Grilling is a kind of cooking using dry heat, which could be applied to the food from above, below, or from the sides. Various grills are available in the market, including charcoal and gas grills that generate fumes or smoke to cook the food. Electric grills are widely used and are now extensively available in the market. Electric grills can be safely used indoors, as they use electrical energy for cooking and do not generate any smoke or fumes. Some of them use the electrical source directly to heat the grills, while others use an infrared heating technology system, which is yet rendered the most advanced way for cooking of your food.
Electric grills are quite environmentally friendly. They don’t produce any smoke or fumes, and hence they cause much less pollution in contrast to charcoal or gas grills. Charcoal and gas grills require proper maintenance and cleaning. Likewise, electric grills also demand cleaning and adequate maintenance to functionally and maintain their course over the years. Decent cleaning makes your grill function in good condition for a longer period, and then, of course, makes it more work efficient. How to clean an electric grill, however, remains a question.
Top Easy Ways to Clean An Electric Grill
Despite the electric grill’s nonstick surface, there is a high probability that grime and grease may build up on your electric grill. Grills generally used are of two kinds. One is the small grill and is mostly and generally used indoors. The larger ones are used outdoors and are more difficult to clean. However, using simple and effective techniques, you can clean an electric grill very easily. Here’s how to do it! Follow these few easy steps, and you are good to go.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
- Sponge
- Dish wash
- Paper towels
- Rag
- Wipe off the grease: Unplug the grill and let the grill plates cool down.
- Wipe the grease off towards the drip tray. The grease goes down onto the drip tray, making the cleaning process handy and easy.
- You can easily collect the grease from the drip tray.
- Scrub off the burnt-on grime
- Prepare a mixture of soap in hot water.
- Once the mixture is prepared, pour the mixture over the grill surface where burnt on grime is present.
- Let the soapy mixture soak on the burnt-on grime.
- Use a soft sponge to now remove all the spots present in the electric grill.
- Only go for gentle scratching.
- Avoid any kind of harsh scrapping as it can damage the nonstick surface of your grill.
- Wipe off with a rag or sponge:
- A rag is a piece of cloth that is typically used for cleaning things.
- Soak the rag in water to dampen it.
- Wipe down the plates with the rag.
- Scrub through tough areas to get rid of all the grease and grime present on the electric grill’s surface.
- Dry off the grill :
- Make sure that all of the moisture is removed from the grill.
- After cleaning the grill with a wet rag or sponge, use paper towels to dry the grill.
- The paper towels will soak in all the moisture present on the surface of the grill.
Avoid air drying :
Avoid air-drying your grill as air-drying may make the grill susceptible to rust. When the moisture on the grill surface comes in contact with iron (in the presence of oxygen), rust formation occurs on the iron’s surface. Rust is a reddish-brown brittle coating that forms on the metal, usually when it comes to moisture contact.
How Do You Clean A Burnt Grill
While cooking, one of the major tragedies that happen is the burning of food. Black colored soot-like burnt material gets deposited on the surface of the cooking appliance. The same can happen when you are cooking on a grill. Whenever the grill gets burnt, and the burnt residues firmly adhere to the grill’s surface, it becomes very tough to get rid of those burnt leftovers. Using accurate and good techniques that burnt grill could be cleaned. For that purpose, you need to follow some simple instructions listed below:
- Unplug the grill to turn off the grill.
- Wait for the grill to cool down. It may take 10 to 15 minutes to cool down.
- Take a brush having some soft bristles. Otherwise, you can use a wooden spatula (never use an iron or steel, as it may damage your grill’s nonstick coating).
- Gently scrape the grill with that brush or wooden spatula. The burnt residues will start to come off the grill surface.
- Damp a sponge and wipe off all the peeled off burnt material.
- Clean the grill of all the moisture left using paper towels.
- Your grill is ready to be used again.
You need to take very good care while cleaning your grill. The slightest of extra scrapping can result in breaking off the nonstick coating of the grill. This damage to the nonstick surface may render your grill much less efficient in function. Food may get stick to the grill surface and would become very difficult to cook on.
How Do I Clean And Disinfect My Grill
Two of the major purposes for grilling your food are:
- Cook food in very fewer amounts of oil
- Cooking healthy food to have a healthy lifestyle
- It is a fun activity
To cook your food in a healthy way, it is very important to always keep your grill free of all the microbes and disease-causing microorganisms. Microorganisms are such small creatures that they can’t be seen with the naked eye but can cause diseases ranging from mild gastrointestinal upset to serious life-threatening conditions. Thus, keeping your grill disinfected is ample.
