The Grillgrate Review
Is your food’s presentation almost as important to you as the flavor? Are your grill marks lacking that textbook crosshatch look? Would you like to wow your family and friends at your next cookout? The Grillgrate Review will give you all the Pros and Cons of using this grill grate enhancer and discover if it really is the best way to sear your meat.
Stainless steel and Cast iron grates have been around forever and both can get the job done if you know what you are doing. So why use Grillgrates and are they really a better option than these two mainstays?
First, let’s answer the question…
What Are GrillGrates?
Grillgrates are a pretty awesome invention made from hard anodized aluminum with interlocking panels available in various lengths to fit just about any grill. They help to amplify heat much better than steel or cast iron while distributing it evenly across the cooking surface. Each panel is a flat plate with five raised rails for the food to sit on. They can go directly on top of your current grill’s grates or they can replace them entirely.
Each panel has oval shaped holes in the valleys that allow hot air, smoke, and combustion vapors to rise through them and into your food. This causes the surface to get very hot and distributes the heat evenly across the surface so you aren’t left with the traditional grate hot or cold spots. No more worrying about one side cooking faster than the other.
Another cool feature is GrillGrates can also be turned upside down so you can put meat on an extremely hot flat metal griddle-like surface with holes that allow heat and smoke through. I have seen several people report that this is the only way they sear their meat as it gives a nice char across the entire surface.
Grillgrates are designed to block flare-ups and prevent burning, turn out awesome grill marks, and produce even heat and cooking. They keep smaller foods from slipping through the grates and being lost forever. Could this really mark the end of my asparagus and squashes falling to a fiery death?
The GrateTool that comes with every order is a stainless steel custom created spatula that has “fingers”. It slides between the rails to pick up even the most delicate pieces of fish and foods with ease instead of scraping under them. There are even custom stainless steel tongs with “fingers” available as an additional option.
What The Manufacturer Claims
Their claim is that “GrillGrate produces juicier and more tender food and delivers restaurant-quality sear marks all at once.”
They also claim that the grooves or “valleys” between the rails collect the juices and drippings “where they sizzle and vaporize into flavor and retained moisture. The valleys of GrillGrates are a flavor enhancing system.”
Check out these videos showing the process in action.
They are also supposed to be easier to clean and to make flipping food a cinch with the handy GrateTool that is included.
And according to the manufacturer, GrillGrates amplify the temp of gas grills by 200°F and pellet grills 150°F.
My Thoughts On The Grillgrate Review
To make this review as thorough as possible I tested Grillgrates on my Gas Grill, my Pellet Grill and on my Charcoal Grill. In the past couple weeks, I have tried out GrillGrates on a variety of foods as well.
The Grillgrates Review, Grill Marks On Chicken
I was extremely excited to try these grate enhancers out as I have heard a lot of great things about them. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with Grillgrates, especially when using them on my gas and pellet grills. They can easily turn a lower end grill into a higher end powerhouse in minutes and save you money for good measure.
Not only did they reduce my grills preheating time by around 25%, amplified the heat of my Gas grill on average of 203° F, Pellet grill by 153° F and my Charcoal grill by 100° F, they used up less fuel as they retained the heat longer and more evenly.
My meat and vegetables were evenly cooked and the sear marks were beautiful without leaving any overly charred spots. They blocked all flare-ups even when grilling fattier meats and burgers. Best of all, not one asparagus committed suicide by falling through the grates.
I even flipped the GrillGrates over and tested the flat surface as a griddle. I made bacon while I was cooking burgers and they both came out
The Grillgrates Review, Grill Marks Chicken
excellent. Barbecued bacon burgers entirely cooked on the grill without a messy kitchen to clean.
The easy to connect interlocking plates made it easy to transfer from grill to grill and the GrillTool made food handling, flipping and clean up a breeze. I personally found cleaning these grates to be simple and quick. Just run a wire brush over the rails while they are still hot and scrape the GrillTool through the valleys and you are done.
What Others Are Saying About Grillgrates
Grillgrates Currently Average A 4.6-Star Rating Out Of 5 On Amazon Depending On What Size You Buy.
I have read many Grillgrate reviews and see a lot of positive comments on Grillgrates like:
- Great product and service!
- No more flaming chicken!
- Great sear marks!
- Truly Excellent Product!
- Skeptical at first, but these things are amazing!
- What I will tell you is how nicely things cook on the grill when using the GrillGrates. Despite the 100% perfect sear marks, everything cooks wonderfully and faster (yes things cook faster).
Some of the complaints I have read are:
- Sometimes they can get too hot and burn my food but that’s probably user error.
- Great product but I hate cleaning it.
- Cleaning requires some soaking in hot, soapy water and scrubbing with a brush periodically which takes some effort to get clean; however, they are a lot easier to clean than the standard grill grates!
>> Click here to read the Amazon Reviews <<
Pros
- Amplifies the Heat of any Grill
- Flare-Up Protection from the Bottom Plate
- Conducts Heat More Efficiently
- The Valleys Vaporize Drippings that re-enter the food for better flavor
- Easy to create the Perfect Sear Marks
Cons
- Some people had a harder time with clean up. (Although I found that if you follow the instructions, it was very simple to do.)
