grill grates (lowercase) have residue on it

[scottranda]

No matter how much I clean (even using dawn dish soap), my grill grates (not the Grill Grate product) on my offset have a black residue on it. I wipe it clean before I use it, and it doesn’t affect taste, but I always have that black stuff on my grates. What is it? Am I able to get rid of it somehow?

[Redwng]

I get something similar on my pellet grill on the outside of the controller top. Not sure exactly what it is but I told my wife it is smoke patina, she just rolled her eyes (she gets lots of practice being married to me). My guess is that it is just layers of smoke like you see on the inside of some of the pits/restaurants in TX. Almost like a badge of honor, wife didn't care for that either but that's my story and I am sticking to it.

[jfmorris]

It's soot and grease buildup. All of my grills have stainless steel grates - even my offset has stainless expanded metal grates. Unless you get busy with steel wool, a welding brush, or scotch brite pads, its just gonna be that way.

Tell your wife its "seasoning".

[scottranda]

Thanks for this answer. I need more elbow grease I suppose. I use all those things and have a little amount of grease and soot leftover.

[jfmorris]

scottranda I also have this same problem with cast iron. Even after scrubbing with a brush and scraping under running hot water, if you wipe it with a paper towel, you will sometimes get a black residue as well. I've quit stressing over it, and have never noticed my food turning black - and the smoked mac and cheese I made in a skillet a while back would have shown the black.

[Steve R.]

Pretty cool when you can get grill marks without even firing it up.

[Chiller Phil]

Take care of your cooker and it will take care of you.
My KBQ cook box looks like new after a cleaning; spray with liquid oven cleaner, scrub with Stainless Steel Wool and rinse.
Aaron Franklin insists on a clean cooker. https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/aar...n-your-smoker/

[scottranda]

All my cookers are kept clean. But the grates kept giving me a little amount of that black stuff. Even after washing them. I guess I need more elbow grease.

[Chiller Phil]

My apologies, as I failed to mention this;
"Your Filthy Barbeque Pit is Not Seasoned", https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/aar...n-your-smoker/

[Skip]

I have one of these and it works very well IMO.

https://thegrillrescue.com/

[IowaGirl]

I got a Grill Rescue cleaner recently. I was a little skeptical at first, but now that I've used it several times, I'm convinced. It really does get the grates (regular grill grates as well as Grill Grates) awfully clean. I won't say ALL of the black stuff comes off, but a lot of it does.

[bbqLuv]

Where do you think Grill Marks come from?

[Attjack]

😂 good one

[bbqLuv]

Thank you 😁

[Oak Smoke]

If my grates are starting to look grungy I let the temp get up to 5 or 6 hundred for an hour or so after a cook. The next time I open the lid it’s just a mater of some brushing and its ready to go. No my grates are not going to pass any kind of white glove test. They are stainless, but do look something like seasoned cast iron. I do what I call a hell fire cleaning about 3 times a year where I take it up to 800F for 3 hours. There’s just some ash to vacuum out the next day. I can’t remember the last time something stuck to my grates. I love my smoker and it’s certainly not filthy, but you can ruin a nice shirt reaching down in it.

[Attjack]

I keep my grates clean and before putting food on them I oil them with a paper towel. That helps remove a lot of the soot.