Posted by LMumm on September 26, 2004 at 11:33:48:
For years I have been letting my gas grill burn for 5 - 10 minutes after I take the food off and then brush it to clean it up. This method I have been told by several grill manufactures is incorrect. The correct way (or so I have been told) is to turn off the grill as soon as you are done cooking and then leave it and then brush it the next time you fire it up. I was told that the grills would last longer and the left over grease on the grates would protect them.
I built a new bbq island last spring and installed a 40" 5 burner SS grill and have been using this method since then. It always bothered me a little to leave the cooking tidbits in the grill but both the store and the manufacture insist this is the correct method. My grill island is a good distance from the house and tucked into a hillside next to the pool. It is a know fact that the rats and field mice in the area probably out number the humans and I will never be able to kill off all the pesky critters.
Well yesterday I opened my grill to put on some fajitas for dinner and I must have jumped 12 ft. into the air since there was a nice big rat underneath the grates standing on the burners. He looked up at me as if to say, "how dare you bother me during my dinner".I spent the next 10 minutes playing rat catcher and the little dude was a lot faster than me. I did finally catch him and ending up cooking dinner inside on a griddle.
So my question is, how do you guy's clean your grill after cooking? At this point I think I will go back to the leaving it burn for a few minutes after each cooking sesson. I think I would rather replace the grates than leave leftovers for my little friends. Also, what about the grease tray? I am sure nobody cleans their's every cooking but how do you keep critters out of that?
Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am off to strip the grill and give it a good cleaning.
LM
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