Above the burners and below the cooking grates, that’s where flavorizer bars sit.
Flavorizer bars serve four important purposes including:
Preventing flare-ups: The grease that drips off the meat will be vaporized quickly on flavorizer bars and drip into a drip pan below the bars;
Even Heat Distribution: Flavorizer bars create even heating throughout the firebox;
Protect and extending the life of your grill burner tubes: Grill burners got open holes in where flames shoot out. Debris like falling food particles and liquids can drip directly into those holes, clogging them over time and shortening the life of the burners. Flavorizer bars help protect against this.
Flavor & Aroma: The vaporized grease from Flavorizer bars enhancing the aroma and flavor of your grilled foods;
Types of Flavorizer Bars
There’s two types of Flavorizer bars for Weber grills. Porcelain enameled steel is the cheaper one. Stainless steel Flavorizer bars are more expensive and will last longer, but both types will last a very long time.
Despite what you might assume, stainless steel Flavorizer bars are not rust-free. The marinades, salts, acids and high temperatures they are exposed to will still cause rust to develop over time.
How to clean your Weber Flavorizer Bars
Like all the important parts of your grill, your Weber Flavorizer Bars should be regularly cleaned and maintained. So let’s follow our steps to clean your weber flavorizer bars correctly.
Step one: Start by burning off the grill at HIGH temperature for 15 minutes. This will turn most accumulated debris into ash. If you have cast iron grill grates, remove them before burning off the grill, otherwise you will burn the seasoning off the grates.
Step two: After 15 minutes, turn the grill off and make sure your grill is cool and the grates and bars are cool to the touch. Remove the bars and brush off any debris with a grill brush. A wide putty knife can also be used to scrape tough residue off the bars. Take this opportunity to clean the burner tubes, the inside of the firebox, and the drip pan.
Step three: Flavorizer bars can be washed in hot, soapy water and scrubbed with SOS steel wool pads, but the burn-off method is easier. Weber says that citrus-based dish soaps should not be used.
Weber does not recommend using the dishwasher, oven cleaners, or a self-cleaning oven to clean Flavorizer bars.
Step four: You may consider changing the order of the Flavorizer bars if you notice some wearing faster than others.