Pour On A Splash Of Beer
Image credit: Charlie Richards
BBQs and beers go hand in hand so if find yourself with a little beer leftover after a BBQ, pour it over the grill while its still warm. Then give it a good scrub with a wire brush to get it sparkling. Its not a waste of good beer dont fear, its a savvy way to get the grill gleaming. Use beer to clean your BBQ advises Lynsey. Using your scrubbing brush pop beer onto the end, she demonstrates while presenting on This Morning. The acid in the beer will help clean it .
Benefits Of A Clean Bbq
We all know many health benefits of cooking your food on the grill, from the fact that you use and therefore eat less fat through the fact that the meat retains its nutrients and all the way to the fact that grilled vegetables are better for your health, as they have more vitamins and minerals. However, a few people consider the even bigger benefits of grilling on a clean BBQ.
Its good for your health.
The most important benefit, of course, is the healthy one. Regularly cleaning your BBQ removes build up bacteria in your grill, which can be transferred to your food. More importantly, it removes harmful carcinogens.
A clean barbecue is a safe one.
Another crucial reason is the safety one. A clean BBQ reduces the chance of fire. When youre cleaning the BBQ, youre also inspecting its parts, and thus, you can prevent dangerous gas leaks from worn out parts.
It smells better.
The same goes for the smell. Just as you wouldnt want your vegetables to taste like steak, you wouldnt want them to smell like a stake, either. Even worse than a stake smell is that smoky, rancid grease smell. Dont you think that your family and your guests deserve better than that?
It tastes better.
It prevents pest infestation.
A dirty grill attracts bugs and rodents. Considering that Australia is a country well-known for its many pests, we suppose you wouldnt want to attract even more. prevents an infestation, always keep your grill clean.
Improves the look of the BBQ.
Is White Vinegar A Degreaser
Yes, White Vinegar is an excellent degreaser. When heated, White Vinegar works as a degreaser by breaking down the minerals and ingredients of whatever it contacts.
I like to heat the Vinegar in the microwave so that it is hot to the touch before using it with a cloth or spray bottle.
Use caution when mixing in Baking Soda as the liquid may bubble up and make a mess.
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How To Clean A Charcoal Bbq
If you have a charcoal BBQ, you need to deep-clean it at least once a year. Even more often, if youre using it regularly. Carbon and ash can accumulate from the barbecues frequent usage, which can be extremely dangerous for your health.
Clean the grill grate and the charcoal grate. Remove the ash and clean the bottom of the BBQ and the tray. Reassemble the BBQ back and leave it to air dry before putting it away.
Follow the step-by-step process of how to clean a charcoal BBQ:
How To Clean Your Grill: The Grates Are Just The Beginning
As the weather cools, it’s a good time to give your grill a deep cleaning.
Outdoor grills get dirty in no time.
Whether you plan to grill all year or retire your outdoor cooker for the season, fall is a great time for deep cleaning. And a dirty grill isn’t just gross. It’s a dangerous fire hazard. All that built-up grease and grime buildup can cause nasty flare-ups, even full-blown fires. A yucky, soiled grill won’t do any favors to food flavor either.
There’s no need to panic, though. Here in this guide are simple steps to deep-clean, and maintain your grill properly. As a result, your food will taste better, and your grill will perform at its best — not to mention last longer. I serviced a propane-fueled grill for this article, but much of the advice I offer covers charcoal grills, pellet smokers and kamado grills, too.
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For more on barbecue grills, don’t miss our picks for the best gas grills for 2021.
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How To Clean Your Grill Grates Properly
The easiest way to clean a barbecue grill is to prevent the dirt from drying on it in the first place but cleaning while youre barbecuing or right after is not appealing to anyonecertainly not us! So weve got some tips to clean the grill grate the next dayor whenever you like. The safest bet is to use a commercially available cleaner. Shake the can well before use and spray the grill from about 8 inches away, then wait 10 minutes. Wait longer if the dirt is really encrusted. Simply wipe off the cleaning agent with a wet sponge or cloththat’s it!
