Food sticking to the grate

Food tears when it is turned, leaving skin or flesh welded to the bars.

A fish fillet on the bars at two moments: first stuck to the metal and tearing along the flakes as it is lifted, then releasing cleanly in one piece once the skin has set.

Work out which one it is

Each cause below lists the signs that point at it rather than at the others. Start with the signs, not with the fix.

It was moved before it had finished releasing itself.
common
Signs it is this one
- It resisted the first attempt to move it and left material behind.
- It had been on for less time than the published window's first side.
Why it happens: Protein bonds to hot metal on contact and then releases as a crust forms and the surface dehydrates. Food that appears stuck is usually food that is not ready to turn, and forcing it tears the crust that would have freed it.
What to do
- Leave it and try again in a minute or two; it will lift when it is ready. — during cook, reliable
Next time
- Turn once, when the food offers to move.
The bars were not hot, or carry residue from the last cook.
common
Signs it is this one
- Food went on before the cooker had come up to temperature.
- The bars were visibly dirty from a previous cook.
Why it happens: A clean, properly preheated bar has less surface for protein to bond to and dehydrates the contact point quickly. Residue gives the food something to grip and cold metal never forms the crust that releases it.
What to do
- Clean the grate, bring it up to heat, and oil it immediately before the food goes on — in that order. — next time, reliable
  The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute states the sequence explicitly — clean, heat, then 'liberally brush oil on the grill just prior to cooking' — and the order is the instruction. Oiling a cold or dirty grate is a different act from oiling a hot clean one.
- Oil the food lightly as well as the grate. — next time, reliable
  ASMI oils both: the grill just before cooking, and the food 'very lightly, just before cooking to prevent sticking'. BBQHQ previously advised oiling the food INSTEAD of the bars, which was its own assertion rather than anybody's finding.
Next time
- Preheat until the bars are hot enough to sizzle, then clean them, then oil them.

What this covers

This is BBQHQ’s diagnosis for it stuck to the grate, on the foods below.

Food sticking to the grate

Work out which one it is

It was moved before it had finished releasing itself.

The bars were not hot, or carry residue from the last cook.

What this covers