How to Clean Your Grill
With summer in the air, picnics on our schedules and barbeque on the mind, there’s nothing better to do for dinner than fire up the grill and cook up some satisfying summer dishes like delicious burgers, hardy hot dogs and authentic Italian sausage. When you’re spending the summer with your grill out for parties, casual occasions, family gatherings and more, you should make sure it’s properly cleaned to ensure the fresh taste, high quality and safe preparation you expect with every meal.
Here are some helpful tips for ensuring your grill is squeaky clean and good to go all summer long.
How Often To Clean Your Grill
Maintaining your grill is a big part of keeping it fully functional and safe for grilling meats, vegetables and whatever else you decide to cook. Some manufacturers say that extensive grill cleaning is only necessary once or twice a year, but if your grill sees a lot of use — especially over the summer — you should be performing both maintenance cleanings and thorough cleanings much more regularly.
Every time you use your grill, you should quickly clean off the grill grates and rack with a grill brush and damp rag to make sure the cooking surfaces are free of debris, dirt and blackened remains before your next cooking. You also need to regularly clean out the ash in your charcoal grill to prevent buildup. More thorough cleanings should take place seasonally or every few months.
What Cleaning Products to Use
While you want to make sure your grill is clean and sanitary for your summer cookouts, you also need to make sure the cleaning products you use are safe for grills and not toxic to consume. Remember, you’re preparing food on this surface, so don’t choose cleaners with any dangerous chemicals. A regular bucket of soapy water will do the job just fine — or, if you’d like, you can purchase BBQ grill cleaner at your hardware or grocery store.
Cleaning Methods
When it’s time to do an in-depth cleaning of your gas or charcoal grill, follow these steps:
Thoroughly scrub down the grates and rack with your scrub brush and soapy water or cleaner. You can remove and soak the grates if they’re especially grimy.
Remove your burner protectors and wash them thoroughly in a bucket of soapy water with your sponge or scrub brush.
Wipe away the grime on your burners with a sponge or wet rag until the interior of your grill is free of debris.
Clean out all the ashes and additional debris from the plates and tray at the bottom of your grill.
What to Look for When Cleaning Your Grill
To ensure your grill is sanitary, shiny and all prepped for your next use, make sure to keep a careful eye out for ashes, blackened chunks of food, mold around the inside and edges of your grill and any other bacteria buildup. If you perform small, everyday cleanings of your grates after each grilling, you shouldn’t see much more than dirt and ash when it comes to your seasonal cleaning. If you do spot any mold, vinegar is a great way to eliminate it. Cleaning your grill regularly will also keep it from rusting and make sure it has a long life.
Grill It Up With Premio
When your grill is all clean and you’re ready to start cooking, try grilling up Premio’s Italian sausage recipes all summer. Search for our store locations, download online coupons and buy real Italian sausage today.