It's finally nice enough outside to have a barbecue. But before you get out the sausages or vegetable skewers, it's a good idea to clean the grill grate. Here are our top tips on how to prepare for the barbecue season with a fresh grill!
5 effective methods for cleaning grill grates
1. cooking oil
A smart housewife trick to make cleaning the grill grate easier is to grease it with cooking oil before you start grilling. This will make it harder for food residues to burn, which in turn will make the cleaning process easier with a regular grill brush after you have finished grilling. You do know that you should preferably use the grill brush when the grill is still hot, right? Just be careful not to burn yourself!
2. soap
A classic method for cleaning barbecue grates is with soap and oven. All you need to do is smear the grid with soap and put it in the oven at 100 degrees for 30 minutes. The soap will loosen up any ingrained grease and dirt. Let the grid cool and wash as usual to get it sparkling clean!
3. soap bath
Soap baths are an easy way to clean barbecue grates without much effort. All you need to do is fill a large bucket or bin liner with soap and water and leave the grates to soak for a few hours. Soap has a similar effect to washing-up liquid, dissolving grease and food residues.
4. bicarbonate
Sometimes the grill brush isn't enough to get rid of stubborn dirt that has been burning for a long time. Try this effective (and non-toxic) method that only requires bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Baking soda is a perennial favourite for all things cleaning. And maybe it's no wonder, because it's so effective! If you have a really dirty grill grate, you can easily clean it with the following method:
- Place the grid on a tray
- Sprinkle liberally with bicarbonate of soda or baking powder
- Add a few tablespoons of vinegar
- Pour on hot water
- Leave on for 30 minutes
- Crumple aluminium foil into a ball and scrub well
Rinse off and the grating is like new!
5. Cleaning grill grates with Coca-Cola...?
Yes, it does work! Coca-Cola contains corrosive properties and can therefore dissolve dirt. Place the grid on a baking tray and pour over the drink, leave for 1 hour. Then proceed to scrub with aluminium foil.
Psst! Did you know that Coca-Cola can be used to clean oven trays?
