Video:Tips for Easy Charcoal Grill Cleaning

Transcript:Tips for Easy Charcoal Grill Cleaning

Hi, my name is Kenneth Nickle, I've been cooking BBQ for a little over ten years B.B.s Lawnside Barbeque, competitions all over Missouri, and Fiorella's Jack Stack. Today I am going to show you tips for how to clean your charcoal grill for About.com. 

Clean Your Grill After Every Use

A lot of people ask me, “Do you really need to clean your charcoal grill every time you use it?” Yes, you do. Make sure you have a wire brush handy, and make sure you are cleaning it everytime you are done cooking. Now the reason you need to clean it every time you are done cooking is because you don't want any of the leftover meat getting on your next cook time. That is why you want to want to clean it every time you cook on it.

Clean the Outside of Your Grill

As for the outside of the grill, you don't need to clean it every time you cook on it, I'd say once every ten or twelve cooks, you want to go ahead and wash it down with soap and water and a rag.

Empty Your Ashes After Every Use

Now on your smaller grills you want to go ahead and take your ashes out every time, because there is not enough room for the air to move around. On your bigger grills, you don't have to do it every time, I would say about every other cook go ahead and take your ashes out. A lot of times when I am cleaning the ashes out they get built up around the edges where you can't quite get them out so I go ahead and grab a piece of wood or a lot of your scrapers will have a metal piece on there, so go ahead and scrape your ashes down into the catcher.

Let Your Grill Cool Down Before Covering

Now when you are done using your charcoal grill for the night or for the season make sure you let it cool down properly. It usually takes about one to two hours because that charcoal briquette is going to keep burning until it is completely out. Make sure that when you go to put it away, you can touch it, and it is not too hot then you can go ahead and cover it up for the night or for the season.

Now if you do not have a cover for your grill and it is going to rain, go ahead and take an old coffee can and put it inside underneath where the vents are so the rain does not get into where the grill grates are and rust them out.

Thank you for watching and for more tips for easy cleaning of your charcoal grill check us out on the web at About.com.