Grilling season has already arrived for a large part of the country and it is just around the corner for the rest. Before you pull your grill out and start using it to concoct your latest outdoor creations your grill needs a bit of love too. Taking the time to clean, maintain, and season your grill will not only make sure your grill lasts much longer but will make grilling this season a lot easier.
Use a bit of elbow grease
Over time grills get built up with black smoke on the lids and the grates can become black and crusted with food bits as well. Depending on the type of grates and where you store your grill you may even have a bit of rust. The first thing you must do is to inspect your grill for any rust spots or areas that need a bit of extra attention. This little bit of extra care will ensure that your grill gives you as many years as possible. Clean any dirty areas with warm soapy water and a scrub brush.
Scrape down the grates to remove any food bits that may be left over from last year. Once the grill is clean, turn all of the burners on high and close the lid let it burn until any residue turns to white ash. Use a metal brush to brush the ash and any other lingering bits off the grates.
Season Your Grill for Easy Use
One step that many people fail to take when using a grill for the first time or pulling the grill out for the year is to take the time to season the grill. Seasoning the grill is much easier than seasoning cast iron, although it is done for much the same reasons. A Seasoned grill gives off a wonderful vapor and smoke that gives grilled foods their amazing flavors. To season your grill simply cook off a high fat meat such as bratwursts or Italian sausages. You will want to cook the sausages slower than normal because ideally you should season your grill for at least 30 minutes. Turn your grill to a low medium heat and cook until sausages are hot and very brown. Remove sausages and then set the burners on high, and let the grill burn off any residue until it turns white. This should take about 20 or 30 minutes total. When the grill has had a bit of a chance to cool use a wire brush and scrape it down one last time.
Things to Remember During the Grilling Season
Now that your grill is seasoned cleaning and maintenance should never take very long. Make sure that you always get your grill hot before you use it, and make sure you use a wire brush to scrape the grill down before each use. Once you have scraped the grill turn it on high for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce any residue to ash. Scrape the grill down after you have used it and your grill should give you many evenings of succulent grilling throughout the year.
