Degreasing Barbecue Grills - How to Degrease Charcoal Grills and Gas Grills

Cooking outside is fun and includes the not inconsiderable bonus that you can serve a garden full of guests hot food, yet keep your kitchen spotless. But you still have to do some clearing up. These sections tell you how.

To clean metal racks small enough to fit inside the dishwasher, put them in as soon as they’re cool enough to handle. Other- wise, treat racks as you do blackened oven shelves and soak them in a strong dish-washing solution. Squirt a mild abrasive cleaner onto the rack and leave it to soak and soften the burnt-on food.

Clean tools and tongs at the same time as you clean racks. But remember not to put tools with wood handles into the dish- washer, as the glue binding the handle to the tool may melt. If you plan to use the grill outside again soon, you may not want the hassle of cleaning the cooking grate. Instead, simply loosen bits of stuck-on food using a metal scouring pad. Use kitchen roll (paper towels) to wipe away grease.

Aluminium foil gets a cooked-on grate ready for another go in moments. Simply scrunch up a ball of foil and rub over both sides of the cooking grate. Wipe clean with kitchen roll.

Charcoal Grills

Resist the temptation to throw a pan of cold water onto the coals after you finish cooking. There’s no surer way to create a foul mess to clean up. If you need to put out a charcoal fire fast, use a fine mist of water from a trigger spray. Some manufacturers also suggest using sand to extinguish your barbecue. Or, you can leave it as is. In its dry state, charcoal isn’t so bad and you may decide to grill again the next day.

Between big cleans, keep grease levels down by regularly removing fat from the barbecue body with a soft plastic or wooden scraper.

When you’re ready for a full clean, always wait until you’re certain the charcoals are cold.

If you want to save coals for re-use, salvaging is best done the next day when the coals are cold and dry. Use tongs to pick the big ones out. Next, put the ashen remains of the burnt charcoals into the rubbish. Depending on your barbecue this can be easy or infuriatingly tricky. Posh barbecues often have an ash drawer where all the debris collects. You empty the drawer and your barbecue is practically ash free. With some grills you can tip the ash right into the rubbish. But if you don’t have a drawer and can’t tip your grill, the simplest way to empty ash is to use a large spoon or garden trowel to scoop the bits out. What you want to avoid is ash flying out over your clothes or into your mouth and nose. If you’re happier using a brush and dustpan, dampen the pan edge to help the ashes stick inside.

To clean the barbecue body, use hot soapy water and a non- scratch cloth. Quality barbecues may be up to stronger cleaning. A high-quality porcelain finish is usually thick enough to withstand even a spray-on type oven cleaner. Once a year, spray this on and all the accumulated grease will soften enough for you to wipe it away with paper toweling. Follow up with a squish of a mild washing-up liquid solution, a water rinse, and a thorough dry, and your barbecue will be the sparkling star of your next garden get-together.

Gas grills

With a gas barbecue you enjoy the pleasure of no soot or ash to deal with. The lava rock that lines the cooking base of gas barbecues needs no cleaning. Simply turning up the burners for a few minutes after you finish cooking gets rid of any food residues clinging to them.

Eventually, when lava bricks do get dirty, simply turn them over. When they are dirty once more, replace with fresh.

When you want to give the barbecue body a wash with hot, soapy water, be sure to remove the cooking surfaces and burners first, as these shouldn’t be saturated. Unless you’re an exceptionally keen griller, this is an annual task. At the same time, inspect the burners for blockages. Use a pipe cleaner to clear any obstructions such as a curious, now deceased, insect. Rub away any rust spots with a wire-brush.