How To Clean:
- Turn the grill off
- Unplug the grill from the power source
- Let the grill cool down for a while for your safety.
- Spray the cleaning soap on the grill and leave for five minutes
- Take a rag and scrub the grill surface gently.
- Don’t apply much pressure on the grill. It may damage the nonstick coating of the grill.
- Take a damp sponge and wipe off the grill surface.
- Dry the grill using paper towels. Avoid air-drying.
- Store the grill.
How To Disinfect:
You can’t use regular disinfectants available at pharmacies. The reason is, those disinfectants are used basically to clean the floors of hospitals, rooms or houses, utensils, and medical apparatus. You need to use a specific disinfectant that does not impose any health complications or hazards. For that very purpose, you can use vinegar.
Vinegar is an organic compound composed of an aqueous solution of an organic acid, acetic acid. Due to its acidic nature, vinegar has some natural properties that help disinfect the grill. Its acidic contents kill or demobilize the bacteria. Here is how to use vinegar as a disinfectant:
- After cleaning the grill, spray some vinegar on the grill surface
- Leave the grill as it is for 5 minutes until it dries off.
- Your grill is disinfected.
How To Clean Electric Griddle
The griddle is a cooking apparatus comprised of a broad flat surface. The surface is heated up by using charcoal fumes, gas, or electricity. It has both commercial and residential use. Here we are particularly mentioning electric grills. They often get messy. Grime and grease could build up on the griddle. You can use these simple methods to clean your electric griddle:
- Get your griddle unplugged.
- Now let the griddle cool down for a while.
- With the help of a paper towel, remove all the oil, grease, and burned food from the electric griddle’s surface.
- Sprinkle a small amount of warm water onto the griddle
- Pour some dishwashing liquid onto the griddle.
- Use a brush having soft bristles and clean the griddle using that brush.
- Work gently with the brush. Don’t be harsh on the griddle. It may damage your griddle.
- Use a dry cloth or paper towel to wipe off the griddle surface.
- Completely dry the grill and store properly and adequately for future use.
Some Others Method To Clean Your Grill:
Despite these methods mentioned above, there are some other methods to clean up your grill. These household methods are very portable as the material required for these methods is easily available in your kitchens. These methods are also rendered as traditional methods and are also quite effective.
Using Baking Soda:
Baking soda, technically known as sodium bicarbonate, is a chemical compound used for cleaning purposes. It has natural antioxidant properties that help in the easy cleaning of the grill surface.
- Unplug the grill.
- Let the grill cool down
- Add a small amount of water on the grill surface
- Sprinkle baking soda onto it and leave for 5 minutes
- Gently scrub the grill surface
- Wipe off all the matter from the grill surface
- Dry the grill with paper towels
- Store to use for next time
Using Vinegar:
Vinegar, most precisely white table vinegar, is very effective for cleaning the grills. It also has antioxidant and microbial properties that not only cleans your grill but also disinfects it.
- Unplug the grill
- Let it cool down for a while
- Mix one cup of water and one cup of vinegar
- Sprinkle it over the grill surface along with some baking soda
- Leave for 5-10 minutes.
- Gently scrub the grill surface
- Wipe off all the material
- Dry the grill using paper towels and store for next use.
PRECAUTIONS
Unplug the grill
Before starting your electric grill’s cleaning process, make sure that your grill is plugged out from the electrical source. Keep in mind that you are going to deal with an electric appliance and must be very careful about it. Carelessness can cause any kind of damage to your body. Be very careful. Safe handling must be practiced.
Gentle scrapping
Do not scrape too hard on your grill surface. This may result in the breakage of nonstick covering your grill. On one side, it makes the cooking of food troublesome as the food sticks to the grill surface again and again. On the other side, the breakage of the nonstick coating will expose the underlying iron to the environment, and it may result in the formation of rust over the surface of exposed iron. When food is cooked on the rusted surface, serious GI tract problems may occur.
CONCLUSION
Grilling is a fun activity. To enjoy this activity to its fullest and being a grilling enthusiast, one must have a good grilling apparatus. But once you buy a good grill, it is also very important to then keep that grill clean and tidy, preparing hygienic food and keeping it functioning for a longer duration of time. You just need to follow the above-mentioned methods and instructions, and you are good to go. A phenomenal grilling experience is coming your way. Happy grilling!