Anyone have a good method for deep cleaning their grill grates? I’ve tried a few things but haven’t found anything I really like. I was thinking of giving PBW a try after reading the jar. Anyone have any luck with that?
I never clean the grates after use.
When ready to grill, fire it up, get it hot, and rub down with a ball of tin foil.
If your grill is cast iron you don’t want to deep clean it. Cooked in grease not only keeps it from rusting but also makes your food taste better. This is called “seasoning”.
Get you a spray bottle of water and after the grill is very hot, spray and wire brush it. There a commercial TV product that does the same thing, but this is cheaper.
This is what I do. Our use a good grill brush. The key is getting it nice and hot before cleaning.
For a cast iron grate that I had “let go” and had gotten rusty, I hit it with a drill mounted wire brush and re-seasoned.
I use a wire brush and a scraper on both sides and maybe give it a wipe with some paper.
I used to spray wash the grate when using a bunch of sticky BBQ sauce. If one doesn’t get rid of this type of residue then they are risking the “sh!ts”! I’ve heard of people putting the grate in the dishwasher.
Now I just use the brush etc and wipe it off real good. Never have to oil the grate before using it either.
This is my method. ^^^^
I got a dry wall mixing tub and put a couple inches of water in that
when the grate is still good and hot I just plop em in that tub of water
sssssst then use a stiff bristle brush to finish scrubbin em off.
Pull out, dry and spray with pam…or similiar.
The water on a hot grill really breaks off the crud.
I wipe down my cast iron grates with vegetable oil after cleaning. Helps keep them from corroding and seasons them.
I go with the get it real hot on the preheat and then use the grill brush. Every couple years I might take them out and really scrub them. My grates are stainless by the way.
BEST method ever- take an onion, slice it in half, stab it on the end of your long grilling fork, flat side down. Then dunk it in your favorite oil and rub on the hot grill right before slappin’ down some steaks or burgers. Works every time and tastes great. That’s how we do it in Argentina, where grill masters (asadores) reign supreme!
If I let my grates get bad enough that “cooking off the excess” isn’t good enough, my power washer does a fine job of stripping them clean. Then you can reseason them.
Paul
Hey, my charcoal comes from Argentina. Best stuff I’ve ever used. Big blue 15kg bag.
Place an disposable aluminum pan (I use old lasagna pans) over the area you grill on. This serves to act as a reflector and concentrate the heat for quicker grate heating and with longer exposure, gets the temperature up in the “oven clean” area. This makes scraping with a wire brush easier as well as reducing the amount of fuel required to get your grill hot. Usually I follow that with a quick spread of vegetable oil from a paper towel, but for my next steak, I’ve got to try the Argentine Asadore onion technique! After the grill is turned off, I return the aluminum pans to the grill and the residual heat seems to make it easier to clean the next time.
Depending on the size of the grates, you can make a strong PBW solution in an ice chest and let it sit. Be ready to let it soak a while, but I have done this and it works pretty well.
Wow, I didn’t know they were actually getting out on the world charcoal market.
I always go high heat on startup to not only get the grate really hot but to get a good bed of mesquite sticks going on the grate surface itself. (gas or charcoal, I do the same).
Once the grate is hot I use a heavy duty wire brush to clean it. I went through about a hundred wire brushes because I foolishly bought “bbq” brushes for years. Now I use the industrial metal brushes at ace. The ones that come on a wooden block and have a threaded angled insert on the back. you screw a broom handle like attachment with matching thread into it and cut it down to size.
My propane grill is a weber clamshell with thick heavy duty cast iron grates, my charcoal grill is a bastardized chargrill that got converted to charcoal after it’s life as a propane grill died and now has stainless steel grates.
Any problems clean right up with the heat and a good metal brush. sometimes I’ll spill in some beer or water on the cast iron ones to steam them up if something is troublesome.
Show me the bacteria that lives through 400+ degree temp and we can talk about the germ hygiene issue with my process.
I never use oil or pam or the like on any grill surface. Then again, I grill at least twice a week so rust is out of the picture.