Useful reading
Choosing a Grill Grate for a Mangal: Stainless or Cast Iron, and How to Measure
A grill grate is usually the last thing bought for a mangal, and that is where most mistakes happen: people pick one up at the nearest shop, and back home it either drops between the walls or sits at an angle and rocks. We make our grates in Stebliv, in the Cherkasy region, on the same laser welding line that produces our heating elements, and the questions customers ask have not changed in years: cast iron or stainless steel, what size for my mangal, why does one grate warp after a season. Let us take them in order.
Cast iron or stainless steel: what actually differs over the coals
Cast iron has two real strengths: it holds heat for a long time and leaves dark, well-defined sear marks on a steak, which is why people who grill several times a week swear by it. The price is upkeep. Cast iron rusts unless it is dried and wiped with oil after every wash, it is heavy, it dislikes sudden temperature changes, and it can crack if dropped on concrete.
Stainless steel behaves differently. The chromium in the alloy forms a thin oxide film that heals itself after scratches, so the grate does not rust in the rain or under a vinegar marinade. It needs no seasoning before first use, weighs less than cast iron for the same area, and after washing you simply wipe it dry. Stainless gives up its heat faster, so the grill marks are softer; that is an honest difference, though on a garden mangal it rarely matters. Our stainless steel grill grate, 645×405 mm is welded onto a square-tube frame, and the frame deserves its own section below.
How to measure a mangal so the grate sits flat
A grate sits on a mangal in one of two ways: either it rests on top of the walls, supported around its perimeter, or it drops inside onto the skewer rests. In the first case it should be 2–4 cm longer and wider than the outer edge of the mangal on each side, so you can slide it along the walls rather than balance it on an edge. In the second, a centimetre or two smaller than the inner opening.
Take a tape measure and note three numbers: outer length, outer width, and depth from the rim down to the coal bed. Depth tells you how far the food will be from the heat: 12–15 cm between coals and meat is the working range for a stainless grate. Closer and the fat flares, further and the meat dries out before it browns.
| Mangal (outer size) | Grate you need | Does 645×405 mm fit? |
|---|---|---|
| Compact, 50×30 cm | At least 54 cm long, 34 cm wide | Yes, with margin on all sides |
| Standard, 60×35 cm | At least 63 cm long, 38 cm wide | Yes, rests squarely on the walls |
| Large fixed, 70×40 cm | At least 73 cm long | No, you need a longer grate or two grates |
| Round kettle barbecue | Round grate to the bowl diameter | No, a different design altogether |
What a 25×25 mm square-tube frame and laser welding change
Most inexpensive grates are rods welded to an outer rod of the same diameter. That kind of rim bends under two kilograms of meat, and after a few seasons of heating it starts to twist: the grate no longer lies flat and rolls on the walls. A 25×25 mm square tube works as a beam: its stiffness in bending is several times that of a round bar of the same weight, so the grate stays flat for years. The flat face of the tube also sits on the mangal wall along its whole width rather than on a line, so it does not rattle or slide.
We brought laser welding across from heating-element production, where a seam has to be leak-tight without burning through thin tube. On a grate this gives two practical gains. The seam is narrow and even, with no spatter or pores for fat to lodge in where a scraper cannot reach. And little heat goes into the metal, so the rods do not distort at the weld and there is no heat tint, which on ordinary steel is where corrosion begins.
People also ask about grates with two handles. Handles let you lift a loaded grate with both gloved hands without tipping it. On a tube-framed grate the frame itself is the grip: a rigid closed rim can be taken with tongs or heat gloves on any two sides.
Round, supermarket or homemade from rebar: when each makes sense
A round grate belongs on a kettle barbecue with a round bowl, where it rests on lugs around the circumference. On a rectangular mangal a round grate is pointless: the corners stay empty and the heat escapes past it.
Seasonal grates from supermarkets are bought for a picnic or two, and they do that job. Before buying, check rod thickness, whether there is a frame at all, and the coating: chrome-plated or painted mild steel flakes over time and then rusts from underneath. Stainless has no coating, so there is nothing to flake.
A grate welded from construction rebar in a garage is another matter. Rebar is never meant to touch food: it carries mill scale, its ribbed surface collects carbon, and it goes rusty after the first rain. If you want to build your own, use smooth food-grade stainless rod.
Building a barbecue kit: grate, forks, tongs and spatula
The grate is half the job; you then need something to turn and lift with. Our basic version is the "BBQ must-have" set: the same 645×405 mm grate on a 25×25 mm frame, two forks of 41 and 64 cm, and a scraper. The short fork is for the near edge and for sliding meat off a skewer; the long one reaches the far wall or turns sausages over the hottest zone. The set is priced from 3194 UAH, against 2834 UAH for the grate on its own.
If grilling for you means steaks, fish and vegetables rather than only kebabs, add tools from the PREMIUM series with wooden handles. All four share the same 420 mm overall length and a 135 mm handle, so they feel identical in the hand:
- PREMIUM tongs with tips bent at 90° hold a steak by its edge without tearing the fibres the way a fork does;
- PREMIUM spatula with a 120×80 mm blade for burgers, fish and anything that falls apart when turned;
- PREMIUM BBQ skimmer, 120 mm across, for lifting a handful of mushrooms or peppers off the grate in one go;
- PREMIUM fork, 42 cm, two prongs and a 140 mm working part, the same format as the forks in the set but with a wooden handle.
The working parts of the whole series are food-grade stainless steel, so they are cared for exactly like the grate. The rest of the skewers and accessories are in the skewers and BBQ section.
Care: wash by hand and scrape while it is still hot
One rule covers most of it: clean the grate straight after cooking, while it is hot. Carbon and fat on warm metal are still soft and come off with a scraper in a minute; the same deposits left until morning will need soaking. Run the scraper along the rods rather than across them, so it lifts the layer instead of skipping over it.
Then warm water, a sponge and ordinary washing-up liquid. Keep the grate and the tools out of the dishwasher: a long cycle with chlorine-based tablets can leave dull spots on stainless, and the wooden handles of the PREMIUM series swell and crack in hot water. Chlorine bleach is bad for the same reason, since chlorine breaks down the protective oxide film.
After washing, wipe dry and store somewhere dry. This is not about rust, which stainless will not produce, but about white hard-water marks that are tedious to polish off later.
Questions we hear most often
Is a stainless steel grill grate better than cast iron for a garden mangal?
For a mangal that lives outdoors and is used at weekends, stainless: it needs no drying or oiling, does not crack under cold water and does not rust in the rain. Cast iron earns its place if you sear steaks often and are happy to look after the grate like a frying pan.
What size grill grate fits a 60 cm mangal?
One 3–4 cm longer than the outer length, so from 63–64 cm. The 645×405 mm grate rests on the walls of such a mangal with a small overhang. Measure the width the same way: a 35–38 cm wall takes 405 mm comfortably.
Will a round grill grate work on a rectangular mangal?
No. A round grate is designed for a kettle barbecue, where it rests on lugs around the bowl. On a rectangular mangal it has nothing to sit on and leaves the corners without heat. Choose a rectangular grate sized to the mangal.
How does a cheap seasonal grate differ from one on a tube frame?
Usually in rod thickness, the presence of a frame and the material. A seasonal grate is often thin chrome-plated rod with no rim: light and cheap, but it bends under load and rusts where the plating wears through. A stainless grate on 25×25 mm tube is heavier and costs more, but it keeps its shape and has no coating to lose.