Sear grate

[Bigdave]

I recently acquired a sear grate and I have a question. I have used it only 3 times first was steaks with no issues next chicken and shrimp and tonight burgers. Burgers were 80/20 and stuck like crazy, they broke apart getting them off the grill. Sear Grate has been cleaned between uses.

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[chefn58]

There may not be enough fat in the burger to create the barrier you will need to get it to not stick.  Maybe try giving the burger a little spray of pam or brush of oil. 

[Johnpv]

I'll second the brush or oil, pam can definitely ignite so be careful if you do that.

[toolhead]

Did you make your own patties or use premade patties?

Agreed with chefn58 comments...but the above details is helpful to know...making your own patties..i hand smack them quite a bit to ensure they hold together

[Bigdave]

I make my own and have done hundreds, lol Never have I had them stick at least to the point of falling apart. I was thinking it had something to do with he coating on the grate.

[Matt_T]

My cleaning procedure - after the grate cools, lightly clean w/water and a non-scratch sponge (big crunchies, heavy build up), dry it thoroughly, brush lightly with oil before storing inside.

Now on to the meat of the issue, or should I say the heat of the issue -

@Bigdave all previous questions need to be addressed to see what the issue might be - meat quality, age, frozen vs. fresh, ingredients other than 80/20 ground beef all play a part. But the additional questions I have are as follows.

1) Are you letting the searing grate come up to temperature (very high heat) before putting the burgers on? This is important as it creates an immediate reaction with the meat once its placed on the grate and will allow the burger to be removed without issue. If the meat and the grate come up to temperature together there is always issues. That goes for other delicate meats like fish and meats with skin still on.   

2) How long are you searing the burgers? Move too soon and you will have a the patties brake up - move too late you will have a blackened burger (or as I call them hockey pucks). This timing is all based on the thickness of your burger and temperature of the grill grate. I find that for thick half pound patties I stick to about ~3min a side.     

The best part of this whole thing is you will have to grill more to find out what's going on - oh'darn... I vote that burgers stay on the menu until this whole thing gets sorted out - the family will understand. Happy researching!

   

[Bigdave]

Thanks for the response you guys are great! Fresh grind (had a chunk of Chuck ground at the store......I always use a Montreal steak seasoning and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. 1/3 pound plus burgers seared 4 minutes they had some nice char but not burnt (once I got them flipped). Perhaps some more fat on the surface is needed because of the larger area of contact on the sear grate. Its a shame I have to keep experimenting

[mcgolden]

I treat my sear grate like I treat my Craycort cast iron grates.  When I'm done with it I burn it clean and then coat with layer of vegetable oil (usually just use paper towel to do it).  Also, before I cook with it, I give it another light coat of vegetable oil.  Do that and you should get a lot of years of nonstick use out of it.

[austin87]

I am a big fan of spraying my FOOD with Pam or brushing it with oil. I never spray the grates, just get them hot and hit them with my wire brush. Make sure it he sear grate is properly pre-heated. I should note I don't have CI grates, just the regular Weber hinged ones.

[ClubChapin]

I wipe all my grates with oil after heating them up and scrubbing them.  I never have sticking issues.  This includes weber, ci, and gourmet sear insert.