Cleaning Your Grill and Smoker
High heat, a grill cleaning brush and a little elbow grease are all you need.There is almost no care for outdoor grills beyond keeping it clean. If you follow these tips, grill maintenance will never be a big job—and there is very little to getting your grill ready for the summer season.
Preheat every time you use the grill—or smoker—and brush the cooking grates once it is pre-heated.
Scour food grates briskly with a good grill cleaning brush while the cooking grates are hot. Brass or soft-metal bristles are stiff enough to do a thorough cleaning, (“I say soft on the grates, hard on the grime!”) but not so strong like stainless steel that they will scratch the grates. There is no need to clean the cleaning brush, and the best place to store it is hanging from the grill. If you don't have a grill brush, crush a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil into a ball and place the foil ball between a pair of tongs (preferably 12-inch locking tongs), scrub the grate with the ball of foil.
Repeat the process after removing the food from the cooking grate and after you have allowed the food to burn off for 10 minutes. Clean the grates twice each cookout, once before grilling and once after, and you'll never have to worry about a dirty grill filled with residue. Each time, for gas; turn the burners on high for 10 minutes to burn off any residue, then turn them off and brush the grates thoroughly.
Replace the lid of your charcoal grill and let the coals burn out, incinerating any leftover food. Remove accumulated ashes from charcoal grills each time you cook out. I like to use a small metal pail so no embers catch fire in the trash bin.
For a pellet grill, I remove the food, increase the temperature to about 400F and let it run for about 10 minutes to loosen and burn off any food that is stuck to the grates. Then I brush and I am good to go.
Don't be obsessive about cleaning your grill. Though it's important to keep the grates free of food residue, don't scrub the grill lid or the bottom. Smoke creates a really nice seasoning patina over time—like a well-used cast-iron skillet—that lets you taste pure outdoor cooking flavor instead of metal.
Treat the cooking grates like a cast-iron skillet and keep them away from the dishwasher. Putting them in the dishwasher will get rid of great seasoning. The more you use your grill, the more seasoned it gets, the more nonstick the grates are, and the better the food will taste.
Check the drip pans before grilling or smoking. Most gas grills and pellet grills have two: a large one that catches food, and a smaller, disposable one below it that catches grease and can be fitted with a disposable foil liner. Slide out and empty the large pan at least once a month if you grill frequently. It will invariably have charred food in it. Brush the big stuff out with your grill brush and dump into a small metal pail that you can empty into a heavy-duty garbage bag. The remaining sooty ash can be removed with gloved hands. I wear thick dishwashing gloves or silicone gloves that can be washed in the top shelf of my dishwasher. Use warm soapy water (Dawn and Mrs. Meyer’s lavender are my favorites!), a sponge with one rough side and a garden hose to finish washing the large drip pan. Slide out and replace the small one with a disposable aluminum pan when it is about half full.
If you use a charcoal grill, anything that falls through usually goes into a disposable drip pan or burns up. Remove ashes that collect in your grills ash catcher and remember that the embers may still be live (see number 4 above.)
Annual maintenance of an outdoor gas or charcoal grill: Once a year, in the Spring, I do a more thorough cleaning—Spring Cleaning. For a gas grill only, turn the burners on high, close the lid and let the grill run for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how dirty it is. It is time to turn the burners off when the residue has burned down to a white-gray ash that can be easily brushed off. Turn the burners off, open the lid and brush the grates thoroughly. Let the gas grill cool and wash the grates with dish soap, warm water and a kitchen sponge with a soft plastic scouring side. Rinse with clear water and let dry 15-30 minutes before using. Do not use oven cleaner or abrasives such as oven cleaner and steel wool, which can damage the finish of the cooking grates for both charcoal and gas grills.
For a gas grill, check and see if igniters, cooking grates or gas burners need to be replaced. Depending on the cost of the parts, you may decide that it makes more sense to buy a new grill than re-build an existing one. And, these days, the better grills have limited lifetime warranties so they are worth the investment.
For charcoal grills, you don’t need to heat it up, you only need to wash and rinse the grill. If there is a lot of built-up residue, you can decide whether or not to buy a new cooking grate or clean the old one—most people buy a replacement grate as they are inexpensive and lightweight. Remove and wash the large drip pan and replace the small pan. Rinse with clear water and let dry 15 to 30 minutes before using. Charcoal grills can be completely dis-assembled and and given a good rinse with an outdoor hose—some people even use power washers, let the parts dry in the sun and put the grill back together.
For pellet grills or smokers, you don’t need to heat it up, you only need to wash and rinse the grill. Wash the grates with dish soap, warm water and a kitchen sponge with a soft plastic scouring side. Rinse with clear water and let dry 15-30 minutes before using. Do not use oven cleaner or abrasives such as oven cleaner and steel wool, which can damage the finish of the cooking grates for both charcoal and gas grills. after you have cleaned your pellet smoker, turn it on and let it run for about 30 minutes at 350, brush the cooking grates, turn off and let cool.