- They get HOT! Which is the point, but your food will cook faster and you must monitor your flipping times to avoid over searing.
Verdict
Grillgrates are an excellent upgrade to your original grilling grates and a must have to really take searing to the next level. Although they did a great job on my Charcoal grill, where they really shine is when you use them on Gas and Pellet grills. While both Gas and Pellet grills always struggle to reach the proper searing heat, Grillgrates help to solve that problem.
In my opinion, Grillgrates can help make your next cookout a winner. An easy investment decision and one you won’t regret.
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I will end with this quote that starts my mouth watering just from reading it.
“The real secret to the unique flavor of grilled food is not the fuel, but the drippings. As these complex chemical solutions combust, they coat the food with a panoply of aromatic and delicious compounds.” The Art and Science of Cooking, by Modernist Cuisine
If you have any questions about The Grillgrates Review or want to leave one of your own, leave a comment below. I hoped you enjoyed the Grillgrates review and you are one step closer to joining me in “The Grilling Life”!
Cheers,
Patrick
I’ve always tried to get the proper grill marks when I do steaks but I’ve never been successful. They either don’t come out at all or the way they look is usually not very presentable. Sometimes they look completely burnt. But I guess people also eat with their eyes, so presentation is equally important in serving a meal. For me taste is far more important. My only concern with the GrillGrates is the material being used. I’ve read somewhere that cooking in or on aluminum is not so good for your health. But I guess we don’t use our grills everyday. So once in a while wont be too harmful. But it’s worth checking out.
Thanks for sharing
With Grillgrates, making the perfect grill marks is made easy. They also help cook your food evenly and help keep the food juicy. As far as your concern with cooking with aluminum, here is a great reference for you to look at that helps dispel the myth about the dangers of aluminum. http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_myths_about_alzheimers.asp I hope this helps ease your concerns. Happy Grilling.
Grillgrate looks very useful for increasing the heat very quickly and the food which you cook looks very delicious. And after workout I always need to eat quickly for replenishing my protein stores. I never think of grilling before because it took so much time but now I think about it and I seriously love eating grilled chicken.
Grilled chicken comes out great using Grillgrates. The perfect sear and wonderfully juicy. I highly recommend it.
Hi Patrick, I always wondered how these grill marks were made, now I know! These Grillgrates look the business! Once again, kudos for writing a very comprehensive review. You mentioned that these get very hot. Your heat resistant gloves that you reviewed would come in handy (no pun intended) for this problem. It’s interesting that the manufacturer claims they produce more tender and juicier cooks. In your experience did you notice a big difference?
I always wear my Inferno Heat Resistant gloves when grilling with grill grates. Even I haven’t been brave enough to attempt to pick on up and move it while they are still hot. So far, I have to agree with the manufacturer, the grill marks are great and the food is evenly cooked to perfection. And yes, they are plenty juicy.
You are absolutely right about food being a lot about presentation! I love making sure the courgettes and the whole I make on the grill get the perfect look. Some people think I’m crazy, but being an artist, I can’t help myself! The idea about retaining the juices makes sense too. It looks like a perfect way of making some grilled goodies with cheese. It grilling the food faster is also a big plus when you got a hungry family waiting.
You’re not being crazy. There is a reason for the saying, “the first thing we eat with is our eyes.” It is true, presentation goes a long way. Add in the bonus all the other bonuses of using Grillgrates and it’s a no-brainer for me.
This looks like a sure winner to me Patrick. I like how it sort of blocks the heat of the coals and makes it so the meat doesn’t catch fire.
I have a question though does this grill grate wear out over a couple seasons or will it last for a decade or more? I like the idea but I don’t want to have to buy one every year or two.
I’m sure if you leave them out for long periods of time and don’t take care of them they will rust but I was more or less talking about the standard usage. How long is the average life of this product if taken care of correctly is how i should ask the question i guess.
Thanks for the review Patrick!
Cheers
They really do a great job of preventing flare-ups and burning the food. Because they are made from hard anodized aluminum, the should be rust resistant and last for some time.
Hello, I’m a regular visitor of your site. I find it really entertaining and informative. I value your views and would like to know your feedback. I am planning on going on a camping trip with my family and am searching for a suitable camping axe or hatchet to help with the wood for the campfire. I have been reading some reviews but I am still unsure about which axe to get. I was reading a review and thinking to purchase the hatchet that he suggests but am not 100 confident. Maybe I can go with the budget option. What do you think? Is it really worth it to purchase a more costly option if I am only going camping a couple of times each season? Thank you very much for your opinion and thank you for the awesome posts that you share.
Hi Fred and thank you for the kind words and I appreciate you stopping by. I have to admit that hatchets and axes are not my specialties so there is no way I could give you advice and feel good about myself afterward. My rule of thumb is always to do your research so you know as much about a product as possible before making a purchase. Read as many actual owner reviews as possible so you see what real users think about the product and their experiences. The good thing about purchasing from Amazon is that they have a great return policy in most cases if you are unhappy with what you have bought. Sorry, I can not be more of a help, but I wish you luck with your purchase. If you have any questions regarding grilling, BBQ, and outdoor cooking then I am more than happy to help.
Patrick