Cleaning Your Grill

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I have a gaser, a Weber Genesis 300 series, the old model, in Stainless Steel

As we have had one heck of a coupla years, I have not had the energy to clean my poor baby for, oh, maybe 3 years or more even.
I decided last week, today is the day!
It took me 4 days, chipping away, literally, at all of the muck that had accumulated ... it was so bad, the grease tray under the cook box was completely FULL of crud!!!
Thankfully, it has been overcast and I was able to get everything pretty clean.
I was getting so frustrated with the cooking grates, I was this close to throwing in the towel and buying whole new set - $186 - NOPE!!!
I'm stubborn that way. I must have read 20 articles, watched 15 You Tube videos, on what products I should and should not be using, when finally I came across this guy on You Tube who said, "... you just plain and simple DON'T want everything to been as shiny and clean as they day you bought it. You invested all that time and effort to get a nice non-stick patina, why throw it away?"
AGREED!
So armed with a bucket of hot soapy-water, a paint scraper, an old spoon, a plastic putt knife - all for the cook box - a garbage bag, household ammonia and that green 3M scrubby pad for the cooking grates - and Weisman Stainless Steel Cleaner and Polish, oh, and a boatload of old, soft rags - I did it!
That's as good as it's gonna look and I promise to never neglect my poor baby ever again.
This grill is my dream come true, I promise to take better care of him.

 

[medtran49]

Oven cleaner is your friend...

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Oven cleaner is your friend...

Can I use that on Stainless steel?

 

[medtran49]

Craig has used on the Weber grates, but he thinks they are just chromed. He's also used it on the smoker, but I think they are cast iron.

I'd read the oven cleaner label.

 

[jennyema]

Oven cleaner. Spray them and put them in a plastic trash bag overnight.

But frankly, I’d just heat it up like a mf’er and then scrape like hell. With a scraper and ball of foil. And then I’d carry on.

Your grill looks like a million bucks!

 

[HeyItsSara]

we clean ours at the end of every grilling season. much less buildup that way.

 

[caseydog]

K-Girl, which grates do you have? I have the porcelain coated steel grates on my Genesis. They work fine for me. I don't think you have the same grates, because mine were nowhere near that expensive when I replaced them.

Weber's customer support line is incredible. My Genesis is a 2001 model, and I can get any parts I need with a phone call. They arrive at my door in a matter of days.

The only things I have to replace on a regular basis are the flavoriser bars. They take a lot of direct heat, and my Genesis is kept on the patio, so they rust out in about two to three years.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

If you have an oven that cleans itself with high heat, put the grates in the oven and run a cleaning cycle.

 

[caseydog]

If you have an oven that cleans itself with high heat, put the grates in the oven and run a cleaning cycle.

If I crank the heat up all the way on all three burners on my Genesis, it gets way hotter than my oven can, and it is outside. When I want to clean my grates, I just need to put all three burners on medium for abut 20 minutes, then use a wire brush on them.

CD

 

[Andy M.]

If I crank the heat up all the way on all three burners on my Genesis, it gets way hotter than my oven can, and it is outside. When I want to clean my grates, I just need to put all three burners on medium for abut 20 minutes, then use a wire brush on them.

CD

In a self cleaning oven, the crud turns to ash. There is no scrubbing.

 

[caseydog]

In a self cleaning oven, the crud turns to ash. There is no scrubbing.

Same thing happens in the grill. The wire brush just knocks the ash off the grates. It takes maybe 30 seconds.

CD

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

@caseydog the grates on my Genesis are SS, I got `em as clean as I could using Crude Cutter after the Ammonia trick, good stuff.
My Flavorizer Bars are still okay, for now. They too are SS and cost $144 per set - I'll wait on those.
The Heat Deflectors are going to need to be replaced as well soon and cost $45 per set.

For those three items (grates, bars & deflectors), my cart totals $374 !!!

 

[jennyema]

Wire brushes aren’t safe

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/wire-grill-brush-danger/

The Dangerous Reason You Should Never Use a Wire Brush to Clean Your Grill

Better safe than sorry this summer!

www.tasteofhome.com

Plenty of safe and effective alternatives

 

[caseydog]

Can I use that on Stainless steel?

