How should I clean a public grill grate?

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jjdbike

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JD
Hey Brethren,
I’m a couple weeks we’re having a big cookout at a public park with my whole department from work. We’ll need to use the public grills. They have heavy steel grates. They’re kind of rusty and nasty.
Would a heavy course metal brush followed by a wet plastic scotch brite pad then a damp towel do it?
Thanks in advance!
JD
 
Make sure you clean the grills the same day you plan on using them, because if you do it the day before, when you show up to use it, someone else maybe using the clean grill(s) and leave you the dirty ones. Do as you said and start out with a heavy wire brush. Depending on how rusty they are, you might want to use a butane torch on them as well. This will help loosen any rust and make it easier to clean. It should also sterilize the grates too. Once you are done cleaning with the wire brush, take a stainless steel scrubber (chore boy) and scrub them again. This will help remove any wires that may have been shed from the brush and will also help remove dirt/rust that the brush may have missed. Finally, take some vegetable oil and apply it to some paper towels to lubricate the grill to prevent the meat from sticking to the grate.

You did not say what you are cooking, but if you are grilling anything that may take over an hour to cook, bring along a charcoal chimney so you can replenish the fire with hot coals.
 
Why not bring grates from your grill or smokers? Might not be a perfect fit but just put them on top of the existing grates.


Even better if you have GrillGrates.
 
Or if you or any of your co-workers have grill grates, bring those.
 
Juggy D Beerman said:
Make sure you clean the grills the same day you plan on using them, because if you do it the day before, when you show up to use it, someone else maybe using the clean grill(s) and leave you the dirty ones. Do as you said and start out with a heavy wire brush. Depending on how rusty they are, you might want to use a butane torch on them as well. This will help loosen any rust and make it easier to clean. It should also sterilize the grates too. Once you are done cleaning with the wire brush, take a stainless steel scrubber (chore boy) and scrub them again. This will help remove any wires that may have been shed from the brush and will also help remove dirt/rust that the brush may have missed. Finally, take some vegetable oil and apply it to some paper towels to lubricate the grill to prevent the meat from sticking to the grate.

You did not say what you are cooking, but if you are grilling anything that may take over an hour to cook, bring along a charcoal chimney so you can replenish the fire with hot coals.
Click to expand...

Thanks brother!
It’ll be used to warm food in foil pans. It’ll also be used to cook hot dogs & hamburgers.
You mentioned the importance of sterilizing the grate. Is that when you said to coat grates in oil and heat up?
JD
 
JD, I know I went on the overkill side of cleaning these grates. I am basing what I am saying on several reasons. Sounded like you were cooking for a large group of people. When I cook for a large group I am a stickler about food safety. Some of the public grills in parks I have seen have been very dirty, not only the cooking grates but the area where the coals sit. Most likely the bottom of the grill where the coals sit will need some cleaning too. I am basing this from the last time I used one. The previous user left unburned logs with a few cans in the cooker. Take along a scraping device and a five gallon bucket just in case you need to completely clean those cookers. You have to remember, you don't know who has been using it before you or what kind of fire they had or what they had on it. People don't always use those things for cooking. That is why the overkill on the cleaning.

The units used for reheating stuff won't be needed to be cleaned to the extreme the grills that will be cooking hot dogs and burgers. But I would still clean those grates some. You can heat up the cooking grills to make cleaning easier if needed, but I would heat them up again after cleaning, then wipe them down with oiled paper towels. If those are heavy steel grates, it may take a little more heat from the charcoal for them to be hot enough to make grill marks on the meat. You might want to bring a bag of lump charcoal along too. Lump burns hotter than briquettes and does not need to be pre-lit before placing it on top of briquettes like briquettes will.

Of course you can do what Andy suggested and have people bring some grills. I would take a look at what the public grates look like before the big day so you know what you are up against when you do get to the park to cook.

Lager, and good luck!

Juggy
 
Juggy D Beerman said:
JD, I know I went on the overkill side of cleaning these grates. I am basing what I am saying on several reasons. Sounded like you were cooking for a large group of people. When I cook for a large group I am a stickler about food safety. Some of the public grills in parks I have seen have been very dirty, not only the cooking grates but the area where the coals sit. Most likely the bottom of the grill where the coals sit will need some cleaning too. I am basing this from the last time I used one. The previous user left unburned logs with a few cans in the cooker. Take along a scraping device and a five gallon bucket just in case you need to completely clean those cookers. You have to remember, you don't know who has been using it before you or what kind of fire they had or what they had on it. People don't always use those things for cooking. That is why the overkill on the cleaning.

The units used for reheating stuff won't be needed to be cleaned to the extreme the grills that will be cooking hot dogs and burgers. But I would still clean those grates some. You can heat up the cooking grills to make cleaning easier if needed, but I would heat them up again after cleaning, then wipe them down with oiled paper towels. If those are heavy steel grates, it may take a little more heat from the charcoal for them to be hot enough to make grill marks on the meat. You might want to bring a bag of lump charcoal along too. Lump burns hotter than briquettes and does not need to be pre-lit before placing it on top of briquettes like briquettes will.

Of course you can do what Andy suggested and have people bring some grills. I would take a look at what the public grates look like before the big day so you know what you are up against when you do get to the park to cook.

Lager, and good luck!

Juggy
Click to expand...

Thanks bud,
I'm w/ you w/ food safety, especially when cooking for others.
Sounds like good advice all around.
I appreciate it.
 
You are welcome, JD. I am a safety person when it comes to food as well as general safety. Maylar has a good suggestion that might save you some elbow grease. Make sure you wear eye protection and a long sleeved shirt if you use a portable drill with a wire wheel. Wires that are shed from the spinning wheel can penetrate skin.

Good luck!
 
The Grill Bot is a Mighty Thing. Been using mine now for 3 years. Oil and burn off. Has worked great for me and it's portable.
 
XsHJDNN.png
 
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