I’ve always been resistant to cleaning things that are outside. The dirt lives outside – the “home of the dirt”, if you will. But now that I live in a house that has its own little piece outside, I see that cleaning up those outside spaces is necessary, especially now that I’m doing quite a bit Cooking in my garden.
Aside from sweeping the patio (a scam I can’t escape) and my garden (lazy and a little bad), my most common outdoor work revolves around my Weber kettle.
A dirty grill is, in a word, gross. It’s so gross that weaker men (such as This one here) entirely on the cooking method, possibly because these men are used to women cleaning up afterwards. In any case, a clean grill is important. Dirty gas grills are slightly more dangerous than their charcoal counterparts, but grease fires can start anywhere there’s grease, and dirty grids and bowls can make your food taste bad and, if left dirty long enough, lead to all kinds of bacterial build-ups. Fortunately, cleaning your charcoal grill isn’t difficult. (If you have a dirty gas grill, read this.)
Scrub the grids at the beginning of each cooking process
There is nothing more beautiful than a purifying fire. Instead of trying to clean your grids while they’re cold and sticky, let them heat for at least five minutes each time you light your grill, then scrub them with a wire brush, some padded foil, or some other grill cleaner thoroughly device of your choice. The high heat carbonizes the stuck on residue and flakes off immediately. Do this every time you grill and you will never have to deal with an unwieldy amount of debris.
G / O Media can receive a commission
People are not perfect, however, and I would never judge you for accumulating an unwieldy amount of clusters. I’ve never let this happen (since I’ve only had my grill for a few months) so I haven’t had a chance to try cumbersome debris-cleaning methods, but The kitchen tested four different cleaning methods for dirty grills and found that both Easy-Off and a mixture of baking soda and dish soap worked exceptionally well. So try these out if the hot heat doesn’t cut it.
Don’t forget the bowl
After a long smoking session or a particularly hamburger-heavy gathering, the bowl of your charcoal grill (the part under the grates) needs some attention. You don’t have to clean your bowl every time you grill, but once a week or month is a good idea depending on how much you’re grilling. If it starts to look and smell greasy (you know the aroma) go ahead and bathe it.
Start by putting all of the ash in the ash trap. The weaver has a nice little sweeper knife system, but I’ve found it can miss some spots and I usually have to brush any remaining ash into the holes with my grill brush or paper towel.
Next, grab a bucket of warm, soapy water (I used Dawn) and scrub this bowl. Use a steel wool pad if you encounter stubborn debris.
Wipe the soap off with a damp cloth and resist the urge to get your grill “perfectly clean”. You’ll just fill it up with ashes again, and that’s clean enough.
Show some love to the outside
I don’t know what your outdoor environment is like, but mine is full of dust and pollen, and this stuff likes to build up on my lovely charcoal baby. A swiffer or microfiber cloth is usually enough to spice it up and a little glass cleaner is enough to restore its shine, and I love the way it shines.
