Grate maintenance

Chubbs · February 2015

What do you guys and gals do? Are you in the

a) do nothing club
b) give it a little hit with grill brush club
c) oil it down before and after use club

I am in the first club and my grates are a terrible shape.

jcaspary · February 2015

I'm in the b group. Whenever I take off the grid to load the lump i hit it real quick on both sides. Keeps it in pretty good shape. No real big crusties.

johnkitchens · February 2015

B

NPHuskerFL · February 2015

Mostly a. Occasionally b. Radiant heat does most of the cleaning for me.

Blassiter · February 2015

I am in the B group as well. Didn't know there was another way to be honest.

Chubbs · February 2015

I just noticed some of you have some clean grates compared to mine. Figured I was doing something wrong

Mattman3969 · February 2015

I teeter between A & B. Definitely not C.

Jeepster47 · February 2015

B ...

SmokeyPitt · February 2015

I am usually a B.

Every once in a while I am a B+. Hit it with the brush while it is still hot after cooking. However, far too often this cuts into the time when I should be eating.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · February 2015

I'm generally A until i need B and then I do that. Then I occasionally hit them with a pressure washer if I have it out for something else (once every 2 years). They are generally a hot mess but I throw them all in for pizza cooks and that cleans them up pretty good.

epcotisbest · February 2015

Always brush it down before and after, and ocassionally run it a cycle in the dishwasher.

Lmidkiff · February 2015

I'm in the B group

Ozzie_Isaac · February 2015

Grill brush!? No way. I ate a bristle once. No fun.

Lots of heat, ball of heavy duty aluminum foil to scrub, then finish with oil on paper towel.

Once every 6months or so I scrub it good with water and a scouring pad.

In the winter I pull the hot grate and drop it in the snow. It cleans ok, but mostly thats just for fun.

loveTheEgg · February 2015

I clean mine in soap and water after every use! I'm a freak!

Jeremiah · February 2015

Occasional weed burner torch.

DoubleEgger · February 2015

B but only if it looks really crusty. Why scrub off the flavor?

Dobie · February 2015

I did a thread like this a while back, lots of interesting takes on it.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1168605/grate-cleanliness/p1

Botch · February 2015

I used to be a "C" whenever I grilled any kind of seafood, but that's always on an alder plank now, so I'm in the "B" category. I tend to use the scraper now since reading the horror stories of stray stainless-steel brush strands...

paqman · February 2015

NPHuskerFL said:

Mostly a. Occasionally b. Radiant heat does most of the cleaning for me.

+1

RRP · February 2015

Count me in the "scrape the bad stuff off using a SS putty knife" category if there was one listed and then if need be I use a good quality wire brush that has stainless steel bristles. My recommendation on the brush is don't go cheap - it's not worth it in the long run! As for those brass grill brushes..FORGET it!

Guess I should have added an important lesson learned long ago - NEVER scrape your stainless steel grate with any ferrous metal tool as the ferrous metal will rub off into any minute pits in your grate! The longer you do that then your stainless grate will in fact start to show signs of rusting and will continue to deteriorate and REALLY pitt your grate!

Image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v232/Ronald44/IMG_1891.jpg

lousubcap · February 2015

In the main I'm running with "A". But I make sure to use a putty knife to remove chunks if the flavor of the follow-on cook will be negatively impacted.

ksmyrl · February 2015

B. With an occasional liberal spray from a can of high temp canola oil to keep the CI from rusting.

Dyal_SC · February 2015

I use Raichlen's 3 basic rules: Keep it hot, keep it clean and keep it lubricated. I don't lube after a cook, but I do typically lubricate before placing the food on the grill.