GrillJunkie: Cleaning Your Grill FAQ

3

Keeping your grill clean is the secret, if not a necessity, to better tasting food and a long grill-life. If people thought of their grills like they do their inside stove there would be significantly less problems with clean up and grills wearing out. Your grill should be treated similarly. Every time you use your grill, you should clean it, at least lightly, in preparation for the next cookout.

Cleaning Grates

Grates are somewhat of the exception to the general policy of light cleaning; they need to be cleaned completely after every use. Cleaning the grates prevents food from sticking and makes your grilling much easier. There are a lot of products on the market for cleaning your grate, but basically any good stiff wire brush will do. The issue with cleaning is not so much the product, but more so that people seem to not know the best way to perform this task. First thing is that it is better done after you grill and not before. Once your grill has cooled some, but is still warm, take your brush and clean off any remaining food particles from the grill. It is much easier to do this while still warm and not after it has cooled and been allowed to harden on the grate. If you have a cast iron grate clean completely then, brush on some oil with a paper towel to keep your grate healthy.

Charcoal Grills

One of the great things about charcoal grills is that, because of the simple design, you clean it out after every use. However, many people don’t take advantage of the situation at hand and simply dump the ashes out. Keeping a good wire brush handy to sweep out the cooked on remains will make any further cleaning jobs much easier. Also, don’t think that because you have one of those grills with the ash catchers that you don’t have to do any cleaning. Just like with an internal stovetop, everything you cook with requires cleaning. So every time you use your charcoal grill, clean the grate and brush out the ashes and the cooked on foods. What you will find is that this simple procedure will cut down on excess smoke and bad flavors. Periodically dig in there and really scrap out all that stuff that just seems to develop on the bottom of your grill. And at least once a year get out a bucket of soapy water and give it a really good clean. You will find that you may need to touch up the paint once in a while. When this occurs, get a can of grill safe paint (the folks at the local hardware store will know exactly what you will need). If you do this, your grill will last for many years to come and help you create great food, and good times with family and friends.

Gas Grills

An interesting feature about many gas grills is that they have this setting on the regulator marked “clean”. This leads many people to think that this is provides for a simple, “turn and go”, way you clean your grill. It helps makes things easier, but does not solve the entire solution. Like a charcoal grill, you need to clean your gas grill every time you use it. Make sure that the grates are cleaned after you grill and be sure to also brush off the sides and lid after every use. Use the clean setting to preheat your grill, as it will burn up any food matter that has fallen down into the grill. Regularly you should lift out the cooking grate and clean off the barrier above the burners. This barrier might be lava rock, briquettes, or a variously shaped metal plate. No matter the barrier material, it should be cleaned of the cooked on grease and food particles periodically.

Once a year you need to perform a complete cleaning on your grill. This requires that you, in essence, take the cooking and heating area apart to do it. You start by disconnecting the gas and then lifting out the grill parts layer by layer. Once you get down to the burner, make sure you inspect it thoroughly. There shouldn’t be anything that will get in the way of the flow of gas. If the burner is clogged, you will have noticed uneven heat which makes for poor grilling. If you can clean it, do so, if not, replace it. If your grill uses lava rocks or ceramic briquettes you need to make sure that these are not too heavily encrusted with cooked on foods. If they are, replace them so as to avoid the bad tasting smoke that dirty rocks can produce.

With everything out of the grill, clean it completely with soapy water and a brush. Be sure to completely rinse off the soapy water and/or any residual grit that was loosened during the cleaning. If the paint is coming off, or if your grill is showing signs of rust, then you will need to do some sanding and painting. Be sure to purchase the appropriate heat paint that you can find at most hardware stores. Once the cleaning is complete, you are now ready to re-assemble the grill, being sure to check to make sure that all connections are properly connected and there are no leaks. You can then turn the grill on. Let the grill heat completely before you cook again to make sure that any left over soap residue burns off.