Is There Anything Unwise about This?

[tyler]

So I own the CharGriller with the cast-iron grills, and live in San Francisco where space is tight and the night air can be moist.

My lazy little brain set about thinking of more efficient ways of insulating the cast-iron grills while also eliminating the hassle of basting on a coat of oil each time before firing it up.

So what if I bought a weather-tight tub and filled it with about an inch of vegetable oil and just let those suckers soak in that between uses? They'd be protected against the elements, wouldn't be taking up limited real estate in the actual apartment, and would come right out of storage ready to go, no coating required.

I've learned to be suspicious about anything that strikes me as particularly genius so I wanted to run it past you guys. Will the oil go bad? Will soaking in oil (rather than just being given a light coat of it) somehow promote rust?

Thanks very much for your feedback.

Tyler

 

[micker]

yeah, the oil can go rancid. Why not just use a spray oil on the grill before each use?

 

[desertlites]

save the hassle-used to live there-store the grates in the shed or garage and wipe with oil now and than-pull them out to use.to much thinking going on there.

 

[m1tanker78]

I've always just left them with the natural oil that the meat gives off plus smoke. Before I use them, I get 'em real hot then scrape them. I then scrub 'em with an onion. Never had any significant rust on the grills nor the inside of the smoker. Note that my grills are steel, not CI.

Do your grills have a coating on them (porcelain?) or are they fairly porous. I'd probably just get them as hot as I can every once in a while to vaporize any oils/liquids which might infiltrate the tiny cracks and pores. Just a thought since I can't speak from experience.

Tom