Grill and BBQ Cleaning Tips from Perry Perkins

My good ole BBQ buddy, Perry Perkins of Burning Love BBQ, has offered his great Grill and BBQ cleaning tips. Super information. I have re-blogged his post here.

Perry is an accomplished author of numerous books on BBQing and outdoor cooking and is a wealth of outdoor cooking information. Make sure you check out his Burning Love BBQ blog site.

Grill and bbq cleaning tips Perry P Perkins | August 19, 2011 at 11:27 am | Tags: bbq, Caja China, cleaning, grates, green, grill,   La Caja China, wire brush | Categories:Hardware, Technique | URL: http://wp.me/pXojs-HG

I love to barbecue...but I'm less enthusiastic about cleaning the sticky, messy, burned-on gunk that collects on my grills and pits, afterward.

The sad fact is that dirt, grease and food remnants build up on the grill over time. This can reduce its efficiency and leave a nasty taste in any food that's cooked on it.

Now, I may not enjoy the cleaning process, but I put a lot of work into barbecuing and grilling meat to perfection, and I'm not about to let a dirty cooking area ruin my hard work!

Here are some basic cleaning tips to help your Q be the best it can be...

What you'll need:

• A stiff wire brush, with a scraper attached to the end.
• Paper towels, bar mops, or rags
• Plastic bristle dish washing brush
• Warm soapy water
• Newspaper/tarp to lay under the grill

Note: Clean the barbeque as soon as you're done cooking. It'll be easier to clean if it is still warm and the food won’t have had time to adhere to the grill.

Grill Grates - After cooking, turn all your burners on high, and allow any residual gunk to burn away, or carbonize for easier cleaning, then give the grates a good scrubbing with a wire brush (if you're a gadget geek, check this out!).

Clean your grates thoroughly (oven cleaner works great) or replace once or twice  a year, depending on usage.

Smoking/Cooking Chamber - Line with heavy foil to ease cleaning, and rinse with boiling water if grease begins to collect in the bottom.

Wire brush every few months, including the inside of the meat chamber door, hose out and allow to air dry with all doors/vents open.

1-2 times a year, scrub down with a heavy brush and degreaser, rinse clean with water. After cleaning, I like to run a couple of hours of fire and smoke to "re-cure" my pit. I don't know if this does anything, but is smells good and it makes me fee better.

Fire Pit - Not much is required as far as cleaning the fire chamber of your pit/smoker...EXCEPT: make sure you empty the cold ashes out after EVERY cooking. Cold ashes can suck up ambient moisture and create a bitter, acrid scent that can permiate the cooking area out your pit. Ever sniff a cold ashtray...do you want your brisket to taste like that? Me neither. It can also increase the risk of rust.

Gas Grills - if you have lava rocks in your barbeque, remove them (scrape them off, but don’t wash them) to get at the burner and all the gunk at the very bottom. If possible, remove the burner from the barbeque.
When replacing the lava rocks, put them dirty side down, so last seasons gunk will burn off.

La Caja China  - in addition to the instructions above, I scrub the interior of the box with hot soapy water after every use, then spay with a 50/50 bleach water solution and allow to air dry before replaceing the lid. If you have a semi-pro, plug the drain hole and pour several gallons of VERY hot water into the chamber, scrub and drain. Another gallon of hot water to clean out the drain pipe afterward is a good idea, as well. If you're using the top grates for grilling, flip them over and set them directly onto the remaining coals after cooking. While you're enjoying dinner, any residual gunk will be carbonized and easy to scrub off with a wire brush.


Green Clean - If you're not a fan of chemical cleaning products, there are a number of "green" cleaners on the market, or you can go old school and pour two cups of vinegar into the spray bottle; add two cups of water,  replace the lid on the bottle and shake it vigorously to mix. Spray the water/vinegar solution on the racks of the grill and the area above and underneath them to saturation.

Let the solution set for 10 minutes, and them scrub the racks with your wire brush and rinse with clear water. Wipe all appropriate surfaces down with a paper towel and high-heat cooking oil after cleaning.

Here's a great video by Lowe's home improvement expert, Mike Kraft, with tips on cleaning charcoal, gas and stainless steel bbq grills and grill grates:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHP-drpcfRI

Keeping a clean grill will provide you extended years of enjoyment and tastier food for you and your guests this summer.

Happy Q'in!

-Perry

So there you have it gang. Some great tips from Perry Perkins, Burning Love BBQ.

Thanks for all that Perry!!!

Until next time....