How to Clean Grill Grates
One thing that all grillers must do, is keep their grill clean. Having your grill grates clean, will ensure that your food does not get any weird tastes or objects on it. This process can be divisive as people have many different ways to accomplish this! Below, I list out 3 of the ones that I have used before.
Brushing Method
The brushing method is a quick fix that you should do before every time you use your grill. It’s best to do so when the grill is hot. Just be careful not to touch the grates with your hands.
- Stand in front of your grill and place the head of your grill brush on top of it.
- Use the brush going up and down, along the grates.
- Continue brushing in this manner until you have cleaned the entire grill.
Maven Tip: Be sure not to use a metal grill brush for this process, as you could easily have a bristle from the brush fall off and stick to the grill. This would in turn end up on your food.
Burning Method
Cleaning grill grates by burning them does not mean setting them on fire. It just means heating them up to a really high temperature so that any remaining food or grease is easily cooked off. There are two ways to do this. One is to cover the top of the grates in aluminum foil, turn the grill on high and then close the lid. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Then open it and use your grill brush to brush off the white ash that will now be there.
The second way to burn off the grease is to put your grates in a self-cleaning oven and run them through the cleaning process. Be cautious with this one since it could end up discoloring your grates. If you don’t mind what color they are, it can be a simple method to use.
Both processes are more time consuming than using a brush to clean off the debris, so try using this process every so often. Keeping your grill clean before every use will ensure this process is not needing to be done weekly.
Soaking Method
Before you get started on this cleaning task, make sure the grill is cool. This means both you haven’t used it for cooking in at least one hour and it hasn’t been sitting open in the hot sun. Otherwise you are sure to burn yourself. Once you are ready, use the following procedure:
- Fill a large bucket (one big enough to accommodate the grates) with hot water and one quarter cup of dish soap with a quarter cup of baking soda until you have a good lather in your bucket.
- Drop the grates in the bucket and let them soak for atleast an hour.
- Scrub them with a steel wool pad to remove any remaining debris.
- Rinse the grates outside with your garden hose.
Maven Tip: You can also soak your grates in the kitchen sink if they are small enough to fit. This will make rinsing and cleanup quite a little bit easier.
I try to use this method once a year. This deep clean is a great way to either start or end your grilling season!
No matter how you choose to do it, the main take away for everyone should be that keeping your grill grates clean is essential to proper grilling! Make sure to spend, at a minimum, a minute before you start to grill to keep the surface clean. This little step will make sure your food turns out great!
