How To Clean Built In Gas Grill

Things To Consider When Cleaning Your Grill

Remember to always shut off your grill and disconnect your gas supply before removing any burners, performing any kind of disassembly, or pressure washing your grill. You should also spot test any new cleaning product before using it on your grill to ensure a product works as advertised.

Finally, remember to heat your grill after cleaning to allow any cleaning remnants to burn off. This will keep your cleaner from becoming part of your next meal. This is also a good time to consider adding drip tray liners or aluminum foil to your grill to simplify your cleaning process in the future.

Basic Grill Cleaning Guidelines

Before we get too far, remember to always consult your owners manual for specific cleaning instructions. While general maintenance will often be the same from grill to grill, this isnt always the case. Adhering to the manufacturers recommendations will ensure youre using the proper products and methods to keep your grill in top shape.

As a general rule of thumb, we recommend thoroughly cleaning your grill at least twice per year. This is in addition to normal cleanup procedures youll follow after using the grill. If youre in a harsher climatelike those living in salty sea airyoull want to deep clean more than twice a year.

Cover Your Gas Grill Between Use

Be sure to cover your grill in between uses with a cover as this will help to keep it clean and presentable, as well as prolonging its life.

A cover stops dust collecting, insects and even animals getting inside, and just generally protects it from the elements.

A good grill cover might seem like an unnecessary expense, but they more than pay for themselves by lengthening the time between grill replacements.

Don’t Miss: Temp To Grill Pork Chops

Guidelines To Grill By

We’ve got a partnership with the recipe, equipment, and product testing gurus at America’s Test Kitchen. They’ll be sharing some of their time-tested recipes and technical expertise with us weekly. Plan on turning on the grill this weekend? Here are 10 guidelines to cook by, plus a foolproof recipe for Mexican-style corn.

We don’t know about you, but we believe fine weather, good company, and a hot grill are all you need for a perfectly delicious Summer. But preparing a grilled meal takes practice, patience, and attention to detail. Here are some tips to ensure that your outdoor cooking remains rewarding, successful, and safe.

Why Deep Clean Your Grill

It may seem like a silly question, I mean, why wouldnt you. However, a deep cleanse vs. general maintenance is very important. You may not cook overly fatty things but everything drips a little. This develops carbon-like debris in the bottom of the grill, which acts as a sponge for any greasy drippings. It doesn’t take much to cause one of those puffy little grease sponges to ignite. Deep cleaning your Napoleon BBQ is also great for ensuring your Napoleons longevity and performance.

Giving your Napoleon Grill a deep clean in the spring, and one in the fall after a hard-working grilling season is a great idea. Now that you know all the steps to the dance, will you be giving your Napoleon a scrub down this weekend? Tell us about your favorite adventures in grilling on our social pages like Facebook and Instagram by using the hashtags #BBQAdventure and #NapoleonGrills.

Also Check: Z Grills-10002e Review

How To Deep Clean A Grill

Step 1- Assess the MessDetermine if you need to simply clean or replace grates and burners. Rusty or crumbling grates require disassembly and replacement. Be sure to take a photo before you pull the grill apart and check the owners manual. NOTE: Always turn off gas when disassembling a grill!

Tomas Espinoza

Finishing Your Outdoor Kitchen

For the remaining parts of your outdoor kitchen, you have a wide variety of options. Most anything you can put in an indoor kitchen can be put in an outdoor kitchen. If you want to go the whole nine yards you can install refrigerators, sinks, hot and cold water, cabinets and even outdoor dishwashers are an option. How far you want to go is entirely up to you. Once you have some basic ideas, talk with the people at your hardware store to find out about availability and cost. Most outdoor appliances cost more than their indoor equivalent.

Don’t Miss: How To Determine Weber Grill Model

Grill Grids And Grates

Grill grids need to be cleaned after every use to ensure a long life. How youll clean your grates will depend on what material theyre made from. For stainless steel grates, youll want to use a stainless steel brush. If your grates are porcelainized cast iron, use a brass brush. The reason for this is a brass brush is softer, and theres less risk of scratching the grates. Using a high-quality brush is also important. Inferior tools are more likely to leave bristles behind on grill grates, which means youre more likely to end up with bristles in your food.

Its generally easiest to clean your grates immediately after usejust scrape the food away while the grates are still warm. However, if you forgot to clean your grates while your food was resting, youll need to heat it back up for easier cleaning. Most likely, this will be before your next grilling session. According to Napoleon Grills, you should preheat your grill to at least 500 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes prior to grilling. Once the grill is hot, you can clear away any debris left behind from previous use.

Get Rid Of All The Gunk At The Bottom

After wiping the burners, youll want to move on to the plates underneath. My grill has two of these, and as you can see, they were pretty filthy. These pull right out, and are easy to clean off with your grill brush. I found that the sponge didnt do a whole lot on these plates, as this is where most of your grime ends up and you get a nice layer of char. Much like a cast iron skillet. Mostly just worry about the big chunks with these plates.

After the plates are out, youre left with basically just the removable bottom tray. Scrape any chunks from the edges onto your tray.

This is what my tray looks like . Slides right out.

Before and after of cleaning the tray. Some of the gunk will be loose, but some will probably need to be scraped off. I also used the sponge here to get at least some of that grease and grime off. Its not perfect, but are grills really supposed to be spotless?

Read Also: How Long To Grill Beer Can Chicken

Clear The Burner Tubes

If you have a gas grill, one part that often gets clogged are its burner tubes. One symptom of dirty burners is reduced flame size. They may also burn with an orange color instead of the usual blue. Both indicate abnormally low temperatures and an underpowered grill.

