Grill Cleaning

[Krusatyr]

I just bought a PK360, a cast aluminum body and stainless steel grates and would appreciate expert input for an efficient, effective yet food safe means for regular cleaning. I'm considering Institutional restaurant de-greaser ($15/gal) followed by thorough water rinse. Then, when dry, quickly season lightly with avocado oil.

Aluminum is soft and chemically attracts smoke/grease build up.

 

[Rings Я Us]

It has those ash plugs.. Could you just use some dawn or Palmolive dish liquid and scrub it with a small brush and rinse it out with a garden hose?

 

[Rings Я Us]

Take care and good luck.

 

[SmokinRuss]

I have one of those long spray wands that look similar to a power washer with the soap container attachment for washing my car that I was thinking about using on my barrel grill with side firebox and I could use some Dawn dish soap instead of car wash soap in the soap dish that screws onto the wand. Would this work okay? Drying it real good with old bath towels afterwards of course. Then perhaps spray down with a coat of nonstick pan spray( I'm thinking of using regular stuff w/o the butter additive) then wiping it down. Sort of a process I suppose the way you would help keep a cast iron pan from rusting. Would this all work do you think or is it too much?

 

[Rings Я Us]

I'm not sure you need to wash anything down at all. Just keeping the grease out of the bottom is all. Most people just scrape the bottom out. you kinda want the inside to have some build up in it from cooking.

 

[Krusatyr]

For previous 30 years of grilling/smoking with carbon steel contraptions or brick, bluestone and cast iron pits, I was haphazard about cleaning and oiling resulting in flaking coatings of burnt grease and old smoke stink from twenty feet away, so now want a continuously cleaner experience. I've twice cleaned the upper and lower aluminum castings of the new PK360 with 4/0 steel wool and Barkeepers Friend and with Dawn and 3m pads and with Brillo pads. Muchos horas de trabajo.

I don't want to get too anal about it but like to see and smell clean, well kept equipment for all cooking, indoors and out, close to what a restaurant or catering service would perform for health inspections. Hence the industrial restaurant degreaser approach, probably with steel wool or 3m pads, then heavy water rinsing.

I wish this forum had one area just for grill cleaning techniques. As my overall quality of all types of cooking has advanced over decades, I have become cleaner and better organized. Perhaps the prep, planning and cleanliness is causal in the transition.

 

[SmokinRuss]

See I'm thinking too of being wary of possible food poisoning of previous meat smokes and a good clean grill would prevent any chances of that hence also of using 2 prs. of tongs one for putting the raw meat on the smoker and another to pull off the finished smoked meat.

 

[zymer]

I would just contact PK and ask what they recommend.

 

[Gingive]

Well, i was searching for grill cleaning, especially because i have a new grill, and i would like to take care about it. Anyway, i still can't get it... which grill cleaner would be the best. At the moment it's really hard for me to keep clean my house including the grill because i have some health problems with my legs and i just can't move, so I'm searching for answers on drug reviews. I hope you're going to recommend something that can facilitate my condition. Help!

 

[Krusatyr]

Hello Gingive:

I started with a meticulously cleaned PK360 cast aluminum grill yesterday for my pork shoulder butt enduro smoke with charcoal and mesquite. I endured 12 hours, then pulled it all. Meat was marvelous without "mop", without bbq sauce. Today I have a nasty stinky grill.

I'm trying a hopefully faster cleaning technique involving a degreaser and brillo pads and thorough water rinse. Incidentally, methodologies, not just cleaning agents, are tactically intermeshed.

The PK360 is easily detached into two halves, top & bottom, like walnut shells, with simple lift off and turn of a knob. this helps enable access to surfaces, especially the inside of the top, a very awkward area to clean if scrubbed in place.

I'm convinced there are knowledgeable bbq caterers in this forum who are really good at cleaning (they have to pass Health department inspections) who could share their trix. We need a forum section just for cleaning because often, more effort and time are invested in cleaning than cooking.

I also cook a lot indoors (I am a B+ to A- cook for rural cuisine of several varieties, from Provence to Creole to Southwest, including artisan bread) and am able to clean in the kitchen as I work, an impossible feat with long slow smokes on the grill.

Let me know if you acquire trix for more efficient cleaning.

 

[zymer]

Hello Gingive:

I started with a meticulously cleaned PK360 cast aluminum grill yesterday for my pork shoulder butt enduro smoke with charcoal and mesquite. I endured 12 hours, then pulled it all. Meat was marvelous without "mop", without bbq sauce. Today I have a nasty stinky grill.

I'm trying a hopefully faster cleaning technique involving a degreaser and brillo pads and thorough water rinse. Incidentally, methodologies, not just cleaning agents, are tactically intermeshed.

The PK360 is easily detached into two halves, top & bottom, like walnut shells, with simple lift off and turn of a knob. this helps enable access to surfaces, especially the inside of the top, a very awkward area to clean if scrubbed in place.

I'm convinced there are knowledgeable bbq caterers in this forum who are really good at cleaning (they have to pass Health department inspections) who could share their trix. We need a forum section just for cleaning because often, more effort and time are invested in cleaning than cooking.

