There are several different ways to clean a gas grill, before we discuss them in detail, let’s start by talking a little about the dark sides of a dirty grill and about the positives of a clean gas grill.
Many people find cooking on a dirty grill to be disgusting and irresponsible. The very sight of awfully dirty grill grates is enough to get the guests’ imagination running, add to that the fact that dirty grates have a negative impact on the flavor of food ( it is easy to feel the taste of burned food or old grease ) and disappointment on your guests’ faces is guaranteed.
What else does a grill in a state of neglect have a negative impact on? When it comes to a gas grill, you have to pay attention to very important elements such as the burners and the grease draining system. Burners have tiny holes that can get clogged with food remains. Clogged burner holes cause a gas grill to be less efficient, one can experience problems with reaching higher temperatures and much longer time needed for the grill to preheat. One has to also pay attention to other significant elements such as the grease draining system.
In order to avoid such situations, problems and disappointed guests, one has to regularly clean individual elements of a gas grill. How to do that? When and how many times? It all depends on what effect you aim to achieve. There are elements that have to be cleaned before or after each cooking and there are elements that only have to be cleaned once or twice a year ( usually after the season ends and the grill is to be stored away in the right place until the next season ).
First Clean the Grill Grates
It is something that has to be performed after each cooking. Most people say so and we 100% agree with that. Clean grates guarantee tasty food without feeling the taste of old, burned grease. Well-cleaned grates also reduce the number of flare-ups, which is because old food and grease remains get removed from the surface of grates.
Luckily it is very easy to do, if you don’t feel like doing it right after you’re done cooking, then you should definitely do that before you start cooking the next time.
- In order to get grill grates cleaned of food and grease remains, first preheat the grill. To do that, crank up the burner knobs all the way, close the lid and wait for the grill to warm up. High temperature inside the grill will burn away the food and grease remains and make the rest of the cleaning process easier.
- Next grab a brush in your hand and get the grates thoroughly cleaned so that there is no trace of burned food or grease left on their surface. An important note here, pick the right brush for your type of grill grates so that you don’t damage their surface. If your grates are made of steel, you can go ahead and clean them with a wire brush, if your grates are delicate on the other hand ( like porcelain coated ) then it will be the best to buy a nylon brush which is more delicate and won’t damage the coated surface.
Done – Don’t use any chemicals to clean the grates, no chemical agents or water. It is enough to do it the way we described above, it is the most convenient, easiest and best way for grill grates.
Thorough Cleaning of a Gas Grill
It might seem like a complicated procedure at first, but the truth is that it is an easy task as long as you follow several rules. First of all, only perform thorough cleaning of a gas grill when the grill is cold, and secondly, never use strong chemical agents or water to clean the grill, especially the internal chamber ( maybe except for the external part of the lid, but it is necessary to get it dry after cleaning ).
If you still happened to have used a lot of water when cleaning, don’t worry yourself, it’s not the end of the world. In such case you have to get the grill dry, all you have to do is start the burners, close the lid and wait for a while. The high temperature inside the grill will cause the water to evaporate. Why do we put so much emphasis on water here? Because water accumulated inside a grill contributes significantly to development of rust, which is something none of us would like to see in our grill.
Let’s get to the point
- Let me remind that the grill has to be cold. In the event that your grill grates are dirty, clean them using the method described above, then wait for the grill to cool down and then you can move on to a thorough cleaning of the entire gas grill.
- You need to get into the grill’s chamber which is why we suggest to start by removing the grill grates and the heated rack. Then once you get access to all the other elements, you have to remove them as well ( we’re talking about aromatizers, burners, covers, plates etc ). You need to do that to get access to the lower part of the grill’s chamber which is most likely to accumulate food remains fallen in there when cooking.
- After removing all the elements, clean the entire interior of the grill thoroughly, you can do that using a wet cloth, a plastic spatula or a soft brush.
- Check CircleNext let’s move on to cleaning the individual elements, the most important thing is to clean the burner holes. They tend to get clogged very often which has a bad impact on the grill’s efficiency. Make sure that all the holes are thoroughly cleaned, then move on to cleaning the remaining elements. If you clean using a wet cloth or sponge, try to get the wet surfaces dry.
- Check CircleAre all the elements cleaned and dried? Perfect, now put everything back in its place.
- Check CircleAre all the elements back in their place? Close the lid, take a wet cloth or sponge and clean the lid and side shelves. Then dry the surfaces, preferably using paper towels, which are great at collecting excess water.
- Check CircleAn optional task – It is not necessary, but you can do that. To make sure that all the elements are back in their place and work properly, start the grill. This activity also has another big advantage, in order to make sure that the inside of the grill is dry and doesn’t store water, warm up the grill. To do that, crank up the burner knobs all the way, close the lid and wait 10-15 minutes. You can watch if the grill is working properly all that time and you are sure that the inside is 100% dry.
When it comes to thoroughly cleaning a gas grill, it is a little different than with cleaning grill grates. It is an activity that only has to be performed 1-2 times a season depending on how often you use the grill and how dirty it is. If you live someplace where the weather won’t let you grill all year round and the season just ended, then we really suggest getting the whole grill cleaned just like we described above. After a season ends, people tend to put a cover on their grill and store it in a dry place, it is important for the grill’s interior to be 100% dry the whole time. Only this way you can be sure that after several months of break your grill is completely free from rust or mold.
Storing a Grill Properly
Let us finish this by also touching upon an important issue that is storing a grill out of the season and when you don’t cook on it.
Never leave the grill outside without any cover. Weather ( rain, snow, wind, sun, freezing rain ) is the biggest enemy of your grill, if you wish your grill to last for long, you need to take proper care of it and protect it. For that purpose you’re going to have to buy a special cover that will protect your grill from the harmful influence of external factors.
It doesn’t cost a lot and can significantly extend the durability of your grill and keep it clean. We especially recommend it if you decided to buy expensive gas grill.
Of course if you own a very cheap grill that will only be used for several years, you don’t have to take that advice super seriously. If you’re planning to spend a bigger amount on a high quality propane grill or natural gas grill, however, we suggest taking that piece of advice very seriously.
Of course, as always, we invite you to a discussion if you have your own interesting methods or advice to share with us.