You can use just about anything on Stainless Steel. Stainless can discolor or not be as shiny after use and cleaning, but it doesn't rust or get ruined by heavy use and harsh cleaners.

CD

 

[caseydog]

@caseydog the grates on my Genesis are SS, I got `em as clean as I could using Crude Cutter after the Ammonia trick, good stuff.
My Flavorizer Bars are still okay, for now. They too are SS and cost $144 per set - I'll wait on those.
The Heat Deflectors are going to need to be replaced as well soon and cost $45 per set.

For those three items (grates, bars & deflectors), my cart totals $374 !!!

I didn't even know you could get stainless steel flavorizer bars. My porcelain enamel coated ones last me a few years, and don't cost much. I buy a set, and only replace them one at a time, as needed. I can go a good five years on one complete set.

My Weber Genesis is 23 years old, and sits outside on my patio 24/7/365. They are expensive (I saw a new one at Home Depot for $1,399 the other day), but they last forever, and I can still get parts with a phone call.

CD

 

[caseydog]

Wire brushes aren’t safe

https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/wire-grill-brush-danger/

The Dangerous Reason You Should Never Use a Wire Brush to Clean Your Grill

Better safe than sorry this summer!

www.tasteofhome.com

Plenty of safe and effective alternatives

I've heard about the wire brush paranoia, and just don't buy it. If I were blind, I would worry, but I can see if a bristle is stuck to my grill grates. I use a wire brush when I heat up my grills, and then wipe the grates down with a paper towel and canola oil before every cook. I've been doing that for 40-plus years, and I've never seen a single wire brush bristle.

According to the internets, cooking meat over fire is dangerous. That char we love on our steaks is going to kill us with cancer!!! Then again, eating a steak is dangerous, according to the internets. We should all be vegans and steam our food... and then walk to work and get hit by a bus.

CD

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I saw this You Tube video back aways ...

I use what was previously recommended by ATK

The Only Patented, Award-winning Grill Brush - Grill Wizard

Voted Best Grill Brush by Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen(ATK), and others. Back in production, reserve yours here.

www.grillwizard.com

I've used this one for years to clean the grates before cooking on them.
As many folks do, I preheat the grill, brush it down and apply a liberal coating of vegetable oil via the wadded up paper towel and tongs method.
I think I may be changing over to that Kona Safe Clean bristle free brush once my SS pads run out for the Grill Wizard.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

This product keeps popping up in my FB feed:

Hmmm maybe ...

 

[jennyema]

I've heard about the wire brush paranoia, and just don't buy it. If I were blind, I would worry, but I can see if a bristle is stuck to my grill grates. I use a wire brush when I heat up my grills, and then wipe the grates down with a paper towel and canola oil before every cook. I've been doing that for 40-plus years, and I've never seen a single wire brush bristle.

According to the internets, cooking meat over fire is dangerous. That char we love on our steaks is going to kill us with cancer!!! Then again, eating a steak is dangerous, according to the internets. We should all be vegans and steam our food... and then walk to work and get hit by a bus.

CD

Yeah. I felt that way, too until I found a wire in my burger. That I had cooked myself. You couldn’t see it. I pulled it out of my mouth before I swallowed it.

It’s not paranoia. It’s pretty real.

 

[caseydog]

I saw this You Tube video back aways ...

I use what was previously recommended by ATK

The Only Patented, Award-winning Grill Brush - Grill Wizard

Voted Best Grill Brush by Cook's Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen(ATK), and others. Back in production, reserve yours here.

www.grillwizard.com

I've used this one for years to clean the grates before cooking on them.
As many folks do, I preheat the grill, brush it down and apply a liberal coating of vegetable oil via the wadded up paper towel and tongs method.
I think I may be changing over to that Kona Safe Clean bristle free brush once my SS pads run out for the Grill Wizard.

I use a similar method. I let my gas grill go for about 15 minutes on high after a cook, then turn it off. That turns pretty much everything to ash. The next time I use it, I heat it up on high, give it a scrape with my SS wire brush, and coat the grates using a paper towel and oil -- I use my hands instead of tongs, because I'm a man.

CD