You Really Need to Clean Your Gas Grill
A few weeks ago I was at a family barbecue/birthday party for my two year old nephew. Since my brother-in-law was working later than he had hoped, I took over grilling duties. A 5+1 burner gas grill isn’t much of a problem for a seasoned veteran like me: gas open, burners on, switch pressed. Lit.
However, instead of the usual preheating, my grease caught fire.
It turns out that this grill hasn’t been cleaned for a long time. Perhaps someday . I had to make a lot of decisions in a very short period of time to prevent disaster, and luckily the only damage was to the grill itself and a piece of siding that now resembles lasagna noodles. All this could have been avoided with regular cleaning and, at worst, a fire extinguisher. (I repeat: if you have a grill, you will need a fire extinguisher. )
How to Clean a Gas Grill
Whether you’re a new grill owner in need of training or an old pro who’s been putting it off, today is a great day to start cleaning. Let’s take a tour of my gas grill, which hasn’t been cleaned since late April. (I like to clean mine when the tank level gets low, about once a month in the summer.)
What you need:
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A pair of rubber gloves
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A pair of oven mitts or heat-resistant gloves.
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Some cardboard or newspaper
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Dish soap (can be solvent or grease remover ).
Step 1: Burn the excess
Start with burning to relax the situation. Those crispy bits on the grate may be the only thing your food touches, but there’s a lot more underneath and they’ll come off better once everything is heated up. WARNING: If your grill is heavily greased and the drip pan is full, do not operate it . Skip to the tray and tub cleaning steps below and then come back here. Set all burners to high, close the lid and leave for an hour. During this time, collect the staging : gloves, spatulas, garbage bags and newspaper or flattened cardboard box. Scrub the grates as best you can with the brush of your choice and turn down the heat. Part one is done.
Once the grates are cool enough to handle with heat-resistant mitts or gloves, remove them, as well as any internal parts (like those triangular rods), and place them on a handy, flattened piece of cardboard.
2. Clean the drip tray.
Pull the pan out and use a putty knife to scrape everything you can straight into the trash. If the pan is covered in grease, be sure to clean that too. I don’t like using chemicals other than dish soap here, but if you use solvent or grease remover , be sure to thoroughly wash and dry the pan before placing it on the grill.
Step 3: Clean the tub (where the burners are).
Now that you’ve polished the tray to a great shine, we’re going to get it dirty again. The drain hole from the tub to the pan can become clogged, so it’s best to clean out what’s in the pan first before trying to push more debris through such a small hole. Grab your trusty knife and scoop out all the dirt into the pan, dump it out and replace the pan, grates, and internal components as needed, and that’s it. This is a very short and incredibly enjoyable process that will lead to better heat distribution across the hob .