Cleaning Your Grill
Your barbecue grill is not just another piece of patio decor. Your grill is a large part of outdoor entertaining, and will be for many years. But your grill needs proper cleaning and maintainance to keep it functioning well.
Failing to clean your grill will make it harder to clean when you finally get around to it, and it will decrease the lifespan of your grill. A dirty grill will also cause food to stick to it, and the food will pick up the burnt chunks of whatever it was you grilled before. So, a properly cleaned grill will last longer, and the food will turn out much better.
There are some maintainance and cleaning jobs that differ between the various types of grills, gas, electric, charcoal, and smokers. Most maintainance, however, is the same no matter what grill you use.
You will need a few items to clean your grill:
Wire grill brush
Steel wool pads
Mild dish soap
Sponge
Cooking oil spray
Baking Soda
Aluminum foil
The first thing you need to do, is to brush the grill off. Make this a habit, to brush off all of the grill surfaces. This removes any food that has stuck to the grill and prevents it from building up. If this buildup is left for too long, it can become difficult to remove, and can cause the grill surface to rust. You'll want to brush the food off of the racks after your done cooking, while the grill is still hot. It wouldn't hurt to run the brush over the racks again when you heat the grill to cook.
If the racks are really dirty, you may need to remove them, and wash them in the sink. Use the wire brush to remove as much buildup as possible, and then wash the racks with dish soap. You may need to use the steel wool pads to scrub them clean. Be sure that all of the soap and residue is rinsed off of the grill racks before using them again.
After the grill cools down, you can use baking soda and aluminum foil to remove any grime and buildup that cannot be removed with a wire brush. Just sprinkle on a bit of baking soda, and scrub lightly with a wad of aluminum foil. You can also gently rub the grill with a piece of aluminum foil to remove grime and buildup.
After the grill has been cleaned, and has completely cooled, then spray the racks lightly with cooking oil. This will prevent it from rusting. Make sure the grill has completely cooled down before doing this, since spraying cooking oil on a hot surface may cause the oil to ignite. If you don't have cooking oil spray, you can gently wipe down the racks with a little bit of cooking oil and a paper towel. You'll also want to apply some oil to the grill when you're ready to cook again. Turn the grill on, and let it preheat, and then with a pair of barbecue tongs, dip a wad of paper towels into some cooking oil, and lightly rub it on the grill. This will help to prevent food from sticking, and make cleanup that much easier.
By cleaning your grill properly before and after each use, you'll ensure that your food will turn out well, and your grill will last you for many years.