# Do you clean your grates?



## waytoodeep03 (Mar 4, 2010)

Before you start a new smoke or do you use the same from the last time you smoked


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## hoser (Mar 4, 2010)

No, I clean them....just feel a little guilty if I don't


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## rickw (Mar 4, 2010)

I clean the grates before every cook.


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## warthog (Mar 4, 2010)

I clean the grates when I finish a smoke and then again when I start a new smoke.  Got to keep your smoker clean.


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## mballi3011 (Mar 4, 2010)

When I first light up my smoker/grill and all 4 are gassers I get the fire going really good and then clean the grate with a wire brush cleaner thingy and then I'm good to go.


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## jirodriguez (Mar 4, 2010)

I wire brush them after each smoke and then lightly again at the start of each smoke once they get up to temp.


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## ak1 (Mar 4, 2010)

That's what I do.


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## scarbelly (Mar 4, 2010)

I travel so much that I clean after every smoke so the food doesnt start growing on them while I am gone


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## chainsaw (Mar 4, 2010)

Wash your racks after each use. Otherwise, little corners will start to accumulate black stuff. I like soaking in hot soapy water with a shot of bleach overnight, than the dishwasher. Loosens up the grime.


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## danielh (Mar 4, 2010)

Wire brush before and after each use while still hot, and clean good a couple of times a year...


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## jirodriguez (Mar 4, 2010)

.... you can wash if you have SS racks, but if you have cast iron like mine you don't want to remove the seasoning. But for stainless or ceramic coated washing is fine.


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## timtimmay (Mar 4, 2010)

I have cast iron racks.  I don't clean every time, and I never scrub off the seasoning.  I hit it with a brush to knock the food off but thats about it.


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## etcher1 (Mar 4, 2010)

What he said^^^


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## jd08 (Mar 4, 2010)

I have a BGE, so the odds are that I'll have the grill good and hot at least once between smokes, so a wire brush is what I use. 

I'm going to clean my oven in the near future, so I'll try putting them in there for the self clean cycle.

I've also heard a pressure cleaner is the simplest way, but as one has yet to be added to my collection of things I want but don't really use that much, I'll have to wait to find out.


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## captsly (Mar 4, 2010)

What they said!!


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## deltadude (Mar 4, 2010)

If you have cast iron grates and no way to get the temp up to 500º+ and you are leaving those grates uncleaned.  If you don't use those grates frequently, then you will have rusted grates.  Food bits have moisture, that food will continue to collect moisture and will eventually create a rust spot.  If you have a gas grill and your smoker grates fit, crank up the gasser and put the smoker grates in the gasser to burn & char the food and grease then return to you smoker and give em a good wire brushing.


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## garyt (Mar 4, 2010)

After I am done and before I start I get her up to 300+ and hit them with a spray of water


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## meateater (Mar 5, 2010)

I give mine a good brushing after each smoke and before I lay the meat on the grill on the next one. I live in an APT. and use the community propane grills on occasion to clean my grills. They will heat to 700*, good enough to get the build up off.


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## chefrob (Mar 5, 2010)

ditto for my horizontal but for my gasser i scrub the racks after every smoke.


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## timtimmay (Mar 5, 2010)

That makes sense.  The manual says to never scrub off the seasoning so it's hard to see where to draw the line.  I think knockng the food off with the brush is good.  Maybe once a year burn it all off and reseaso .


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## mr mac (Mar 5, 2010)

Another option is a self cleaning oven.  They work great for cleaning cast iron smoker and grill grates.

As for me, as soon as the grates (mine are chromed steel) are cool enough to touch I clean them and then store them in the kitchen cabinet devoted to outdoor cooking!


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## treegje (Mar 5, 2010)

I clean the grates before every cook.


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## tlzimmerman (Mar 5, 2010)

I steel wool my stainless gates after each smoke while still warm....doesn't take much.


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## chef jeff tx (Mar 8, 2010)

As others have mentioned, I hit them with the brush after each use. When I get ready to go again I let the grill or pit get screamin' hot, wet my brush and get after the grates once more before putting the meat on.


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## realtorterry (Mar 8, 2010)

if you don't clean them who will?


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## pugetsnd (Sep 5, 2017)

I know that folks use wire brushes to clean the grates. However, I've seen reports where some of the wires come loose and and end up in the food. Once ingested, they can cause tears in the bowels and require major surgery.

I've found that like oven cleaning settings, high heat can carbonize the stuck on food and oils(fat) and render them harmless. Seasoning cast iron pans and woks requires oils to be spread on the surfaces and then heated on high heat. This forms a sort of non stick surface.

I use a propane torch (like the soldering type, i.e. Benzomatic) to heat the grill grates and carbonize any food residue on the grates. The high heat also creates a non stick surface over time. Fast and easy.  Of course, you can build a hot fire in the grill/smoker and rotate the grates over the high heat-but this takes time and wastes a lot of the charcoal.


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## Rings Я Us (Sep 5, 2017)

Mine have a build up on them but it's smooth like non stick.. so I leave it and just heat up the chunks and scrape those off . I stopped trying to have all sparkling chrome on the ECB grates. As long as its not rough .


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