How to Clean Your Grill

One aspect of Barbeques that is often overlooked, or even completely ignored, is cleaning the grill. But it is a very important step, as a grill covered with gunk is going to alter the taste of your food, and not for the better. Additionally, gunk build up can shorten the lifespan of your grill or particular grill parts, neither of which are good for the wallet. And finally, build up (particularly of grease) can cause your grill to give off excess smoke and/or cause flare-ups.

If you own a relatively modern oven, it probably has a self-cleaning feature. If it does, you can simply remove the grill grates and clean them in the oven with the oven’s self-clean feature. Once the oven is done and has cooled down, you can simply wipe away the carbon dust and then you’re done.

If you don’t have the time and don’t mind scrubbing, there are two other options. The first choice is to clean the grill immediately after use. Because it’s still hot, things aren’t going to stick as tough to the surface as they will if you let the grill cool. A simple scrub brush should be sufficient, and but if necessary a little soapy water can help. You want to avoid using any type of cleaners because they could give off toxic fumes if used on a hot surface. Cleaners should be used on a cool grill, and after scrubbing them down the grates should be thoroughly rinsed to ensure that all the chemicals are removed because a bleach burger won’t be particularly tasty.

If you’re going to clean the grill when it’s cool, make sure that the grill is completely off. You can completely remove the grill and burners and clean them separately, as you would pots and pans in the kitchen, or you can scrub them down without removing anything from theCleaning Grill. Regardless of what cleaning solution you use (baking soda, soap, detergent, etc.) you want to make sure to rinse off the grilling surfaces completely.