Cleaning cast iron grill plates
 

I have one of those big Kingsford barrel type grills that we use when having a party. Those cast iron grill plates are great for cooking on, but cleaning them is a chore. There are alot of people who just leave the gunk on and burn it off the next time around. I prefer to clean the plates the day after, but I haven't yet found a method that will spare me having to scrape everything off with a wire brush. Being quite lazy, I would prefer to drop them in some sort of solution for a few hours and pick them out later without having to scrape. Last time I put them in a Stanley degreaser solution, and that did help somewhat, but I've been told that will also make them rust faster.

Any thoughts? The company's recommendation to wait until the grill cools down but clean the plates when still warm doesn't really work for us - we're usually in no shape to clean anything by that point.

You might "mock up" something like this from Lakeland UK. It's designed to soak oven wire shelves and you could use the chemicals with some sort of large tray or bin?

Hmm, cast iron should be pretty painless to clean. You are using an outdoor grill for parties so I'm guessing the "gunk" referred to would be something like burnt and dried up bbq sauce. If so, that's not really intended for use with cast iron. They are great pans for high, consistent heat, but don't mix well with foods that are sticky or those that burn at lower temps, sugary bbq sauces being one of the worst. Otherwise most food debris should be able to be wiped clean with a towel, and maybe just soap and water like any other dishes, but no intense scrubbing. And yes, the little bit of grease left behind after wiping with a towel is actually good for the pan. But you don't want to leave "gunk" on it.

Hope this helps..

I soak them in my Coleman cooler. Has the advantage that it keeps hot water hot just as well as it keeps ice cold. Just haven't found the right cleaning solution yet. The plates also fit perfectly inside.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-70-Qua.../dp/B000G64I1A

It could be bbq sauce, but it definitely will not come off easily, at least the next day. I read another review on the internet that said you have to get medieval on these grates to get them really clean sometimes.

This isn't the answer you are seeking but in my view BBQ sauces are best used to firstly braise ribs in a closed container for an extended period and then opening the closed container - normally foil - for the last 30 to 40 minutes with constant basting with the sauce.

Whilst I've understood the attraction romantically ie in the mind of bbq saucing over coals - I've never seen that the practicalities and challenges of using sauces on an open fire are soluable except to pour over once it's plated. BBQ sauce often has high sugar and/or honey content which will always caremelise and burn faster than the meat cooks - particlarly the cheap cuts used such as ribs. If you are going to marinade then use a marinade that contains no sugars.

Forget the sauce when BBQ'ing except to pour over at the end.

I grill a lot of burgers and steaks and never put any sauces on them, yet my grill gets crudded up also. Fat can do it just as well as sugar. And my grills are stainless steel, not nearly as difficult to clean as cast iron.

There's no magic for removing the crud. If you use chemicals like oven cleaners or other solutions, you are definitely risking the longevity of the grill. There's no substitute for a little elbow grease, but there are some things that will make the chore easier. 1) Work with the grill when hot. Because after grilling you're more interested in eating than cleaning, lots of folks, maybe most, wait till the next time and clean the grill while really hot, before they put food on. Trying to clean it while cold is difficult, maybe even pointless. 2) Use the right tool. I use a wad of tin foil held in a pair of really long tongs. Some of the wire brushes can damage the grill. I have a really good brass bristle grill brush, but I hate to clean it. Foil is just as good, and easy to toss when done. 3) After cleaning and before putting food on, use a wad of paper towels with some cooking oil on them to lubricate the grill. This will prevent a lot of the buildup of crud next time.

The difference is that fat crud will burn off but sugars will not.

This isn't an answer to your question but Emeril says that you need to let meat (particularly beef) get to room temperature before you put it on the grill to prevent sticking.

1) While letting meat get to room temperature before putting on the grill, the main cause of sticking is a premature turning of the meat. If it's sticking, let it sit longer on that side.

2) I never "clean" my cast iron grill. With a gas grill, after cooking, I'd raise the temperature to the max, and have a go at it with the steel wire brush. With a charcoal grill, it's a little trickier because the heat isn't has high or as controllable, but I'd close the lid, open the vent (to increase heat) and let it self-clean. A quick brushing with the steel brush will get rid of any leftover bits. This has worked well for me for nearly 10 years with a Weber gas grill.

My newest grill has ceramic grills, I'm still not sure how to clean them but I think I may resort to using a soaked rag with a stick and wiping them clean before use.

HTSC

We definitely do that. We've also found that when making burgers ground sirloin doesn't stick nearly as bad on our grill as ground chuck, but that we like the slightly fattier taste of chuck. Next time I think we're going to see if mixing chuck and sirloin gives us the right texture/taste combination we're looking for.

As to the earlier comments about saucing, we use it for marinade but don't put anything on the meat once it's on the grill. I believe our grill crud is probably mostly fat.

One drawback of the Kingsford grill, as opposed to our Weber for example, is that it isn't airtight, even with the sides and top closed. When you close the Weber it cools down fairly quickly. The Kingsford takes quite a bit longer, making it even less likely that I would want to clean it right away, particularly since we like to operate it very, very hot.

Meat sticking - assuming the meat isn't coated or marinated - is entirely due as has been said to premature turning. If you leave it longer the surface starts to crust and can then be turned without sticking.

"Seasoning" the grill when new (or every few years) helps. I avoid wire brushes since they remove the seasoning layer and start the 'sticking" process anew. A stiff-bristled brush and, if necessary, a bit of river sand (or even coarse salt) does wonders. I avoid soaps and scouring compounds which almost inevitably adhere/become a part of the seasoning layer. Sugar? Cooking meat at high temps produces sugars also, simply not in the quantities generated by sugar-laden sauces and rubs.

An old geezer, I learned to cook on and in cast iron. Its common trait, a highly porous surface which needs seasoning and use and becomes easier to clean as time passes.

That's the same way I cleaned the grates on my Weber Genesis that had ceramic grates, although they've now been replaced with stainless (Amazon has the best prices on them).

A blow torch will do it. I would only do that to get it clean, then I would work to maintain it's seasoning. If stuff is sticking to cast iron that bad, it's not properly seasoned.

Cast iron is much much much easier to clean when it's warm after it's been used, as it cools off everything bonds to the porus iron. You need to clean and reseason it as it's cooling off to make it easier to deal with over time.

I just get a really really hot fire and burn it off, never had any problem with sugars (bbq sauce) not coming off.

Once a year I take my grills to the quarter car wash (don't own a pressure washer) and spray it down with oven cleaner and blast all of the crud that has built up over the year.