Cleaning and Maintenance Hints for Barbeques
Summertime: warmer weather, no school for the kids, and barbeques. The scent of charcoal in the air is enough to make most people salivate. And once the grill is brought out for the season, for many people, cooking inside becomes a faint memory for a few months. But with all of the grilling comes an increased fire hazard risk, especially for those with gas grills. The culprit is in the cleaning – many folks simply don't clean their grills properly; sometimes not at all.
No matter if your ‘weapon’ of choice is gas or charcoal, it's always imperative to thoroughly clean the grill before each and every use. Charcoal should absolutely not be re-used as many people choose to do: as this can escalate the fire. Grilling or barbequing does not require a massive bonfire, simply enough to cook food slowly and evenly. Open fires are not only hazardous; they can even harm your food!
When you're cooking on a gas grill, it is essential to make sure you clean it thoroughly after each use. It's also important to make sure you clean it well before the first use of the season. Sometimes cobwebs can develop within the grill and when you begin it for the first time the flame can cause severe burns if you aren’t careful. In order to avoid this potential disaster make it a habit to clean the grill after the last time you use it and before the first use of the season. You should also avoid adding any fire enhancers such as starter fluid or paper to a gas grill. The lava rocks do not need these additional items and their addition can cause your fire to burn out of control.
Be sure to always clean your grill grates before cooking on your grill, every time. You don't want the nasty remnants of past meals ending up on your current. While you could place aluminum foil on the grates to protect your food as many other people do, this only solves a portion of the problem. The other issue with not cleaning your grates is that those remnants can fall into the fire, and cause grease flare-ups. This is not solved with the aluminum foil, but it is by brushing the grates beforehand. If you do not have a grill brush, simply wad up some aluminum foil and use that to scrub the grates – it works quite well.
Grilling is a excellent way to prepare food, and can be the center of many great summertime memories with family and friends. Just be sure you are taking the proper precautions, clean your grill for every use, and use it properly. Following these tips can help make sure the memories are of the delicious meals you made – not of any disaster that struck!
About the Author
Two Trees Products brings high quality barbecue products to the grilling marketplace. Our products include 100% Mesquite Lump Charcoal, all natural self starting 100% Mesquite Lump Charcoal, Regular Charcoal Briquets, Wood Smoking Chips and mesquite and hickory wood chunks and The unique Bison barbecue grill
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