Don't let a dirty grill ruin your summer cookouts! Learn how to properly clean your grill for a safe and delicious grilling experience.
You've seen it before. You go to your Uncle Bob's backyard cookout, and Bob turns the flames way up for a while, casually rubs an ancient rusty wire brush over the slats while marinading it all in lighter fluid, and then slaps some burgers and wieners on the fire. Your inner germaphobe starts to lose it. You ask Uncle Bob if maybe a more thorough cleaning might be in order, imagining eating food from a grill that has been in his yard for 9 months in all types of weather, with who knows what crawling in it, with nothing but a flimsy plastic cover to keep out the elements. He gives you that disgusted Boomer look and says 'Did you read that on your social medias, kid?" You walk away and decide you'll stick to salad. You feel justified the next day when you hear there was a line for the bathroom after the meal.
People Don't Clean Their Grills!
Yes, it's funny, ha, ha, but the truth is that people do this every summer. Somehow, some people have it in their heads that fire alone is enough to get a year's worth of caked-on grease off your grilling surface. Then there are the other folks who think they are 'seasoning" their BBQs by leaving gunk on them. It's not a Le Creuset pan peeps. It's a $40 kettle grill from Target.
A Dirty Grill Is A Health Hazard
First off, anyone that's ever worked in a crappy short-order joint knows that the easiest way to start a grease fire is to apply fire to grease. That alone should be enough of a reason to degrease your grill. More importantly, Salmonella, E. Coli, and Listeria can live on food prep surfaces. Again, there is a misconception that an open flame is a universal disinfectant. It isn't. Just like pots, pans, cutting boards etc., they are cooking surfaces. You wash those after every use. You'd be best off cleaning your BBQ grill as well. Finally, there is the critter factor. There are probably little fellas nested in your grill hood, and unless you want some garden beetles with your chops, you should shoo them out.
Don't Worry It Isn't Hard
Here are some easy tips to help clean your grill...
- Lose the ashes. Many people don't empty the ashes from charcoal grills until they look like sand dunes. The first time a strong breeze comes across your pit, you will now have seared-in ash flavors. Empty and dispose of ash before you start cooking.
- A little oil. Use a paper towel with just a little veggie oil to wipe out the bottom and side. Again, just a little. You are cleaning, not sauteeing.
- Clean the top. If the unit has a top, do the same to that. No one ever cleans their lids! It's crazy-making since that's where spiders and such would probably perch...shudder!
- And the outside. Wipe down the outside too. Not because of food safety but because if you rub up on it, you'll get ash and grease stains on your shorts.
- Grab your wire brush. Give it a good clean with dish soap. Remember you haven't used it for a year. Would you use a fork you haven't cleaned in a year?
- Add some salt. Use some vegetable oil and a little salt and rub it between the grill gates. Not too hard. You want to lose grease without eating into the metal.
- Apply flame. Heat up your coals and put the grill on it. Use the (now clean) brush to remove the majority of the gunk. Turn the grill over and do that side too.
- Caked on grease. For hard stains, try some dish soap. If it's really gooey, I like a product called Goo Gone for the real trouble spots.
What If I Don't Have A Wire Brush?
Not all of us have a full set of BBQ tools in our toolshed, and sometimes we just want to throw a few shrimp on the coals for an impromptu picnic. Fear not. A great alternative to a wire brush, that will do a great job is taking some aluminum foil, rolling it into a rough ball, and using that instead. If you are scrubbing the slats over heat, make sure you use tongs to keep from getting burned. Stay safe, eat well, and have a happy Memorial Day fam.
