Patent ID: 7810484

Claim:
A barbecue grill assembly comprising: a cooking chamber; a gas burner positioned in a lower portion of the cooking chamber; a cooking grate removably positioned in the cooking chamber and adjacent the gas burner, the cooking grate having a cooking surface made of upper surfaces of a plurality of cooking members to define an upper cooking plane, and a lower surface, the cooking grate further having a solid energy receptor portion positioned in close proximity to the burner, a plurality of the cooking members depending from the energy receptor portion, and a plurality of openings between the cooking members, each of the plurality of openings having an axis which is aligned vertically and extending through the entire cooking grate to permit convection of heated air from a lower portion of the cooking chamber to the upper portion of the cooking chamber, wherein no openings extend through the solid energy receptor portion, and wherein the solid energy receptor portion is positioned directly above the gas burner such that no structure is located between the gas burner and the solid energy receptor portion of the cooking grate; the energy receptor portion having a sloped grease control structure configured on an upper surface of the energy receptor portion to direct grease through the openings between the cooking members; and, an apex of the grease control structure being located at an elevation below the cooking surface of the cooking grate and between the cooking members, whereby the apex has direct exposure to items placed on the cooking surface.