How to clean a grill

Key steps:

• Clean your grill on a regular basis to prevent the build-up of grease

• Wear protective clothing when cleaning to avoid ruining your clothes

• Remember to clean the drip tray too!

Grilled food is tasty and it’s healthy too, but to make sure your meat, fish, or veg will always be cooked to perfection, you need to make sure your grill regularly gets a good clean. Fat and burnt food can get crusted on to the wire rack and drip down below. If you don’t want a kitchen full of smoke you should make cleaning your grill as much of a priority as cleaning your oven – the same goes for a barbecue!

Although commercial cleaners are great for cleaning the grill, you can try a more natural solution – mix baking soda with vinegar and dilute with water, then pour your solution into a spray bottle for easy application.

What to use to clean a grill

Before you start cleaning, make sure you protect your clothes and put on rubber gloves – cleaning the grill can be a messy task! Gather together the following list of cleaning items:

• A stiff brush or wire wool

• A scrubbing sponge

• Oven cleaner like Cif Oven Cleaner (always read the directions on the label and make sure that it is safe for you to use on your grill)

• Washing up liquid

Be sure to check out your grill or barbecue manufacturers’ recommendations for instructions on how to clean your grill.

The best way to clean your grill

You’ll find it’s a lot easier to clean a grill grate if you’re able to soak it in hot soapy water. This might not be an easy task if the grill grate is large – especially if it comes from a barbecue – but if you need to clean a grill pan for use over or on the top of the oven, you shouldn’t find this a problem at all. Simply:

1. Squeeze a good quality washing up liquid like Persil into a sink of hot water and add the grill pan.

2. Let it soak for a good 15-30 minutes until the crusted on food comes loose.

3. Use a stiff brush or wire wool to scrub down along the ridges of the grill grate.

4. Turn the grill over and scrub the reverse side of the grill.

5. Rinse the grill down with clean cold water and dry it with a tea towel.

If you can’t soak the grill in a bucket of hot soapy water it might be a good idea to:

1. Place the grill grate on a protected surface.

2. According to the instructions on the label, spray an oven cleaner like Cif along the grill and wait for it to work. Again, read the directions on the label and take any necessary safety precautions first.

3. Use a scrubbing sponge to remove the oven cleaner and any loose food debris.

4. Run the grill under cold water, turn it over and repeat steps 2-4.

You can treat any grill pan designed to catch drips of fat or food in exactly the same way as described above. You should clean your grill at least once a month if you use it on a regular basis.