How To Clean A Charcoal Grill With A Pressure Washer
Got a pressure washer? You can use it to effortlessly clean a charcoal grate. First empty the barbecue of ash, replace the charcoal grate, and then stand it away from anything you don’t want to splash (the middle of the lawn is perfect near a compost heap better. Then simply turn your pressure washer on a medium setting, and wash downwards, not up, to avoid making a mess.
We have a buyer’s guide to the best pressure washers if you’re in the market for one.
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Keep Your Grill Clean Moving Forward
Once you have done a deep clean of your grill, being proactive about keeping your grill clean will make things much easier and your cooking more successful. One of the easiest ways to do this is to do a quick clean of your grill grates after each cook while the grates are still hot. This will keep grease and carbon from building up on those grates.
If you are using charcoal and/or wood as your fuel source, just let the coals burn out and carbonize the food residue. Then, use one of the methods we covered above to clean your grill grates. If you are using a pellet cooker or gas grill, leave the heat going for a little bit after you are done cooking and clean those grates off. Just make sure you dont forget to turn the cooker all the way off when you are done.
Then your grill grates will be clean and ready to go for the next time you cook.
Grill Grate Cleaning Method: Store
- Total time: 20 minutes
- Rating: 3
The method: I used Mean Green Super Strength Cleaner & Degreaser, which says to spray on the surface, wipe clean, and rinse thoroughly. The label also says not to let the stuff dry before rinsing, so this is definitely not one of those spray-and-sit situations.
How it went: This was one of the most hands-on methods and, by far, the messiest. It did yield great results, but it took a lot to get to that point. While I was very happy with the grate after the cleaning, I did have lots of grease splatter marks on my shoes and pants! Id be willing to put in the effort if there wasnt an option that topped this one, which brings me to this next method
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How To Get Your Stainless Grill Grates Looking Like New
To get those grids looking brand new well, you cant. Once used, your cooking grids will begin developing what is called a patina. Its a combination of discoloration from heat, and a buildup of oils on your barbecue cooking grates that will protect the stainless steel from corrosion and create a non-stick surface for you to cook on. That isnt to say that you cant have some nice looking grids. As outlined in the video, if you use a great, high-temperature oil like Crisco, palm oil, or lard to season your grids every few uses, and keep those grills clean, the grids will remain in great condition.
As always, we recommend that you exercise caution when using a grill brush and remember to perform proper grill brush maintenance to ensure that you arent losing bristles.
Cleaning Your Heat Shields Orceramic Briquettes
Depending on the model, your grill may use heat shields or ceramic briquettes. A heatshield or heat deflector is a piece of metal that sits over the burner todistribute heat. Ceramic briquettes look like little tiles, or stylized piecesof charcoal, all the same size and shape.
Its also possible that your grill has lavarocks little clumps of volcanic rock that look like charcoal. Lava rocks arehard to clean. Their porous surface absorbs grease, and theyll fall apart ifyou try to scrub them. If you have lava rocks, we recommend replacing them withceramic briquettes.
Ceramic briquettes are easy to clean with awire brush. Remove them, and scrub until any debris falls off. If you have a heatshield, spray it with a degreaser, then clean it with a wire brush or brillopad and wipe it clean with a cloth. Do not use water or degreaser on briquettes as they will crumble.
Both heat shields and ceramic briquettes willwear out eventually, so you should inspect them carefully as you clean. If yourbriquettes are starting to crumble when you clean them, its probably time toreplace them. However, cracks or nicks on a few briquettes shouldnt be aproblem. As long as theyre mostly intact, they should work fine.
Heat shields, on the other hand, are often thefirst thing to wear out on a grill. If your heat shields are rusty or warped,they cant disperse heat evenly, and may not protect the burner from drippingheat. That means its probably time to replace them.
Read Also: What Temp To Grill Pork Steaks
Tips For Cleaning And Maintaining Porcelain Coated Grill Grates
You are more likely to find a non-stick porcelain coating on cast iron grill grates. Though there are some grill manufacturers who will offer it on rolled steel grates.
