The grilling season is back, but so is the truth of what’s been lurking in your grill since last year. You’ll regret it if you opened the lid. Did I let out a loud yelp the first time I opened my Coleman this year? I sure did. I asked a Texas barbecue pitmaster for his tips on grill cleaning. Barrett Black, the fourth-generation pitmaster of Texas’s oldest barbeque joint, The Original Black’s Barbecue knows how to keep a grill clean. According to him it’s not a matter of scrubbing more, but scrubbing better (and more frequently than you think). “Cleaning shouldn’t be a chore, but a habit.” “It’s something you do at the very end of your cook so that the next cook can be easy,” he says. It’s all about controlling the flavor. If your grill is dirty you are not tasting the food you are eating, but your last mistake. Black explains the cleaning routine that he follows every time he enters the pit so you can follow it at home. Grab a good scrubber to remove stubborn buildup. Black says you don’t have to use a lot of gadgets to maintain your grates. Black recommends using a chainmail brush to clean grates that are in need of TLC. It should have a long handle and be able to reach the hard to reach places. “When it is backed with something like silicone, it allows it to form to the grates, and you can put pressure where you want it.” He says that they are difficult to clean, their bristles bend and wear out quickly, and they can end up on the grates. “That’s something you don’t want anywhere near or in your food.” You are better off using a pair tongs and some aluminum foil to remove debris.
