How To Clean A Flat Top Grill Or Griddle? [Explained]

If you enjoy cooking your food on the flat top grill or griddle, then you must find the best ways to clean your grill. Cleaning your grills or griddle as often as possible will guarantee safe and well-cooked meals and elongate your griddle’s lifespan.

Fortunately, there are several methods that you can embrace to perfectly clean your flat top griddle or grill. Some of these methods include using vinegar and water, dishwashing liquid, lemon juice, hot oil, soda water, lemon and soda, and coffee. Whatever the method you settle on, ensure that you carefully clean every component of the griddle.

Before deciding on the method you should use to clean a flat top grill or griddle, pay close attention to the construction of the griddle. Read on for more details.

How To Clean A Flat Top Grill Without Chemicals

Using chemicals to clean a flat top grill or griddle is never a good idea because you are never sure what other side effects the chemicals may have on you or even the griddle itself. The good news is that there are a couple of methods that you can embrace to clean your flat top griddle without necessarily using chemicals.

1. Cleaning Flat Top Grill With Vinegar

You can use vinegar and water to perfectly clean every part of your grill. Combine equal amounts of vinegar and warm water and turn on the grill. Spray the mixture on the griddle paying special attention to areas with excessive grease. Use a grill brush to scrap the griddle while spraying the mixture.

If your griddle is extremely dirty, repeat the process until all the residue is washed away. Turn off the grill and wait until it cools down before wiping it dry with a clean cloth.

2. Lemon Juice

Pure lemon juice is powerful and can exterminate disease-causing microorganisms that might be present around your cooking surface.

Start by switching your grill on and spray the lemon juice on the surface while using a grill brush to scrape every part of your flat top griddle. Scrape every part of the griddle while spraying the lemon juice until it becomes satisfactorily clean. Switch it off and wait for it to cool down before wiping it with a dry towel.

The use of the lemon juice is more popular particularly to those people who find the flavor and the scent of vinegar too overpowering.

3. Onion

Another great option that can serve as the perfect scrubbing agent whenever you are out to clean your top flat griddle. The good news with this method is that you do not need to make any mixture to execute the cleaning process. All you need is to cut an onion into two halves and use each of them to scrub on the hot grill. Scrubbing the griddle for two minutes using the onion will lead to food debris coming off the surface of the griddle. The next step is to wipe off the food debris and rinse the grill with water.

4. Brewed Coffee

Although coffee is best for serving as a mind-relaxing drink, you can also use it to clean a flat top grill or griddle. To clean your grill using leftover coffee, pour it on the flat top surface and leave it for about 10 minutes. This is necessary because it allows the grease and food debris on the surface of the griddle to settle.

The next step is to use a wire brush to thoroughly scrub the surface of the griddle until all the debris and grease gets away. Rinse the grill, and it is ready for your next use.

5. Steam Cleaning

Steaming cleaning is another excellent chemical-free method for your flat top griddle. The steam method can give you satisfying results within a short period.

First, switch on your flat top grill and allow it to heat. Secondly, use a wire brush to scrub away any food debris that might have stuck on the grill.

After you have removed all the food debris, pour warm water on the griddle and cover it until it produces steam. The steam will function as a powerful cleaning agent.

Lastly, once the steam has built up in the griddle, uncover it and wipe away the water and the remains of food debris. The result is a shiny and clean flat top ready for your next cooking adventure.

How To Clean A Flat Top Grill That Has Rust

In most cases, the flat top griddle is made of steel that contains iron. Therefore, when it is exposed to water and oxygen, rust is likely to form. If you want to prevent the rusting from taking place, one of the most reliable methods that you can adopt is seasoning it.

However, if you tried everything and rust still formed on your flat top griddle, you do not have to panic because you can always reverse the situation. Besides, rust only forms on the surface of the griddle. Hence, cleaning the griddle well should be able to solve the problem.

Here is how you clear the rust from your griddle;

• Put the flat top griddle in a source of heat and heat for about 20 minutes on a medium setting. This stage is important because it helps to loosen up the rust and therefore making it easy to scrap away.
• Allow the flat top to cool down before using a scraper to scrub the surface of the grid and get rid of any rust.
• After you scrub away all the rust, spread cooking oil on the surface of the griddle and scrub it with a grill stone. You can use steel wool or sandpaper if you do not have a grill stone.
• Wipe the flat griddle with a paper towels
• Keep wiping the griddle with cooking oil until all the signs of rust are gone.
• To prevent the rust from forming again, season the grill with a protective coating.
• While any cooking oil can work well, olive oil will do even better.

How To Prevent Future Rust

You do not want to spend most of your time cleaning rust from your flat top griddle. Therefore, you need to prevent future rust by embracing the following;

• Clean and dry your flat top griddle after every use
• Always store your griddle in a dry and cool place
• Cover the griddle to protect it from wear and tear
• If you do not use your griddle daily, check it often to ensure that no rust is forming

How To Clean Flat Top Grill After Use

The best way to take good care of your flat top griddle is to clean it after every use. For routine cleaning of your flat top griddle, the following steps will serve you right.

1. Scrape The Leftovers

After you finish cooking on your grill, the first step is to use a scraper to scrape all the leftovers, including any food debris and grease from your griddle.

2. Use Warm Water

Once you have removed all the food residue and grease from your grill, the next step is to rinse the entire surface with warm water. This step is necessary as it helps eliminate the food debris you might have yet to clean.

3. Dry It

You need to ensure that you dry your griddle well. One of the reasons rust forms on the griddle is the exposure to moisture and oxygen. Therefore, ensuring that your skillet is dry every time you finish cooking will help prevent rust formation.

4. Re-season the Griddle

After drying your griddle with a dry towel, it is important that you re-season it. A light layer of oil on the surface will help prevent the grill from rusting.

Wrapping It Up

You are always at liberty to pick any method to clean a flat top grill or griddle as long as it will serve you right. Frequent cleaning of your grill not only provides you with an opportunity to prepare delicious meals, but it also helps to elongate the lifespan of your griddle. It is also important to note that re-seasoning your grill after every use helps prevent rust formation.