Barbecue grilling mats are a relatively new item on the BBQ accessory scene. It’s kind of weird but they seem to have been aggressively embraced by one group of grillers and aggressively shunned by another. Obviously the purists would never put a mat over the grill – or someone participating in a barbecue competition either for that matter.
I read a funny review online that made me think of writing this blog post. A top Amazon Reviewer who goes by the name of Petunia Picklebaum wrote a review about the Chef Caron BBQ grill mats and was literally raving about them. She was hilarious too. She was saying that using the grilling mats produced such phenomenal results that she was absolutely certain that she could kick Bobby Flay’s you-know-what in a head to head. And I think that is particularly funny because based on what she says, using the grill mats produced a result that she’d never been able to accomplish before – in her words, “the best BBQed pork chops I’ve ever tasted. And yet someone like Bobby Flay would never get caught dead using something like a nonstick grill mat to barbecue. At least I don’t think he would. I could be wrong about that.
Anyway, here review was so funny and so enthusiastic that I decided to buy a set for myself and see what all the fuss was about. She wasn’t exaggerating. Even so, it’s all very easily explained. It’s pretty obvious once you start using the grilling mats that the food is protected from drying out by the presence of the mats. And along with the increased moisture levels in the finished food, there’s more natural flavor. I realize that a lot of grillers smother their food in sauces and marinades, but these mats allow you to prepare food more simply with much better results.
But the moisture retention and the better flavor wasn’t the thing I liked best about the mats. I like the fact that they keep the grill spotless. I have a new grill. I just bought it last year. I liked it clean. I’ve seen old grills and they are disgustingly ugly and off-putting. Consequently, I always kept mine spotlessly clean. And I admit that because of that OCDC issue, I sometimes didn’t barbecue because I didn’t feel like cleaning up the grill afterwards. And that’s not right.
I’ve been using the Chef Caron grilling mats for a couple months now, this summer, and I haven’t had to clean my grill at all. I also like the fact that I can cook a traditional breakfast on the grill using the mats - the whole thing, with pancakes, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. And I can accommodate my vegan friends by reserving a mat for their chopped veggies or asparagus or whatever the case may be. There are things that you couldn’t do on the barbecue before. So the grilling mats open up a whole new world of barbecue possibilities that were never before possible.
I encourage you to try them and see for yourself.
I read a funny review online that made me think of writing this blog post. A top Amazon Reviewer who goes by the name of Petunia Picklebaum wrote a review about the Chef Caron BBQ grill mats and was literally raving about them. She was hilarious too. She was saying that using the grilling mats produced such phenomenal results that she was absolutely certain that she could kick Bobby Flay’s you-know-what in a head to head. And I think that is particularly funny because based on what she says, using the grill mats produced a result that she’d never been able to accomplish before – in her words, “the best BBQed pork chops I’ve ever tasted. And yet someone like Bobby Flay would never get caught dead using something like a nonstick grill mat to barbecue. At least I don’t think he would. I could be wrong about that.
Anyway, here review was so funny and so enthusiastic that I decided to buy a set for myself and see what all the fuss was about. She wasn’t exaggerating. Even so, it’s all very easily explained. It’s pretty obvious once you start using the grilling mats that the food is protected from drying out by the presence of the mats. And along with the increased moisture levels in the finished food, there’s more natural flavor. I realize that a lot of grillers smother their food in sauces and marinades, but these mats allow you to prepare food more simply with much better results.
But the moisture retention and the better flavor wasn’t the thing I liked best about the mats. I like the fact that they keep the grill spotless. I have a new grill. I just bought it last year. I liked it clean. I’ve seen old grills and they are disgustingly ugly and off-putting. Consequently, I always kept mine spotlessly clean. And I admit that because of that OCDC issue, I sometimes didn’t barbecue because I didn’t feel like cleaning up the grill afterwards. And that’s not right.
I’ve been using the Chef Caron grilling mats for a couple months now, this summer, and I haven’t had to clean my grill at all. I also like the fact that I can cook a traditional breakfast on the grill using the mats - the whole thing, with pancakes, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. And I can accommodate my vegan friends by reserving a mat for their chopped veggies or asparagus or whatever the case may be. There are things that you couldn’t do on the barbecue before. So the grilling mats open up a whole new world of barbecue possibilities that were never before possible.
I encourage you to try them and see for yourself.