BBQs are great fun, but how do you clean the grill? Discover easy, effective methods

Although it is pleasant to share a meal with friends and family gathered around the barbecue (BBQ), and maybe there are also those who enjoy doing the grilling, it is never pleasant to have to clean the grids and grills that get covered with grease and the remnants of charred food. However, if you have BBQs very often, it is always preferable to take care of them as soon as possible, directly after the cook-out, so that the whole area is ready for the next fire and food with friends.

So, how best clean the BBQ grills? Read on to find out the most effective ways:

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If you are taking out the barbecue (and all the bits that make it up) after a long period of non-use, it may have dust and cobwebs on it: remove the bulk of these with a rag and then light the fire as usual, to finish eliminating any residue.

If, on the other hand, what you have to eliminate remnants of food and fat, perhaps which is charred and encrusted on the grill, you can do one of  two things: when you have finished cooking all the food, continue to keep the fire going - not just embers, but you need flames. The longer the flames are focused on the dirty parts of the grill, the more they will eliminate the grease and charring. At this point, if the grill is made of cast iron or a very thick and resistant metal, you can use metal brushes on it as soon as the fire goes out and the grill is still hot, to scrub any remaining encrustations away. Then you will need to let it cool off.

If, on the other hand, you find yourself with grills that are cold but still greasy and oily from a previous BBQ, then you might consider lighting a fire and going to work with the metal brush as described above - or skipping directly to the methods explained below:

• If the barbecue has a lid / cover, when the embers are no longer glowing red hot and there are no flames, take some sheets of newspaper and cover the grill; then sprinkle water on the newspaper and immediately close with the lid so as to trap the steam which will be produced. Let the steam do its work for about 30 minutes, then open the lid and the grease will be gone (or largely removed). You can then use more newspaper (or the metal brush) to scrub the grill clean (always wear gloves if the grill is still warm).
• In most cases, you can use a metal brush or some crumpled, balled-up aluminum foil: cleaning always works better when there is still a bit of heat - but since this is a manual operation, it will also give good results on cooler grills.
• There are also those who, with hot grills, rub half an onion or half a potato on the surfaces, as if they were abrasive sponges. Be careful not to burn yourself, and always use gloves.
• While still hot, you can pour a splash of beer on the grill (which will surely be around at a BBQ), and then scrub the surface with a metal brush or using the aluminum foil ball method.
• White vinegar: fill half of a spray bottle with vinegar and top up the rest with water, shake and spray generously on a cold grill. After a few minutes, you can proceed to clean with slightly abrasive sponges or cloths to remove the dirt.

In all cases, cover the grills when they are not in use, even during the summer: the weather and the dust in the air will force you to work twice as hard to keep them in good condition.

What's your favorite method of cleaning BBQ grills?