When you have the right top flat top grills cooking is easier, enjoyable, and you can prepare tasty meals.
However, after cooking a couple of meals, the spills and food remains give the grill a messy look. So, every cook must know the right way to clean a flat top grill.
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Why Clean a Flat Top Grill?
All the pieces of cooking utensils need to be clean, and a flat top grill is no exception. Only a clean grill can produce a healthy meal.
If you don’t clean your grill, the previous food remains continue to stay on the cookware. That way, the next food you prepare on the same cookware will register an off-taste.
For example, assume after cooking fish on a flat top grill[how to cook fish on a flat top grill], you again use the same grill to cook pizza without cleaning it. The taste of fish will infuse into the pizza.
Furthermore, an un-cleaned grill tends to allow food to stick on it. By so doing, it discourages food from cooking evenly. Food crumbles then find it easier to pile upon the previous dirt.
And the more time you take without removing the grease and stains on the grill, the more difficult they grow.
What Do You Need to Clean a Flat Top Grill?
You can only clean your flat top grill if you have the correct cleaning supplies. Depending on the method you employ when cleaning a flat top grill you, need;
Grill Brush
The grill brush features a wooden handle and thick bristles. Whereas its wooden handle gives an easy grip the thick bristles easily dislodge stuck foods.
Grill Scrub Pad
A grill scrub pad closely resembles the ordinary dishwashing pad. It makes it easy to scrub off grease, debris, and other dirt from the flat top grill.
Grill Scrapper
A grill scraper mostly features a plastic handle. It makes it simple to scrap stuck gunk and food remains from the griddle.
Grill Screen
It’s another essential flat top grill cleaning tool. By design, its mesh makes it play a vital role during deep cleaning. It’s made of rayon and aluminum oxide coat.
Grill Brick
It’s a multifunctional brick-shaped grill cleaning tool. When you need to remove the accumulated grease, dirt, and other stubborn stains, a grill brick does a satisfactory job.
How to Clean a Flat Top Grill?
Before beginning the cleaning exercise, ensure that the equipment is cool to touch, otherwise, you might burn yourself.
Routine Cleaning
Routine cleaning of your grill keeps it clean and prolongs its life. Find below the key steps to follow:
Scrape off food remains – use a griddle scraper to remove the grease and other stuck foods on your grill.
Rinse with warm water – after scrapping off the gunk, use warm water to rinse the flat cooking surface.
Dry off with a paper towel – you shouldn’t leave any traces of moisture on the grill because it promotes rusting. Either a paper towel or microfiber cloth can help to wipe off the excess water.
Season – having dried the surface thoroughly, apply a light coat of vegetable oil on the flat top grill.
Deep Cleaning
Before carrying out a deep cleaning exercise, take note of the type of flat-top grill you own. Or else, you can easily ruin your prized grill.
Chrome flat-top grills don’t require any kind of harsh material or compound. Instead, warm water and a soft brush will suffice.
Flat top grills that are of stainless steel can withstand more punishment than the composite or chrome types.
Here is a safe depth cleaning method for flat-top grills;
Let it Cool
It’s risky to scrub or wipe a hot grill. Hence let it cool down to a safe to handle temperature level. Prioritize your safety.
Employ a Griddle Scrapper
When it is cool to touch, begin the cleaning exercise by pushing the grease tray in its rightful place. Using either a griddle scraper or metal spatula, carefully scrape off the food and grease remains. Pay attention to the corners and edges.
If there are extra stubborn build-up gunk, move to the next step.
Use Warm Water
Pour a little bit of warm water to help loosen the stuck grease and food residue. Then apply some elbow grease. When necessary use warm soapy water and grill brick for extra stubborn gunk.
Keep off using chemicals on the grill as it may leave behind bad taste or damage the flat cooking top.
Wipe Excess Water
Then take a paper towel and dry off the excess water. In addition, don’t leave behind any food remains and grease. Otherwise, there is the risk of rusting.
Apply a Light Coat of Oil
Having ensured the grill is dry completely, brush off the grill with a thin layer of oil. The light oil layer not only preserves the non-stick layer but keeps rust too.
How Frequent to Clean a Flat Top Grill?
When talking about cleaning a flat top grill, you should know about routine and deep cleaning. Every time you finish cooking, you need to carry out a routine cleaning exercise.
Sometimes the grill might appear to be clean; for example after cooking eggs. But still, you need to clean it before storage. That way you avoid mixing flavors from different foods.
But once in a while (after a couple of months) you can conduct a thorough cleaning and calibration of the flat top grill[how to calibrate a flat top grill].
Even if you have kept the grill in the store, it’s wise to check on it and wipe away the dust. That way you can know whether some moisture content has penetrated the grill and caused rust.
What Are the Signs Your Flat Top Grill Require Deep Cleaning?
The more you use your grilling equipment the sooner it gets dirty and calls for thorough cleaning. On the same note here are the tell-tale signs that it requires thorough cleaning;
- The presence of grease and other build-up stains at the corners of the grill and other
- Every food you grill doesn’t produce the expected true authentic flavor (registers an off taste)
- Instead of showing off their usual colors, cooked food from the grill somehow has an unusual color.
If you can spot the above signs on your flat top grill, it means it requires a thorough cleaning.
Conclusion
If you want your grill to last long and maintain the optimum performance you have to keep it clean. However tired you are, don’t leave your grilling equipment in a dirty state. Even if it appears to be clean, do not forego a routine cleaning exercise on it.