Many of us have put our barbecue grills to the test this year as it's been a beautiful season to cook outside. But no matter how cautious you are to clean as you go, halfway through the grilling season things can really use a good cleaning. The best part about this process is you don't actually have to apply any elbow grease as it'll do all the work for you!
To start here's what you'll need in the way of supplies. You can substitute a bag from a retail store if you're low on trash bags or use ones that are compost friendly (they'll start decomposing before the job is done):
What You Need
Materials
• Grill Grate
• 3 cups Ammonia (scented or non)
• 3 cups White Vinegar
• 1 cup Baking Soda
• 1 plastic garbage bag
Instructions
1 Place your crusty grill grates outside in a plastic garbage bag. If you don't have a yard, this is best done in a space where they can be left. So if you don't have a secure balcony or rooftop area, it might be best done at a friend's (that's what they're for right?).
2 Mix the ammonia and white vinegar together. Add baking soda (gently but quickly and pour into bag. Seal bag and shake to coat the grate inside. If you're worried about the foaming, you can use just ammonia and nothing else, but this combo will clean even the toughest burnt-on-food.
3 Allow to sit in the sun for 24 hours and then remove grate from bag. Rinse with a hose (or in your kitchen sink if needs be) and you're right as rain and ready to keep on grillin'! You shouldn't need to scrub a thing as the cleaning solution will soften and break down all food particles, allowing the water to rinse them away.
That's all there is to it and you don't have to waste more than a minute's worth of time on the entire project!
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Image: Flickr member Jason McArthur licensed for use by Creative Commons
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I've never had trouble with just letting it heat the next time I'm cooking then giving it a good swipe with a bbq grate brush. Comes totally clean everytime.
jmorri26, that's an excellent method of keeping it clean, but some folks prefer not to use a grill brush or other preventative measures along the way!
The "heat it up, brush it off" method also seasons the grill grate making it more nonstick.
That would probably be a great once a year cleaning, since it's so easy & satisfying to just "heat it up, brush it off" before every use. (with propane powered BBQ's anyway, don't want to forget to turn it off, hehe.)
If you want to clean off quickly, cover the grates with foil as you heat the grill up. It'll trap the heat by the grates and get them super hot. After it's been heating for a while, open it up, crumple the foil into a ball and use it to brush off the grates while holding it with tongs. I use left over foil from cooking (washed or rinsed clean) saved through the week for this purpose. I don't have a grill brush because those usually just trap in the grease and get nasty quickly. I just reuse the foil from my kitchen, then it just gets dropped in the recycling bin when I'm done. oil the grates with veggie oil with a towel (regular or paper) and you're ready to cook. This process seasons the iron as you use the grill, and helps food to not stick. Same principle as with a cast iron skillet.
We tried this this morning and the mixture didn't foam. All the ingredients were brand new, just bought yesterday. Well, we're going to let it marinate for 24 hours and see if anything happens.
Yeah, this did not work. At all. Not even a little bit. Now we just have a greasy barbeque grill that is also wet and stinky. Ugh!
babyfishmouth - We've never had a problem with the method (and sometimes it doesn't foam, that's ok) in the past... the grates can be rinsed with water to remove any residue from the mixture before reusing.