping for the "stick" so when I take it off the spatula slides cleanly between the skin and the flesh

Salmon Skin is the Bacon of the Sea (River & Lakes too)

 

[LMichaels]

Salmon Skin is the Bacon of the Sea (River & Lakes too)

I personally don’t know what is inside Pam and am not the trusting type.

I have a "thing" about fish skin. I know maybe weird but than no one ever accused me being normal
Same with me re Pam. I always wonder what kind of chemical s&*t storm is in that can

 

[JKalchik]

Re: Pam, and other aerosol spray.... not much to it really. A neutral oil, generally a higher temp oil, soy lecithin which is an emulsifier, maybe a preservative, and a propellant.

Me, I don't like getting an aerosol can anywhere near open flames, so only cold grills. I use a little paper towel with vegetable oil to apply to the hot grill grates, and have the food on generally within a couple of minutes. I can see the point about it burning off. Especially on mild steel, this does season them up pretty well, like a mild steel or cast iron pan. Stainless doesn't season up in the same way, but I stll apparently get the non-stick effect.

 

[timothy]

If you think about it, every time you use a grill brush or scrubber you are essentially oiling the grates, because of the built up grease/gunk leftover in the tool.