Spruce Up Your BBQ

Grill Caked with Crud?

If your barbecue grill is getting greasy, sooty buildup, the cleanup might be quicker and easier than you think. To start with, grilling experts say, it’s not necessary to scrub the interior of your grill, whether you have a charcoal grill or a gas grill. In fact, allowing residue from cooking smoke to accumulate inside the grill seasons it, imparting a better flavour to the food you cook. This is similar to seasoning a new cast-iron skillet with oil before you cook with it. You may even want to season a new grill before using it the first time.

If flaky stuff falling off the inside of the grill bothers you, just remove it once a season using a wet, soapy sponge, followed by a wipe with a wet, nonsoapy sponge. That’s all you need to do.

Get It While It’s Hot

Although you’ll save time by not cleaning the inside of the grill, experts advise that you regularly clean the grate that holds the food. Greasy clumps of burnt food that accumulate on this grate can give a bad flavor to the next round of food you grill.

To clean the grate easily, first preheat your grill with the lid down for a few minutes until the grate is hot. Then scrub it with a long-handled brass-bristled brush. Be careful not to touch the hot grate with your hand.

Do this after you’ve finished cooking. If you clean the grate like this each time you use it, it shouldn’t ever get so messy that you have to remove it for a more heavy-duty cleaning.

Electric Igniter On the Blink?

This is a common problem. The igniter sends a spark that ignites a small amount of gas that pools in a collector box. The electrode or electric connections can become corroded. Getting the igniter working again can simply be a matter of cleaning the electrode, the tip that sparks when you push the igniter button. Make sure the gas is turned off or disconnected. Use your instruction manual to help you locate the electrode. You may need a mirror to see inside the collector box. Sand the tip gently with fine sandpaper and then swab it with alcohol. Lightly sand the roof of the collector box. If that doesn’t solve the problem, check all electrical connections between the button and the electrode. Make sure they are intact and corrosion-free.

The BBQ’s Window Keeps Breaking?

Most likely, your glass is fine. What you’ve got is a burner problem. Fix the problem by cleaning or replacing the burner. Here’s how:

1. Turn the gas off and disconnect the gas line from the grill.
2. Place the cooking grid on a piece of newspaper. Pile the lava rocks on the grate and lift grate and rocks out all at once.  
3. Remove the burner, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Clean the burner by scraping the outside with a wire brush to remove spiderwebs, rust, and cooking buildup. Then clean each gas outlet hole with a piece of wire or a paper clip. Use a bottle brush to clean inside the burner tube. You can also flush the burner with a garden hose.

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