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My propane grill needs to be cleaned, how should I go about doing so?

8 Answers 8

3

When the grill has cooled completely (after dinner):

  • I take some kitchen paper or some newspaper and clean off as much as possible.

  • I use a wire brush with a scraper to brush the grill, and scrape off any bits that are stuck on.

  • I DO NOT re-oil, and the grill stays nice and greasy for the next usage.

  • Before the snow of winter rolls around, I take it all apart, clean the plates with a BBQ cleaning foam and water, and the cover that goes over the burners gets a good scraping, then I wash and clean the frame. This way, the grill will last years of good use.

1
  • 3
    scraping a cold grill is a waste of time.
    – dotjoe
    Aug 4, 2010 at 21:05
13

The method I use is to leave on high for a few minutes to burn off the worst of the food residue.

Then I scrub it with a wire grill brush and , while still warm, I then re-oil with cooking oil.

There are proprietary products you can use and I've seen people using oven cleaner but I steer well away from those!

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  • 1
    Also, any grease inside might combust during this process so stay close by and have a halon fire extinguisher handy in case it gets out of hand. But of course you should have the grill well away from everything else anyway... Jul 23, 2010 at 11:26
  • @galactic cowboy: Heh, I had this happen to me at a grill at a rental place recently...There was a fricking LAKE of grease in the bottom of the thing...Burned for a good 15 minutes. But if you make a habit of preheating it this way every time you cook, then you tend not to have big flareups, and your cook surface stays nice and clean. Jul 23, 2010 at 21:40
5

Here's my method.

  1. Don't clean the grill from the previous cooking, just turn it off and leave it.
  2. Next time you're grilling, turn the heat up to high until the grill smokes.
  3. Dip a grill brush in a bowl of water and run it along the metal. It will steam clean the surfaces.
  4. Before adding food, take an oiled paper towel and place it on the grill, using the grill brush to grease the grate. I do this twice, since the first run usually picks up a lot of residual char.
  5. Grill away.

One benefit of this method is that you don't have to clean up afterward, and you take advantage of the heating-up of the grill that has to happen anyway, rather than keeping the grill on extra afterwards.

3

It depends in the quality of the grill and what parts you are looking to clean. I always take the grill grates, and the peices that go over the burners and power wash them. they are both high quality, and can take teh beating. The other internal parts I wipe down with rags and burn it off.

3

I bought a plastic box with lid, (suitable for under the bed), and I put the grills and plates of my BBQ in it with a large pitcher of cold tap water and some "degreaser" dish soap. I then boil a tea kettle of tap water and pour over the top of the cold water and everything in the box (so as not to melt my plastic box) and put the lid on so it will stay hot. in half and hour to 45 minutes everything comes right off with the BBQ wire brush and the stainless steel scrubbie. Wipe down the inside of the BBQ and put foil on the bottom and put back together. Wish there was an easier way, but it's the cleanest way for me.

2

As many have said, I like to turn the grill on high, close it, and let it burn off the bulk of the residue; then I use a grill brush to scrub all of the remaining residue and char off; after that I wipe down the grill with oil (usually olive oil).

1

Like you'd cook any other metal surface you cook on. You can use the grill to cook off some kinds of debris. You can scrape with a metal scrubby. You can buy abrasive pads and metal brushes. You can buy spray grill cleaner, but be sure to clean that off really well before cooking on it.

1
  • Agree with the above and add that I've even used a crumbled piece of foil.
    – apaderno
    Jan 7, 2011 at 14:47
0

Since there is only my husband and myself, there isn't much meat and/or veggies. But, after each use and once we have eaten the grill is cool enough once the dishes from the meal are washed (by hand) I then take both the grill and the burner cover into the kitchen and wash. When I see a lot of debris is sitting on the bottom I then clean it up with paper towels and discard. The grill is easy to clean with this method and we don't have to worry about eating charred whatever.

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