Best Way to Clean a Barbeque Grill
Datetime:2014-07-29 Hits:
Grilling is a lot more fun than cooking on a stove, and the food is often much better, but among the drawbacks is the necessity to keep the grates clean. Unlike an oven, there's no self-cleaning system on a standard charcoal grill, and if you let this particular chore go undone for more than one or two meals, you'll find yourself eating the burnt remnants of last week's dinner. Get into the habit of thoroughly cleaning the grate after each grilling, and priming it so future cleaning is easier.
Get Rid of the Solids
After you take dinner off the grill, set the grate as close to the coals as your grill design allows. Let it bake like that while you eat. After dinner, use a heavy wire grill brush to scrape off as much burnt food and debris from the slats as you can. Flip them over and scrape the underside as well. The material should come off somewhat easily from the burning. Set the grate back on the grill. Close the grill lid but open the vents, so the coals will burn down completely. Let the coals burn down overnight.
Wash the Slats and Grill
In the morning, remove the grate and set it in a tub of hot water with heavy-duty dish soap. While it's soaking, empty out the ashes from the grill and wipe it out with a dry rag. Return to the grate in the tub, using steel wool to thoroughly clean it. Make sure to get both sides of the grate and between the slats. Pat it dry with a towel.
Prime the Grate
Spray the grate lightly with vegetable oil in a spray bottle, coating both sides of the slats. Set the grate back in place on the grill. Close the grill lid and the vents, and leave it there until the next time you grill. When you next grill, arrange and light the coals as usual. The vegetable oil will prime the metal on the grate as it heats up, making it easier to clean it off next time.
