Clean With Aluminum Foil And Baking Soda
- Make a paste of 1 ½ cup ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda and ½ cup water in a small bowl. It should be a thick liquid consistency that sticks to the grill grates.
- Using a brush or sponge, cover the grill grates with the baking soda paste and let sit for a few minutes.
- Tear off a sizable piece of aluminum foil and crumple into a ball.
- Scrub the baking-soda covered grate wires with the aluminum foil ball, working up and down each wire and across the grate.
- Rinse the grate with water and return to the grill.
Deep Cleaning And Maintenance
After youve cooked the last burger of the season, thoroughly clean your grill before storing it for the winter. Remove the grates, burner hoods, and grease pan, and scrub them with hot, soapy water and a plastic scour pad. Do the same inside the firebox and lid. Thoroughly rinse and dry all parts before reassembling. Also, remove the battery from the igniter before storing your grill long-term so it doesnt corrode.
Even if you follow the strictest cleaning and maintenance schedule, you will have to replace some parts on your grill as it ages. The burner hoods and cooking grates in particular take a lot of abuse and arent meant to last forever. My dad replaced these parts on his 17-year-old Weber Genesis four to five times over the years.
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Out of the many different types of grills, the varieties that heat using charcoal require the most cleaning. Keep charcoal grills in peak condition by cleaning them after each use and thoroughly cleaning before and after each grilling season.
After each use:
Charcoal ash gathers at the bottom of the grill every time it’s used, so you must clean the grill after each use. Built-up ash can block vents in the bottom of the grill, making it difficult to control cooking temperature and increase fire risks.
- Once the charcoal has cooled, remove the bricks and brush out the ash.
- Cleaning grill grates is best done with a long-handled stiff-wire brush. If you dont have a brush, ball up some aluminum foil and hold with long-handled tongs.
- Use a rag or folded paper towels to apply vegetable oil to the clean grates. This will help prevent rust and food build-up.
- Clean the inside of the grilling bowl and lid using mild dish soap and a steel brush.
Before and after each grilling season:
In addition to cleaning out old charcoal, keep your charcoal grill in peak condition with regular maintenance. Follow these cleaning tips at the beginning and end of each grilling season, performing more often as needed.
- Clean the outside of the lid and bowl using soap and water. You can also use grill cleaner. Towel dry to prevent rust.
- Keep the grill protected with a grill cover.
After each use:
Before and after each grilling season:
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Use A Dedicated Bbq Grate Cleaner Spray
Don’t like DIY cleaning? Use a commercial bbq grate cleaner spray. The benefit of these sprays is that they come in spray bottles with 360-degree nozzles, which means you don’t have to hold the spray in any particular way to get the solution onto your grill. Then, it’s just a case of following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Clean The Heat Deflectors
Many gas grills have thin steel plates, angled in the shape of a “V,” that separate the burners from the cooking chamber. These heat deflectors serve to distribute heat evenly around the cooking chamber and prevent the gas flames from burning the foods directly overhead. Grease and food residue often drips down onto these deflectors.
Clean the deflectors after every three of four uses of the grill by removing them from the cooking chamber and scrubbing them with warm soapy water and a nylon brush or scrubbing pad. Dry them completely before putting them back in the grill.
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The Ammonia Trash Bag Tip
Parsons Ammonia Cleaner. Available from Twin Supply.com
Similar to the above solution, you can soak your grates with ammonia. Ammonia gives off fumes that work as a cleaning agent. All you have to do is pour 1 cup of ammonia into a thick garbage bag and place your grates inside. The key is to tie the end of your bag so its air right. If the fumes of the ammonia escape from the back, this method wont be nearly as effective. You can place it outside and then water down your grates in the morning with a garden hose.
Safety Tip: Remember to use rubber gloves and safety glasses whenever working with ammonia. Avoid contact with your face and eyes and be sure to have the room ventilated so that you do not become affected by the fumes.
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.
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How To Clean A Grill
For active grillers, BBQ aficionados and outdoor culinary types, the grill is a centerpiece of quality time at home. Keeping your grill clean is essential for great cooking, better-tasting food and a longer life for your grilling station. It can be a challenge, however, with marinade splatter, burger grease and accumulated leftover chunks of who-knows-what on your grates. These simple steps will help you keep your grill in great working order for years to come.
- Cleaning cloths or paper towels
- Newspaper
DIRECTIONS:
Make sure your grill is cool before cleaning. Lay out newspaper in your work station to keep the area clean, as you’ll need to disassemble your grill to thoroughly clean it.
How To Clean Porcelain Grates Quick Tips
Porcelain grill grates are popular because they insulate heat well and theyre resistant to rust.
But, you still need to periodically clean them to keep them in great condition.
Watch out for chips and scratches in the porcelain finish. If water comes into contact with the metal under the finish, this may cause rust.
So take extra caution when cooking with metal spatulas or other metal tools.
Make sure to use a nylon brush which has soft bristles rather than a metal brush to keep the porcelain scratch-free.
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Cleaning And Seasoning Your Grill
Are you searing or smearing your steak? Grilling is a fun, easy way to create delicious meals but not if youre using a dirty grill!
