Grilling season begins with a clean grill

As you are doing spring yard work, take time to clean your grill.

Now that we don’t have to shovel a foot of snow off the top of the grill, grilling foods for dinner is very appealing. My neighbors seem to agree as the scent of grilled burgers has been permeating the air outside; especially on the weekend. It’s also that time of year when outside yardwork is a priority to get done. Add cleaning the grill to the yard work check list so you are ready for the grilling season!

To clean your grill, remove the grates and treat them to a bath in hot, soapy water. Scrub off any food particles or drippings using a brush or scrubbing pad. Rinse off with clean water and air dry. There have been injuries reported from accidental ingestion of wire grill cleaning bristles, so if you are using a wire brush to clean your grill, it is very important to check the grill surface for any bristles that might have come from the brush and might get into your food. Because of the risk of the wire bristles in food, you may want to consider using a different method to clean the grates.

If you have a drip pan, remove it. Many grills can use a drip pan liner. The drip pan liner can be removed and discarded making it much easy to clean out the drip pan. Replace the drip pan with a new liner. Michigan State University Extension recommends checking and changing your drip pan often throughout the grilling season.

Clean the outside of the grill with hot, soapy water and rinse it clean. If you have a stainless steel grill, you can use a stainless steel cleaner. For the burners and interior part of the grill, follow your manufacturer’s directions on how to clean them.

When grilling, always start with a clean grill and clean hands. Once you get down to cooking, be sure to use a food thermometer to ensure meat and poultry have reached a safe minimum internal temperature.

Take the time now to get the heavy duty cleaning done and have a tasty safe grilling season! 

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