Typically a gas grill has multiple burner tubes, though some may have only one. Use a nylon or steel wire brush to gently clean the small holes on the tubes. Be sure to brush from the center of the tube outward, moving sideways . Otherwise you may push debris into the tube or holes themselves instead of clearing them.

Use a metal scraper instead of a steel brush with bristles.

How To Clean A Bbq Grill

Take one final look at the grates to make sure there isnt any stuck-on grime that still need scrubbing. Once theyre totally spotless, you can begin cleaning the whole grill.

Read Also: How To Clean Porcelain Grill Grates Char Broil

Contact Us If You Have Any Questions

Much like a car, if you keep your grill properly maintained, it will serve you well for many years. If you have any other questions about your grill, like what products to use, what else you can do to maintain your purchase, or anything else related to grilling, were here to help you. Give us a call between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central Time Monday through Friday to speak to one of our grilling experts. Theyre here to offer any tips and advice you might need. You can also drop them an email here, and theyll get back to you as soon as they can.

Were looking forward to working with you.

How To Clean An Outdoor Gas Grill

Last Updated: November 5, 2020ReferencesTested

wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 18 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.The wikiHow Video Team also followed the article’s instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 642,515 times.

Outdoor grilling is a great way to get together with family and friends and enjoy tasty food. However, the outdoor fun is only possible with a grill that is cleaned and maintained throughout the year. There are a few simple cleaning steps that you can do after every time you grill, along with deeper, semi-annual cleaning steps to keep your grill working its best for years to come. An outdoor grill that is kept clean and maintained will stay in good working order and will ensure that the food you cook on it always tastes great.

Read Also: Grilled Pork Chops Temperature

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.

When And How Should I Clean My Bull Grill

CLEANING YOUR BULL COOKING GRIDSCLEANING THE BULL FLAME TAMERS & HEAT SHIELDSCLEANING YOUR BULL BURNERSIMPORTANT:CLEANING YOUR BULL GREASE TRAYANNUAL CLEANING OF YOUR BULL GRILL HOUSINGIMPORTANT:BULL STAINLESS STEEL CLEANING AND MAINTENANCEALWAYS REMEMBER TO USE YOUR BULL BBQ COVER WHEN YOUR BULL GRILL IS NOT IN USE AND ONLY ONCE YOUR BULL GRILL HAS COOLED DOWN. THE COVER WILL KEEP YOUR GRILL LOOKING LIKE NEW FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.

You May Like: Does A Traeger Grill Need Electricity

Oil Your Grill Grates

With the grates still warm from drying out the grill in the last step, soak a couple of paper towels in vegetable oil, take your tongs and rub the towel over your hot grates.

I recommend wearing some good, heat-resistant BBQ gloves to be sure of no burns.

This will help to prevent corrosion and prolong the life of your grates, as well as stop food sticking to them as easily, so is an important step.

How Much Cooking Space Do I Need

Any good built-in grill should come with ample cooking space. More space gives you the opportunity not just to cook more, but also to cook faster. It also gives you the opportunity to take on more advanced gas grilling skills, like indirect grilling.

Opinions will vary, but for me the ideal primary cooking space size for a drop in unit is anywhere between 500 and 900 square inches.

Another factor to consider is the grills appearance. This might seem frivolous, but just because you will be using the unit to prepare food doesnt mean it should be hideous. A huge and weird-looking grill will stick out as an eyesore on your patio.

Choose a smart grill that comes with an impeccable design and modern layout. A grill should complement your patio, not the other way round.

Read Also: Is Macaroni Grill Still In Business

Clean The Cooking Grates

• Use the putty knife and wire brush to remove all debris from the cooking grates, brushing it straight into the garbage can the grates are balanced on. Scrape the biggest pieces of gunk first, then use a wire brush on the top and bottom of the grates to get what’s left.
• Once all debris is removed, spray the grates thoroughly with grill cleaner, then wipe them clean with a heavy-duty disposable shop towel.

Clean The Grease Tray And Catch Pan

• Open your grill’s cabinet doors, then carefully pull out the grease tray and catch pan.
• Dump all the loose debris into your garbage can, then spray and wipe both with grill cleaner. Make sure to remove all grease and stains from both the top and bottom of the tray.
• If your grill’s catch pan has a disposable aluminum liner, throw it out. Before installing a replacement, make sure the inside of the catch pan is perfectly clean.
• With all grease-catching components clean, carefully put them back where you found them.

Also Check: Grilled Cheese On Stove

How To Clean The Lid Of Your Gas Grill

Make sure the gas to the grill is switched off and your grill is not hot.

I started with the interior of the lid and used the green nylon pot scrubber to scrub it down with hot water with some Dawn soap mixed in .

If you have a lot of black flaky carbon material built up on the inside of the lid up you can use the grill brush to get it off, or the paint scraper if its really thick and greasy.

When youre done scrubbing, rinse it down with warm water.

Burn Away Food Scraps

The first step in cleaning your grill gratesis to burn off any food scraps left from cooking by heating it on high for5-10 minutes. Once youve done this, turn off the grill and allow it to cool.Iron grill grates and other heavy-duty grates can hold onto heat for a while,so make sure your grill is completely cool before proceeding.

Recommended Reading: Char Broil Infrared Grill Grates Rust

How To Clean The Heat Distribution System

Many grills contain heat distribution systems like flavorizer bars to help prevent flare-up, explains Kolman. Just like the rest of the grill, these bars can get gunky over time, so its a good idea to regularly brush them with a grill brush or scrape them with a putty knife. Then, wipe them with a rag and warm soapy water.

Rinse the Warming Racks and Grill BasketsRemove smoke stains and debris from your warming racks and grill baskets with soap and a fine steel wool pad. Rub the racks gently and then rinse them thoroughly before re-inserting into the grill, says Kolman.