Clean That Grill Get Ready For This year's barbecues!

June is the time to reopen the pool, dust off the lounge chairs and of course clean and prep the grill. It's a nasty chore but someone has to do it. You should also be looking at your cooking instruments and deciding if they're worth cleaning or tossing. After all a successful barbecue begins with a well functioning grill and good utensils.



Consider cleaning your grill like cleaning your oven. The main idea is here is to get rid of that yucky left over fat and food bits that have been stuck there all year. You can use a special grill cleaner (found in your grocery's cleanser's aisle) or just use regular oven cleaner. The oven cleaner works just as well and probably doesn't cost as much. There is also a method involving tin foil too but I think the soap and water method is the best. The other is putting the foil over a hot grill and letting the food remnants turn to ash. To be honest I don't know if this really cleans it or not. Otherwise use a wire brush and some Comet or Bon Ami to get it clean and then rinse. Don't be too hard on the scrubbing otherwise you can ruin the metal. Also rinse out the pit used to hold the charcoal. This probably has a buildup of dust and debris from your garage (you should have all grills covered in the winter).

For a gas grill, you 'll have to take it apart. Lift everything out layer by layer until you get to the burners . Make sure you inspect these carefully. Check to see if they're not clogged otherwise you'll have uneven heat coming through and half cooked foods. While the grill is empty clean it with soapy water . Put all the cleaned layers back in and then do a priming to burn off any soapy residue (otherwise your first barbecue will taste like cleanser. )Your grill should now be ready for use and a whole season of good cooking.

Get everything ready for the summer ahead. That means clean the grill and prime it for some ribs, burgers , chicken and kabobs. It'll make for tastier eating and better cooking.