Cleaning a barbeque grill

ChocClare

... if you could all form an orderly queue outside my door armed with your cleaning materials

We have a gas barbecue with pretend coals. We didn`t use it at all this summer so it has been sitting outside since last year (it has a lid) and as my DH is the barbecue king, I expect that no effort was made to clean it AT ALL last time it was used.

It is now pretty manky. DH just said to me, should we chuck this? I feel I should at least have a GO at cleaning it first - the mechanisms all work fine, it`s just the rack and the coals and the top generally which is covered in rust and other unspeakables.

My DD is 14 in two weeks` time and has her heart set on a barbecue (which may well end up being an "indoor" one, knowing the British climate) but I`d like to have an attempt to salvage ours first.

Anyone have any brilliant tips? Apologies if there is already a thread on this - I couldn`t find it if there is...

inaminute

Hi ChocClare

We have a gas bbq too however we use ours all the time including the winter!! :eek:

You can't really clean the coals however if you put the BBQ on and let it get hot you'll then burn any unsavoury germs/bugs off the coals so they should be ok. As far as the rack is concerned can you remove it from the bbq? If so I'd soak it in some hot soapy water then providing it hasn't gone rusty give it some good old elbow grease and some Jif / equivalent and it should come up ok.

Thats my suggestion .....

allydowd

Use Cif, or anything 'gritty', and a scrunched up ball of tin foil.

Put the Cif on the foil and scrub the rack with that.

morganlefay

What about lakeland's (quite expensive but cheaper than a new barbie) oven cleaner for the racks, and I swear by Barkeeper's friend so would do the outside with that, and if burning the grot off the coals doesn't work I think you can buy new ones not very expensively (well cheaper than....etc)

steerpike

This is a simple and safe method of effotlessly removing baked on gunge from grill racks, oven shelves but you must follow the instructions and do not improvise!

Buy a bottle of household ammonia (I get mine from Boots).:D

First thing in the morning, place the grill rack etc inside a thick black plastic bin bag and put the bag on top of a pad of newspaper in sunny/warm spot outside.

Wearing rubber gloves on, carefully measure a mugful of ammonia and pour into binbag (keep at arms length and take care not to spill or inhale the fumes, it smells like very strong perm lotion)

Twist neck of binbag to close it and fasten securely with a bit of string, strong rubber band etc.

Leave outside in the warmth until late afternoon and then (wearing rubber gloves) carefully open the neck of the bag and leave it for a short while to allow the fumes to escape. Tip the bag up to tip the grill racks out onto the newspaper. Quickly rinse off the racks/shelves and the surrounding area with plenty of water - a garden hose or a watering are good for this bit. You will find that the burnt on grease and gunge will just rinse off - like magic - no soaking, brillo-ing or elbow grease required!

Give the racks/shelves a final wash in hot washing up water before use.

I have used this method on grill racks, oven shelves and the like for years, it works amazingly well and it is safe as long as you are sensible Keep the ammonia away from children and pets - as well as from your own face, do not add water to the mix in the bag and do not mix with bleach. Rinse off any splashes with plenty of plain water

ChocClare

Thank you all for your replies - I thought it was probably redeemable!

Steerpike, I think yours was the method I had in the back of my mind - I knew you did something with a black bin bag, just couldn't remember what - and I'm glad I asked because I was thinking caustic soda rather than ammonia :eek: I have both lying about the place you see....:rolleyes:

I might give this a go tomorrow, depending on how nosy the chickens are - whenever I do anything outside they all come rushing over to have a look, which might not be such a good idea in the circs.

Penelope_Penguin

As this has fallen from the front page of OS, I'll add it to the existing thread

Penny. x

fitzroy

steerpike wrote: »

This is a simple and safe method of effotlessly removing baked on gunge from grill racks, oven shelves but you must follow the instructions and do not improvise!

Would it also work for the inside of an oven (having removed the shelves)? Say, putting the ammonia in a container, shutting the oven door and leaving it all day?

steerpike

fitzroy wrote: »

Would it also work for the inside of an oven (having removed the shelves)? Say, putting the ammonia in a container, shutting the oven door and leaving it all day?

Yes - that works well and also I have made up a solution in an old spray bottle and sprayed the inside of my oven and then shut the oven door and left it for a couple of hours before wiping clean with damp cloth and detergent...BUT I have had the back door and kitchen windows wide open to flush out the fumes and held my breath whilst I was doing it - standing back to take a fresh breath.

Both methods will clean it up really well but please be careful not to breathe in the fumes. Do not use creme cleansers when you do this as most have some bleach in them and the gas created by mixing bleach + ammonia is lethal.

Being a very lazy person, the extra care that you have to take in using the ammonia is a small price to pay for not having to spend hours scrubbig with brillo pads and Cif!

I'm a She too! Don't be fooled by the name !