How To Effectively Clean Your Barbecue Grill

There are many kitchen and deck components that are very difficult to adequately and safely clean. Of all of the appliances available, your barbecue grill definitely ranks as one of the most time consuming cooking methods when it comes to clean up. And when it comes to cleaning your grill, people need to be cleaning their grill similarly to the way they clean their stovetop.

Think about how people clean their stoves: they wipe along every groove and surface and even remove the metal pot holders and wipe them down. It seems that there are aesthetic as well as bacterial considerations that have molded this behavior. When it comes to cleaning their grill, however, people often ignore the clean up until the next time the grill is used. Grills are different from general indoor cook-tops in that their outside surfaces (apart from the grate) are infrequently cleaned, if ever. Here are some general guidelines for ensuring that your grill is clean, safe, and will last a long time.

Cleaning Charcoal Grills:
You never get behind on dirt, dust, and food when you own a charcoal grill because you are forced to clean it out after each use. The key isn't to just scoop the charcoal bits and ash out. It is to actually sweep the charcoal pit clean after each use. If you thoroughly clean the pit out after each use you will minimize the excess amount of smoke that can infuse foods and you will also minimize bad flavors. As often as you can you should do a more thorough scraping of the bottom of a grill. At the end of the grilling season you should think about conducting a full, intense cleaning. This usually involves simple elbow grease and applying soap and water to the entire grill. You can also use certain types of specialty paint to do touch-up work on the inside of the grill. Cleaning a grill and touching up the paint will keep it functioning and performing well, not to mention looking good, for years to come.

Gas Grills:
Like a charcoal grill, you need to clean your grill every time you use it. Any automatic "cleaning" setting simply burns away the food that has slipped through the grates, it doesn't clean the grate or the inside or outside of the grill. On a regular interval you should remove the grate and give the inside a good scraping. Whether it has briquettes or a lava rock, or metal plates, these need to be periodically cleaned of grease and oils and food or they won't function as well. As with a charcoal grill, you should periodically (say, seasonally, or quarterly) clean the entire grill as thoroughly as possible with soap and water.

Cleaning Grates:
Grates need to be cleaned after every use. This will prevent food scraps and fat from coagulating and sticking to the gates and becoming impossible to remove. It is best to use a brush with immovable or very stiff bristles that can cut hard into the grill grates. When cleaning the grates before you cook you should wait until the grill has heated up, which softens the food and grease so that it can be removed. The intense heat will also kill any bacteria on the surface that can make someone sick. When you are done grilling you should wait until the grill cools down, but not entirely, to clean it: don't miss the opportunity to get it clean easily.