# Grate cleaners...



## inkjunkie (Jan 8, 2016)

What are you folks using to clean your cooking grates? On my RF I have been using a putty knife. Occasionally I will use,a wire wheel on a drill followed by a thorough blast with an air hose. On the Egg I have been using "The Great Scrape". While it knock the bigger junk off it leaves a lot of small gritty stuff....


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## chef jimmyj (Jan 8, 2016)

Since the temp in my MES never goes above 275, a soak in Soapy Water and a Veggie Brush makes them look new. Definitely found a pre-treat with PAM makes cleanup easier...JJ


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## kovaku (Jan 8, 2016)

I personally use oven cleaner.  I spray the racks and let them sit a few hours then rinse them off.  If I have anything left on them just a rag will remove it.  Obviously I only do this on the racks and the racks are removed from the smoker when spraying. It works great.


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## valleypoboy (Feb 12, 2016)

It depends on the surface of your grill:

Porcelain coated xxxx:

Pretty hard to mess this up.  

Inside -

Bring it inside your home wash it in your sink or toss them in to your dish washer and the should come out good as new.  

Outside -

Wait for your BBQ to heat up then wipe it clean with a wet towel.  Or heat it up and use whatever type scrubber you're happy with.  I've read horror stories lately of people finding steel pins in their burgers and the story pointed to cheap BBQ brushes losing their pins while the owner cleaned their grill.  I've used cheap walmart BBQ brushes for years and never had a problem, but I also clean the grill enough that nothing will be "stuck" on the top of the grill...

Cast iron:

Scrub them down with whatever srubber you have, you can't hurt them this way.  Either bring them inside and sink wash them, scrub them with the coarse side of your sponge or a chainmail type scrubber.  NEVER leave them wet though.  I only clean them right before I'm about to use my BBQ.  Of course if it's cast iron you could "season" the grill the same way you would a cast iron pan and it should become a lot easier to clean.

This brings me to the reason I'm here today.  I was wondering how others here feel about the BBQ grill mats?  I've cold smoked cheese on them a few times and liked the results, but I did some pork recently and I noticed that the side that's DOWN does not get any color and when I flip it looks like cold grey dead flesh.  I also did tri-tip on them a couple times and did not notice this colorless problem.  I understand that I'm limiting my smoke penetration by doing this, but I wanted to try them.


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## tropics (Feb 12, 2016)

inkjunkie said:


> What are you folks using to clean your cooking grates? On my RF I have been using a putty knife. Occasionally I will use,a wire wheel on a drill followed by a thorough blast with an air hose. On the Egg I have been using "The Great Scrape". While it knock the bigger junk off it leaves a lot of small gritty stuff....


I do not know what kind of grates your smokers have.Take a look at this

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241332/new-q-toy

Richie

Sorry just reread and see you are using it


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## foamheart (Feb 12, 2016)

LOL... I am surprized I just assumed everyone was like me and used a Stainless steel wire brush. Each pit has one I keep in it and there is also one for the smokers. BUT like everyone said, if you Pam your grates, just a light brush and all the chucks come off. 













SS wire brush.jpg



__ foamheart
__ Feb 12, 2016


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## inkjunkie (Feb 13, 2016)

tropics said:


> I do not know what kind of grates your smokers have.Take a look at this
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241332/new-q-toy
> 
> Richie
> ...


Thanks for the link. I have several Eggs with the original grates....for now. Also a RF that I built, the grate is just mild expanded metal.


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## hb99 (Sep 16, 2016)

I clean off my grates (in place, like when you 're using them) with those cheap WalMart brushes while the smoker is cooling down, but still warm.  I scrape both sides.  The pieces fall into the water pan.  Never had any problems.

These brushes will get pretty gunked up solid with grease, burnt juices and such.  I use an old Cool Whip tub filled with hot water and some Dawn and let it sit for about an hour.  I get between the rows with those bamboo skewers and they come clean like they were new after a good rinse.

My smoker was also looking pretty messed up (dirty with cooking residue) so I used a wet soapy (Damn) towel and dried it with another towel.  It looks new as can be. I was impressed.


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