Our handy cleaning guide will show you how to easily clean and season your grill before and after every use. Proper cleaning ensures that you get the best performance out of your grill. Grill cleaning accessories were made specifically with better grill performance in mind, so make sure you have the right cleaning gear .
From the burn-off to seasoning, heres everything you need to know.
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:
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How To Clean A Gas Bbq
To clean your gas BBQ, you need to disconnect the gas first to ensure your safety. Detach all removable parts and clean them individually. Wash the body of the BBQ, leave it to dry and reassemble the grill back.
Here is the detailed process of how to clean a gas BBQ:
Clean Greasy Grates Before Each Use
Now, you know you need to get your barbecue grill spiffed up, and the time to do that is when the grates are nice and hot.
There are two times when this would be the case: either immediately following a use or right before, after your equipment has preheated for about ten minutes or so.
I vote for the latter, and Ill tell you why:
Youve just prepared the most amazing-smelling steaks , and youre actually salivating as you carry the platter to the table. Do you really want to walk away from those babies while your guests get to enjoy the fruits of your labor so you can go scrape off the grates while the thing is still hot? I think not!
While it may seem a little strange to some to leave a cooking apparatus dirty until the next use, that is exactly what I recommend.
The residue left on the grates will actually help to protect them from rust and other corrosive elements particularly if you have black steel or cast iron grates.
Porcelain-coated and stainless steel grates, on the other hand, are much more resistant to oxidation and other types of damage from various substances.
Plus, it takes the same amount of time to clean up after youve preheated the next time youre having some people over for a tasty backyard meal, and this way your food wont get cold.
The Weber 6494 12-Inch 3-Sided Grill Brush
If you have enameled porcelain-coated grates, then wed highly recommend using a brass brush instead of stainless steel. Stainless versions may damage the porcelain.
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How To Recognise A Top
Caring for a gas barbecue is usually a lighter task if youre dealing with a good quality gas barbecue in the first place. There are a number of guidelines that will help you spot quality immediately:
- Burners: The best gas barbecues usually include burners that provide evenly-dispersed heat no matter where the food is placed on the grate. Additionally, look for independently-controlled burners for precise temperature control.
- Sturdiness: Any large device containing such high-heat elements requires a certain amount of sturdiness and stability. Quality gas barbecues will have a solid construction dont be afraid of giving it the wiggle test in the shop!
- Cooking grates: The three most common grate materials are porcelain-enamelled cast iron, porcelain-enamelled steel and stainless steel. Just be aware that uncoated material is known to cause food to stick. Porcelain-enamelled cast iron is particularly good at retaining heat and therefore most commonly used.
- Durable wheels: If you prefer a barbecue with wheels for flexibility, make sure to check that the wheels are durable and are large enough to handle the size of the barbecue.
- A premium warranty: At Weber, we offer up to a 10-year warranty to ensure that youll be barbecuing for a long time to come. Manufacturing defects, if at all, will be fixed at zero charge, including all individual components for all barbecues.
What Do I Need To Clean A Gas Barbecue
First things first, lets get prepared. Weber barbecues do the bulk of the cleaning work themselves, but cleaning can be made even easier with a few tools designed for particular jobs:
- Gloves: Since BBQ grills can sometimes get greasy, its a good idea to wear some rubber gloves before getting started.
- Grill brushes: A true staple for cleaning BBQs, these brushes typically have steel bristles and come in a variety of sizes.
- Scraping tool: A plastic BBQ scraping tool is ideal for loosening residual grease from inside your burner.
- Sponge: A two-sided sponge with a non-scratch scourer is a bonus for targeting tough stains.
- Cleaning sprays: There are a variety of special cleaning sprays available for different purposes, such as for BBQ grates, enamel, and stainless steel.
- Microfibre cloth: A gentle cloth for wiping and polishing the exterior of your barbecue ideal for both stainless steel and enamel models.
- Drip pans: Use these trays as a preventative measure: placed at the bottom of the grill they collect grease and make disposal easier.
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Cleaning The Grill Grate
After getting a fire going, the first order of business is cleaning the grill grate. The grill grate will see the most action and because of thisand the fact that food will come into direct contact with itmost of your cleaning attention should be focused here.
Cooking with high heat gives you a great advantage in easily achieving a clean grill grate. Each time the grill’s fired up, let the grate heat up over the new, intense heat for about five minutes. This will burn away some food stuffs that may be remaining, then a grill brush and a little elbow grease will easily take care of the rest.
If you haven’t already, invest in a good grill brush with a long handle and firm bristles or scouring pad.
Choose Your Best Way To Clean Grill Grates
You dont need to use a specialized grill cleaner or harsh chemicals to clean your grill, even if its covered in charred grease and grime. When you clean the inside of your grill with baking soda, you can use a nylon-bristled brush, scourer sponge, a ball of aluminum foil, or even a paper towel or rag, depending on what you have available.
To clean grimy stainless steel grill grates, heat your grill to high to burn off and loosen any excess food, then let the grates cool before scrubbing. You can also skip this step and go straight to the scrubbing.
Here are four ways to clean your stainless steel, cast iron, or enamel grill grates with minimal effort, thanks to the power of ARM & HAMMER Baking Soda.
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