How To Clean Grill Grates Without A Brush

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Cleaning grill grates without a grill brush might be easier than you think. Depending on what you cooked on the grill scrubbing your grill grates can be pretty hard to do.

Although it is in general better to have a look at the grill brush reviews I did, since they do in my opinion the best job, there are other options to clean them.

I found a video that describes 4 alternative ways to clean your grill grates without using a brush. As you can see these are easy ways and with the materials you most of the time have at hand already.

I can give you one tip that makes it even easier. Spray or wipe your grill grates with some type of cooking oil before you start heating it up. There are a ton of other ways to do it and I will add some more here in the future.

I read things about vinegar and that looks like a nice option for me too.For a guide on a more specific ways to clean grill grates throughout the season, you can click here.

Let me know what your favorite way is to clean your grill grates.

How to clean grill grates without brush

Use Vinegar or a Grill Spray

Mix two cups of water with two cups of vinegar in a spray bottle. Spray your grill grates with the mixture. Let sit for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, brush your grates clean with a grill brush—no rinsing required.

Here are a few bristle-free cleaning suggestions from butchers, chefs and barbecue aficionados across the country.
  1. Half-onion scrub. 
  2. Crumpled tinfoil. 
  3. Wooden scraper. 
  4. Bristleless brush

Fill a sink or bucket with warm water and approximately 1/2 cup of baking soda. In a bowl, mix up a paste of Dawn dish soap and baking soda. Apply the paste to the grates, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies, and let the grates soak for at least 30 minutes. Then scrub, wash, and rinse.

Using foil to clean your cooking grates is not recommend. There’s an outdated, and potentially dangerous, practice that promoted cleaning cooking grates by laying aluminum foil on the grates, turning the grill to high, and letting it run for a while.

  1. Use a brush to clean your grill grates.
  2. Burn off the baked-on food.
  3. Soak the grill grates with dish soap and water.
  4. Soak the grill grates in vinegar and water.
  5. Apply baking soda and vinegar.
  6. Soak the grates in a trash bag with ammonia.
  7. Soak the grates in coffee.
  8. Scrub the grates with an onion.

Cleaning your grill grates will help reduce rust buildup and ensure tasty food when you grill. You want to scrape your grates after each use, but you should also do a deep cleanse at least once a year.

You simply wrap the grates with heavy-duty aluminum foil, close the lid and crank up your grill to a high heat temperature (500 to 550 °F) for approximately 15 minutes. The food and grease sticking on your grate will be burnt off and become brittle. Use a quality scraper or grill brush to remove the remaining carbon.

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