Grill Mats - anyone cook with one?

I've seen a lot of marketing re: BBQ Grill Mats, basically a non stick washable sheet that one lays on their grill for ease of cleanup. Here is an example: http://www.amazon.com/The-BEST-BBQ-GRIL ... B00KJVTB96

The makers sometimes will state that one can even get grill marks on their food, I'm less concerned with grill marks than I am the taste of the food over coals vs. using a grill mat.

Anyone use this type of item while grilling? Please provide pros/cons, thanks !

Just thinking about how the product is designed seems to me it is turning your outdoor cooking rig into a large skillet or like a restaurant short order cook's griddle, but with more hot spots. I could see where certain times you'd want to use the technique. If I got the product I'd fire my propane or charcoal rig full on, put the product down and use white bread slices all over the surface to find the hot spots. I'd do this before I invited 4 people over for a dinner I'd be making using the product.

For 2 reasons I wouldn't consider using one of these. If I don't want to grill over charcoal, I wouldn't be grilling. If I'm not grilling, I'm going to choose the tool best suited for the job at hand. I bring a cast iron skillet or a sauce pan to most BBQs with me in case I need to throw something in a pan, it's really not that hard to lug around. My main concern is the actual safety of this. Most of these are rated to 500 (the one you linked makes the dubious claim to be rated to 600), anything over that and the chemicals begin to break down releasing toxins into your food. Can we really be certain that there are no long term effects from using it at lower temps for prolonged usage? The fact that it has a limited number of uses make me think that through prolonged use at lower temps it would begin to break down. I am pretty sure areas of the grill can get hotter than 500 (or even 600). What is safe today causes cancer tomorrow. It's just a risk I don't want to take.

I don't see the point of this (and agree with concerns over the wisdom of grilling with anything that even needs to be temp rated). Looking at the reviews people are mentioning some "pros" of using it, that I don't see as "pros" at all.

- Good to use on dirty public grills at parks and such. If a grill is dirty just build a fire that will burn everything off. If that isn't possible you're still going to get flavors from whatever junk you can't burn off the grill, so just don't use the grill.
- Easy clean up. Again, fire is your friend in the clean up department, and you could always go old school and put aluminum foil on the grill and toss it when you're done.
- Keeps things from falling through the grill. There are loads of stainless steel baskets that do this, and will give you a better sear and smoke penetration. A cast iron griddle will also work very well.

I don't see any need that this product fills that isn't already met by other products that are more durable, cheaper, or both.

Attrill, good point about the baskets (and other finer screen grilling devices). I have a couple types, a flat fine mesh type that could easily clamp meat or fish in place to be flipped, and a larger basket which is good for tossing around larger cuts of ingredients. Either can be purchased at Korean stores, such as Joong Boo, Hi-Mart, or Hmart.

A clean & well oiled grill will keep the food from sticking

Also, if you're worried about having a clean grill you can always get this.

A lil off topic but this is the most used item in our kitchen

http://www.amazon.com/Hutzler-571-Banan ... B0047E0EII

A little off topic?

Yeah. We use our banana slicer more than the sink or fridge too. Can't imagine life without it.

Back on topic (I think) this looks interesting, and its on sale

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1 ... +Grill+Pan