Learn to Grill

Seasoning Cast Iron Grates

My Grill Buddy trying out the Freshly Seasoned CI Grates

Beginning the moment we got the new grill, the weather has been terrible. We even had a snow event which we hardly ever see here in coastal North Carolina. Today was dry and the temperature made it to the fifties. Wanting to start grilling on the new Char-Griller badly, we took the opportunity to fire her up for the first time. For starters we coated the entire inside of the master cooking chamber, charcoal grate and firebox with Crisco and used a spray vegetable oil to get at the hard to reach places. We then lined the bottom of the master chamber with heavy duty aluminum foil to make ash clean up easier. Using a new Weber Rapidfire Charcoal Chimney Starter, we fired up and loaded the charcoal grate with coals. We ran the grill for an hour at about 200 degrees to burn off the wax on the cast iron grates. Then a good wire brush cleaning left the grates looking like they just left the foundry. We coated them real good with vegetable oil, loaded another chimney of coals and keep cooking the grates for another two hours adding charcoal as needed to keep the temperature up around 300 to 350 degrees F. After two hours, we pulled the grates and gave them and the master cooking chamber another coating of vegetable oil and continued to cook them at 200 degrees for another hour or so.

The grates now have the black color and surface texture you see on cast iron frying pan and the cooking chamber has acquired a brownish mahogany color. Once the seasoning was complete,  my grill buddy insisted that we not waste the remaining coals,  so we threw on a few burgers and dogs.  This baby is now ready for a serious Summer season of outdoor cooking.

A Char-Grillers Story

We have recently purchased a Char-Griller “Super Pro” to use in testing new recipes this summer. The choice of the Char-Griller was largely in part to the fact it is a heavy duty grill with cast iron grates, smoking capabilities and falls within the price range of the average Joe. It’s a great grill for a beginner as well as a seasoned grill chef wanting more cooking options than those of a simple pan grill. The Char-Griller also lends itself to some easy mechanical modifications that will improve it’s performance. We are going to chronicle our day to day use as well as document and test our modifications so that other users can determine if these mods are within their mechanical capabilities and if the expenses are justified.

Adding a Side Fire Box to the Char-Griller

Char-Griller Pro with New Side Fire Box

Holes Drilled and Damper Removed

Notice that we laid the grill on it’s left side to accomplish our work. Once the damper plate was removed we took the new SFB and placed it on top of the right side main chamber. Unlike as suggested in the instructions, I was able to do this by myself. I the placed the bolts and installed the nuts to secure the SFB to the master chamber. Using a nut driver, it was a simple process to tighten these 6 bolts. There are then a couple of longer bolts and sleeves that you install to support the bottom of the SFB to the grill stand. You then attach the handles and you are done. The whole process took less that 45 minutes.

SFB Setting on top of the Master Chamber

Parts Supplied With SFB