Many people feel that this is the ideal coating for grill grates. Not only does it make the grill grates semi-non-stick, it also protects them from rust and corrosion. When a porcelain coated grill grate suffers from excess stuck-on gunk, you can just remove it and give it a nice soak in some warm soapy water.
Grill Grate Cleaning Method: Aluminum Foil
- Total time: 15 minutes
- Rating: 1
The method: Crumple up a ball of aluminum foil, then use the ball to scrape warm-but-not-hot grates clean.
How it went: I found this method to be an excellent way to get down into the grooves and knock big chunks and flakes off your grates before using one of the other methods. I loved it because I was able to mold the foil to the shape of the grates to get down in between each one. It didnt do a great job at removing grease which wasnt surprising, and why I like this method in tandem with another method. Just keep in mind that using excessive force can strip away the enamel, so proceed with caution!
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Dont Use A Wire Brush
Theres a story we came across a while back about a four-year-old boy who got hospitalized after he accidentally swallowed a metal bristle from a wire brush. Yikes!
While wire brushes are marketed explicitly to barbecue grill owners, we dont recommend using them to clean your grates. Theres always a chance that some of the bristles from the brush may fall off without you noticing, latch onto your food while youre grilling, and end up in your body. Its simply not worth a trip to the ER.
There are several other safer alternatives you can use that work just as well. One option would be to crumple up a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and shape it into a ball. Then, use a pair of tongs to grab it, and voila! You have a safe tool to clean your grates with.
Alternatively, you could also use a wooden grill scraper instead. The best thing about it is that the block will start to develop groves that fit your stainless steel grates perfectly after a while of using it.
Now, if you live on the wild side and insist on using a wire brush, ensure you double-check and even triple-check your grates for any stray bristles that might make their way into your food. Be sure to run a damp cloth across the grates once youre done scrubbing. You can never be too safe.
Using Other Techniques To Remove Rust
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Safe Clean And Environmentally Friendly
Not only does it do a thorough job on metal, ceramic, plastic, and many other surfaces, it also disinfects and sanitizes.
Vinegar doesnt affect the environment negatively and is safe if it contacts the skin or food.
Some cleaning compounds can leave a residue on the grill grate that is later transferred to food. Vinegar doesnt leave any residue and doesnt produce an aftertaste as a result.
How often do you clean your grill grates?
Directions For Cleaning Grill Grates:
Before cleaning, please consult the Owner’s Manual for any important precautions, instructions or warranty requirements.
& ast Biodegradable formula: This formula decomposes into elements found in nature within six months after disposal into a typical sanitary sewer or septic system.
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Removing Rust On Cast Iron Cooking Grids
Prevent rust on your cast iron cooking grids by properly maintaining them and ensuring that they are well seasoned on a regular basis.
Inspect your grates for rust. If you have rust on your grates, this is the perfect time to remove it.
Minor rusting can be removed by gently scrubbing so make sure to try this first.
Stubborn spots of stuck on sauce and food can be removed by brushing those heavily built-up areas with oil and allowing them to soak for a while before scrubbing again.
Once cast iron cooking grids are clean and thoroughly dry, using a high-temperature oil like shortening, flaxseed oil, or canola oil, cover the grids completely, on both sides, with a thin coating.
Turn the grill on and heat the grill to between 350 and 400°F for 30 to 60 minutes. Remember to keep the temperature below the smoke point of the fat used, which will allow the oil to bond to the surface of your grids.
If your cast iron cooking grates are particularly dirty, you can wash them with soap and warm water, however, they will need to be completely dried and reseasoned immediately.
And there you go! You have freshly cleaned cooking grids that are ready to make more delicious meals and memories.
Do you have your own tips or hacks when it comes to cleaning your grill grates? Wed love to hear from you. Share your best cleaning tips for your barbecue grates on our social pages like Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #NapoleonGrills.
