CI Griddle Sear Temps

[HokieOC]

I have the cast iron griddle for my KJ and have used it on the top position.  I'd like to try steaks seared on the lower position, or pork chops like in John's new video.  But with CI, especially at high searing temps, wouldn't not only the temp but proximity to the fire burn the seasoning off?

[SmallBBQr]

I have numerous CI sizzler pans and find great results letting them slow heat up to 600 degree (no roaring flame underneath) over the course of an hour or so.

 

When it comes time to cook, I open up the vents, apply some oil (if needed) while keeping the CI fairly high above the (now) increasingly hot coals/flame.  I never let it get nuclear though.

 

Never had an issue yet with seasoning.....

[pmillen]

I suspect that what we call seasoning is oil coke.  It burns.  I've had seasoning burn off of cast iron grates heated really hot over charcoal so I'm in agreement with the OP.

 

It's no longer an issue with me because I quit getting the grates and griddle screaming hot, since I much prefer a Maillard reaction browning to a black searing.  Black searing is just burning the meat.

 

From Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young and Maxime Bilet.  "You might think that raising the temperature even higher [above 300°F] would enhance the Maillard reaction.  It does up to a point, but above 180 °C / 355 °F a different set of reactions occur:  pyrolysis, also known as burning.  People typically like foods a little charred, but with too much pyrolysis comes bitterness.  The black compounds that pyrolysis creates also may be carcinogenic, so go easy on charring your foods for visual appeal."