ModiFIRE sear grate

[BigB]

Hello all.
Newbie to the smoking world. I just purchased the sear grate and did steaks on it for the first use. I sprayed the grate with canola oil first before using to season it and prevent sticking. I'm trying to clean it and brownish film (grease I'm guessing which is like glue) is next to impossible to get off, even soaking in hot soapy water. Should I be cleaning it back to new condition or just leave it and make sure just the bulky stuff is off?

 

[DVSCYCLES]

Leave it. If you make it shiny you need to reseason it.

 

[RayClem]

Canola oil has a smoke point around 400F, which is relatively low. When the temperature exceeds the smoke point, the oil polymerizes to form something akin to plastic. People with rolled steel griddles, cast iron and carbon steel pans take advantage of this feature to form a non-stick surface on their cookware. However, in the case of stainless steel, it is rather unsightly.

If you do not mind the appearance, just leave the residue on the grates. I won't hunt a thing. In the future, you might want to spray avocado oil on your grates. Avocado oil has a smoke point of 520F, so it is less likely to polymerize.

 

[Timmy]

Here is what I found on the Traeger website.

Seasoning a Sear Grate​

The ModiFIRE® Sear Grate does not require a typical seasoning process like many other Traeger accessories do; however, users should lightly oil the Sear Grate with canola oil or another oil with a high smoke point to produce optimal sear marks with minimal sticking.

An unused Sear Grate will be a nice, gun metal color. After about 3 cooks, the grate will begin to patina and turn a darker bronze color. At this point, the grate will become nearly non-stick.

• Cleaning the grate to remove the patina will return the grate to it's unseasoned state and non-stick properties will no longer be present until it patinas again.

 

[RayClem]

Canola does have a higher smoke point (400 F) than olive oil (350 F) and flaxseed oil (224F), but I don't consider 400 F to be high smoke point. Grapeseed oil has a smoke point of 420 F. Vegetable oil (soybean oil) has a smoke point of 450 F as does peanut oil, which is what I use. Refined avocado oil has a smoke point of 520F which is about as high as you can go.

Thus, to lubricate the grid while minimizing buildup, use avocado oil. If you want the patina, use canola oil.