What metals are safe to eat.

T

Tony

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No I'm not referring to the old MASH episode where Klinger tries to eat a Jeep. I'm in the process of designing a custom BBQ and can't find any grills the right size and shape for what I want. I really just want to avoid poisoning my friends, family and me.

I know the better grills use cast iron and once it's properly seasoned they're great. I'm not quite at the level of being able to melt iron yet. I'm still getting the hang of the softer metals.

I assume I'd want to stay away from the leaded steels, and food grade stainless would be ok.

Any thoughts?
 
Standard carbon steel expanded metal is the material of choice around here for grills and smokers. Any 302, 303, 304, 316, 321....any of those will be fine. No copper or brass/bronze alloys. A36 plate for most structure, any common carbon steel will be fine.

Right, no leaded materials.
 
You should check around the area for a foundry that would do the cast for you. Likely cheaper than sourcing stainless bars and the labour to make them into grills. Do not use chrome plated stuff. It flakes off. Crunch crunch in the teeth!

If looking at used stuff. Maybe you could find cast iron or porcelained grills from a commercial unit and have them cut down to fit, with the cuts at the back to make the edges unseen.
 
Up here in PA we use solid cast iron plate around 6 ft. dia. over a wood fire pit with a hole in the middle for pipe so it can rotate over fire. It came from a lapping machine for crystal. It is heavy and not meant to be moved once in place, but it does feed a lot of people. For pig roast we use stainless rod thru a steel drum and pig that rotates with small slow speed dc motors and the drum has a hinge door for checking temp. We balance the unit with eccentric weights and u- joints so it does not flop around.
Paul
 
Like they said. Any unleaaded carbon steel will do. If you're going to use a steel drum make sure it was only used for food items not for in dustrial lubricants or solvents.
Sounds interesting.
Post some pictures.
 
Mueller.
The steel drum did not touch the meat it was just for keeping the heat in. The drum did not have any toxin in it, but cleaned it anyway. I was going to post a pic just got to find the pictures. The flat cast plate was used for grinding crystal after rough machining in a sort of wire saw. The crystal wafers were for radios. We did also clean the cast real good before using.
Paul
 
Thanks guys.

My neighbor is a mason and he is helping me build a Grill and Pizza oven combo for the back yard. The plan is to build it on my patio from split field stone. As soon as I get my design figured out any way. I'm debating between charcoal or Gas fired for the grill. Gas is more convenient but there's something about grilling over a wood fire. I have the room may do both. I'll be sure to post pics when its done. And there will always be a steak & cold beer waiting to go on the grill if any of you find your selves in my neck of the woods.

I'm well aware of the risks of BBQing meats. What can you do these days that won't cause cancer.
There are ways to mitigate the carcinogenic effects of burned hydrocarbons on your meat.
Marinating helps reduce the risk and adds flavor
Avoid over cooking meats Slow and low is always better.
A clean grill there will be less HCA's (hetero-cyclic amines) to transfer the food.
 
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Tony,

Don't get me wrong, I love good barbeque. I really think the last thing you need to worry about is the metal your grill is made out of. Over the years I have had meat out of grills made from about anything, including old pesticide drums with no ill effects. Your bigger worry is the materials you burn in that grill. If you break down the wood, charcoal and charred meat byproducts, you have a whole host of toxins and carcinogens. There is nothing healthy in that smoke.

I would bet that if you were to scrape some of the carbon residue off of any grill or smoker and get it analyzed, It would register much higher in toxic materials than the worst of of out toxic dumps.

Randy
 
Life is fatal. Worrying about grilled meat should be about the least of your problems.
 
Zinc plating was mentioned in a previous post, Zinc plating is also referred to as "Galvanized" plating, too.

Many years ago, I recall a neighbor making a barbecue pit out of a piece of galvanized pipe. Fired it up cooked up some meat, and everyone who ate the meat got poisoned. Needless to say, he had to destroy the pit!
 
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