I also cook a lot indoors (I am a B+ to A- cook for rural cuisine of several varieties, from Provence to Creole to Southwest, including artisan bread) and am able to clean in the kitchen as I work, an impossible feat with long slow smokes on the grill.

Let me know if you acquire trix for more efficient cleaning.

 

[Krusatyr]

See I'm thinking too of being wary of possible food poisoning of previous meat smokes and a good clean grill would prevent any chances of that hence also of using 2 prs. of tongs one for putting the raw meat on the smoker and another to pull off the finished smoked meat.

Contamination of original meat juices into/onto cooked meat can occur at several points and preventable through common sense cleanliness. I just wash the tongs after putting meat on the grill and after I turn the meat and wash meat test thermometers after withdrawing for testing. Digital probes that stay in are OK. I wash my hands and tools several times during a cook.

 

[zymer]

I contacted PK customer service, this was their response:

Our recommendation to clean the castings is to use Simple Green Spray, which is a degreaser. Sometimes the gunk on the inside can really build-up and in that case, you may want to power spray it. Just spray the inside of the casting and don't use anything that has bleach or harsh chemicals.

Thanks,
Cindy

I'll endorse the Simple Green. Been using it for years for many of my cleaning tasks. It usually comes as a concentrate so you can dilute according to the task.

I'd not use a Brillo or similar pad unless the crud has really crusted on. Those pads can scratch the finish which gives crud more places to cling to. I'd start with just a rough rag which might provide enough scrubbing power. If not, try a pink scotch-brite pad which is the most gentle. Move up to blue if you need more oomph.

Definitely don't use an oven cleaner or anything with sodium hydroxide as an ingredient.

You can use Bar Cleaner's Friend if you just want a quick polish of the exterior.

If you've got some really baked on crud, you might look for Dawn Power Dissolver. That stuff was like a Wizard's potion for cleaning abused cookware. It was off the market for a while but seems to be back, although I don't know if it is the same formula. I'm pretty sure it's safe for aluminum.

Never worked retail, but spent several years in an FSIS inspected meat production facility and a brewery so have more cleaning experience than I care to remember. Mostly stainless, though, and some copper in the brewery.

 

[Krusatyr]

Thank you Zymer, I appreciate your thoughtful and informed reply, a focused response to a specific problem that I'm sure other grill enthusiasts can find helpful, as well. I am headed out soon to find your product recommendations.

I agree with your caution not to abrade the stainless grates. The aluminum inside the upper and lower casting, however, is relatively rough to begin with and the brillo pads and/or 4/0 steel wool with Barkeeper's Friend make those surfaces smoother if anything. Certainly prefer to dissolve the gunk with a safe degreaser than hours of elbow grease!

 

[gmc2003]

Man, times sure have changed. I fondly remember going on family trips to the public beaches or parks and watching dad cook our lunch on those little hibachi type grills that were provided by the city or state. Just gave them a bit of a scrap and start cooking. Of course we didn't have the drug problem or homeless problem back then.

Chris

 

[gary s]

Good morning and welcome to the forum from another beautiful sunny and cool day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about everything.

I had one of those when I was a kid, they are great and I have been looking at getting another one.
I think all the above has you covered. Nothing like starting out fresh. I would have taken it to a car wash (If you don't have a power sprayer) Spray iy down good with Simple Green let sit a few then spray it inside and out,

Looking forward to seeing some great post.

Gary

 

[Krusatyr]

Man, times sure have changed. I fondly remember going on family trips to the public beaches or parks and watching dad cook our lunch on those little hibachi type grills that were provided by the city or state. Just gave them a bit of a scrap and start cooking. Of course we didn't have the drug problem or homeless problem back then.

Chris

Yes Chris, my father cooked similarly for family picnics in Texas parks. Still can do the open style grilling for burgers, steaks, pork tenderloin, chicken and fish whilst camping or in a park, sometimes covered with foil for a smoke trap, then done and leave for the next cook to burn it clean. I travelled all over Mexican beaches with a tent and just a 12" X 16" cast iron grate for grilling fish on the beach over coconut husk coals, to roll up in fresh tortillas with peppers and tomatoes. But if one seeks the 12 hour smoked butt or brisket, grilled out back at home, one invests in better, more enclosed equipment and accepts responsibility for cleaning it so it doesn't stink, draw flies and pose health threats, aye.

 

[zymer]

I buy Simple Green at Sam's Club. Locally it's only $9 for a little over a gallon and comes with a spray bottle.

 

[Krusatyr]

There is a milder Simple Green and then an Industrial Degreaser Simple Green, the latter I found online and ordered.

 

[troutman]

I use Simple Green for all of my cleaning needs, it works better than the more toxic brands imho. I just wire brush things down and spray out with a garden hose. The grates I scrub with a Brillo pad that has a handle fixed to it. I may not be quite as anal as you appear to be but I too believe in keeping it sanitary. What you really want to avoid is a grease fire, not good.

Having just said that; however, I'm not cooking for the general public. A certain amount of what I will call "character" is advantageous in a smoker. I'm in my late 60s and have been eating off dirty grates and in heavily smoked stick burners for decades and am still here to talk about it. Relax, just keep it reasonably clean and I trust you will be fine.