ModiFIRE Sear Grate

Find everything you need to know about Traeger's Sear Grate, created in partnership with Grill Grates, as a part of Traeger's ModiFIRE® accessories collection, which feature cooking surfaces that sit securely on your grill grates to instantly expand your cooking possibilities.

Buy your ModiFIRE® Sear Grate on Traeger.com

• US: https://www.traeger.com/accessories/modifire/sear-grate
• CA: https://www.traeger.com/ca/en/accessories/modifire/sear-grate
  
  

Sear Grate Specs & Features

Get flawless searing every time with the aluminum Traeger Sear Grate. The Sear Grate works on most Traeger Grills, but best used on grills with ModiFIRE® grates.

Grill Compatibility

ModiFIRE® accessories are designed to fit perfectly on ModiFIRE®-compatible grill grates, but can still be used with most Traeger grills. Grills with ModiFIRE®-compatible grill grates include Traeger Touchscreen WiFIRE-enabled grills:

• Ironwood
• Ironwood XL
• Timberline
• Timberline XL

The ModiFIRE® Sear Grate is the perfect size to fit parallel with the grill's grates, as seen in the image below.

If your grill doesn't have ModiFIRE®-compatible grill grates, can still use the ModiFIRE® Sear Grate; depending on the size of your grill, you may need to adjust how you position the Sear Grate in your grill, rotating it 90° to sit perpendicular to the grill grates. 

Using a ModiFIRE® Sear Grate

ModiFIRE® Sear Grate User Guide

Use & Care Instructions

1. Always place your Sear Grate on the left side of the grill grates before turning on your grill. Allow the Sear Grate to come to temperature with the grill.
2. Using a paper towel, lightly oil the Sear Grate with canola oil (or other oil with a high smoke point). Do not use too much oil.
3. Add your food to the Sear Grate and cook as desired or as your recipe directs.
4. Always let the Sear Grate cool before cleaning. While still warm, scrape clean of all debris. If a deeper clean is needed, clean with mild dish soap. Once dry, wipe a light layer of oil before storing.

Seasoning a Sear Grate

The ModiFIRE® Sear Grate does not require a typical seasoning process like many other Traeger accessories do; however, users should lightly oil the Sear Grate with canola oil or another oil with a high smoke point to produce optimal sear marks with minimal sticking.

An unused Sear Grate will be a nice, gun metal color. After about 3 cooks, the grate will begin to patina and turn a darker bronze color. At this point, the grate will become nearly non-stick.

• Cleaning the grate to remove the patina will return the grate to it's unseasoned state and non-stick properties will no longer be present until it patinas again.
  
  

Placement in the Grill

Always place your Sear Grate on the left side of the grill grates. This will prevent the Sear Grate's increased temperature from affecting the thermocouple's ability to read the grill's temperature accurately.

FAQs / Best-Use Practices

To get optimal use out of your ModiFIRE® Sear Grate, we recommend following these best practices:

• How many Sear Grates can I use at a time?
  Use only ONE Sear Grate at a time.
  • You may feel inclined to use multiple since you can fit more than one in your grill at a time; however, using more than one can increase your grill's internal temperature higher than it's designed to accommodate and could damage your grill.
• What temperature should I set my grill when using a Sear Grate?
  Recommended maximum temperature when using a Sear Grate is 475°F (246°C).
  • Setting the grill's temp above 475°F may result in a High Temp Error and could cause damage to the grill.
• Can I just cook my food on the Sear Grate from start to finish?
  The Sear Grate produces the amazing results when using to "finish" food, adding sear marks as a final touch for beautiful presentation and a nice crust. You can cook your whole meal on the sear grate start to get amazing results on your veggies and meats. for longer cooks set your grill recipe recommended temperatures.
• When should I use the flat side of the Sear Grate vs the ridged side?
  Use the flat side of the Sear Grate for an all-over crust (e.g. burgers). Use the ridged side for defined sear marks (e.g. chicken and steak). 
   

Cleaning a Sear Grate

To clean your Sear Grate, hand wash using dish soap and the scrubbing side of a sponge.

• Do not clean the Sear Grate with metal tools or scrubbers like a scouring pad as these may damage the grate's coating.

For stubborn greasy stains or burnt-on debris, we recommend soaking the grate in warm water and dish soap. 

Rust

The ModiFIRE® Sear Grate is made of anodized aluminum, meaning it will not rust.

Troubleshooting a ModiFIRE® Sear Grate

You may encounter the following scenarios when grilling on your ModiFIRE® Sear Grate. Let's walk through how to prevent them and give you the best searing experience.

Sear Marks Aren't Meeting Expectations

If a customer isn't getting the sear marks they expect, make sure they are following best practices:

• Place the Sear Grate on the left side of the grill.
• Allow the Sear Grate to preheat.
  • We suggest placing the grate in the grill when you initially preheat the grill so it is sure to be hot enough when you need to use it. 
• Use for finishing, not cooking (i.e. don't place cold food on it). 
  • The Sear Grate produces the best results when using to "finish" food, adding sear marks as a final touch for beautiful presentation and a nice crust when the food is almost entirely cooked. 
  • To get defined sear marks, the Sear Grate has to be HOT; because the Sear Grate is made of aluminum, it will lose heat quickly. Placing raw or cold food on it will immediately reduce the Sear Grate's temperature, resulting in minimal sear marks

High Temp Error

The most common error you'll see when using a Sear Grate is a High Temp Error.

1. Are you using both the Sear Grate and a cast iron griddle at the same time?
   • We suggest using only one of the two ModiFIRE accessories. Using more than one can reduce airflow and the two together can increase heat retention in the grill.
2. Where do you have the grate located?
   • The Sear Grate should be placed on the left side of the grill because it's farthest from your grill's thermocouple. Because the Sear Grate increases the temperature of the air right around it, placing the Sear Grate closer to the thermocouple can damage the thermocouple and trigger a High Temp Error.
3. What is your grill's set temperature?
   • A High Temp Error triggers when the grill's internal temp rises above 550°F (288°C). Because the Sear Grate increases the internal temperature around the grate, we recommend a maximum grill set temp of 475°F (246°C) so the increase in temp caused by the Sear Grate does not accidentally trigger this error.