tighten, or replace it now…you’ll be too busy
cooking later. Make sure to sweep out and
hose down your favorite grill spot on the deck
or patio. Leaves, branches, pet toys, and other
miscellany. If you work with charcoal, check
for ashes left in the BBQ over the winter and
make sure you start fresh. Even with gas grills,
it’s a good idea to look for any residue build
up at the bottom. Remove it all and compost
or spread directly into the garden soil.
2.
If you haven’t already, shut off,
then disconnect the gas supply to your grill. Remove the
cooking grates and, using a soft wire brush,
clean any loose debris from the insides of the
body and lid. If your gas jets aren’t removable, We recommend covering them with a
length of tape before you start cleaning. This
helps minimize the chances of gunking up
the holes with loose debris. Scrape your “flavor panels” with a putty knife or scraper, and
use a wire brush to remove ash. Remove the
plates and brush any gunk off of burners with
a wire brush. Brush all debris from inside the
grill into the drip pan, and dispose of it.
3.
Prep Your Grates for another
spring and summer of cooking.
Lay a plastic bag on the ground,
top with damp newspaper, then lay your
grate on top. Give the grates a healthy spray
of oven cleaner, and cover with another layer
of moist newspaper (dampening the newspaper keeps it from sticking to the grates).
Follow this with another plastic bag. The next
day, hose down the grates thoroughly, and
then wash off any remaining oven cleaner
residue with hot soapy water. Rinse the grates
again, dry, and coat lightly with vegetable oil,
and you’re good to go! (Just a note: only use
this method after checking with your owner’s
INSIGHT
manual. Some manufacturers warn against
using oven cleaner on any part of their grill.)
4.
Make sure the Exterior is clean
and pretty.. No one wants to eat
off a grill that looks like it was
pulled out of the dump! First things first,
power hose the exterior to get rid of any dirt,
crud, or creepy-crawlies. Next, use a bucket
of hot, soapy water, an old towel, and maybe bristle brush, or a putty knife, and clean
every nook and cranny. You don’t want to
use abrasive cleaners to clean any painted,
porcelain or stainless steel parts. We have
found that a mild dish-soap (the stuff made
for hand-washing) works just fine. Porcelain
enamel components must be handled with
additional care (read your user’s manual, or
contact the manufacturer). Touch-up enamel, and high-heat spray paint is available from
your dealer. Exterior grill surfaces should be
cleaned while warm to the touch, with warm
soapy water
5.
Make sure you have enough supplies for successful grilling. If propane is your thing, fill up a tank or
two. If it’s charcoal, buy a bulk bag and some
fire starters. If the BBQ is hooked up to natural gas, have the fittings inspected or perform
leak tests yourself to make sure the fuel will
get in efficiently and safely.
6.
The Test Run… Do a full test run
one night that may not be very
important. The last thing you
want to do is have a failure when you have
a house full of friends over that are ready to
eat! Plan a simple grilled dinner for the family,
using all the burners, and any special accessories on your grill and make sure that everything works, from fuel, to ignition, to temperature control. ✤
March 2014
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