Cleaning and care of cooking grates and water pan


 
KRubinow

KRubinow

New member
Hi all. I'm wondering what everyone does for cleaning their cooking grates and water pan after each cook. Do you clean them each time, or just sometimes? If not all the time, do you leave the little bits of chunks of meat on? When you do clean, what's the easiest and fastest way?

My kitchen sink is a double basin, and neither side is large enough for either grate to lay down flat. This creates a total mess every time I clean them with a sponge and/or stiff brush.

Weber says that these parts are not to be put in the dishwasher, but a friend told me he puts his grates and bowl in the dishwasher. The dishwasher would be wonderfully simple, but I also want to make sure that I don't erode the quality of the stainless steel or the enamel of the bowl.
 
I don't use a bowl. I wire brush the grill each time. It is well seasoned. I scape my vortex plate each time. I empty my coal basket every fourth time give or take.
 
For the water pan I like to use a dutch oven liner. I press it into the water bowl to fit. When you're done just pour out the remaining liquid or throw away the entire pan. Depending on how messy the liner is you can reuse it. I also wrap the outside of the pan with foil.

As for the grates I clean then in my sink after each cook. I have a metal scrapper to remove the back smoke/grease which accumulates. I get off what I can and then use a sponge for the rest. You're right that water gets everywhere. My sink is too small as well.
 
I just put the grates on there get them hot then use a wire brush to clean them off. Same thing I do with the grates on the grill. I do put my rib rack in the dishwasher. I'm pretty sure it would do an excellent job on the plated grill grates as well. No water pan, just a ceramic flower pot bottom wrapped in tin foil
 
Chris Allingham said:
I use EZ-OFF. All versions seem the same to me.
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I get the same results with Fume Free as I did with Heavy Duty. No need to worry about inhaling it, getting it on your skin, or the nozzle sealing up. Also, you can use the Fume Free can multiple times since the nozzle remains open.
 
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I use a scraper and wire brush to clean the grate outside, but there are usually some burned on bits that require cleaning in the sink (yes, that can be messy) and/or the dishwasher. I'm still cooking on the original grates (20+ years) so it hasn't hurt them very much. I always foil the water bowl and I never put water in it, so unless the foil tears or grease somehow gets underneath it the water bowl never gets cleaned. Rib racks have so many little nooks and crannies that they always go through the dishwasher.
 
My brother in law understood my (borrowed) design of using a hot water “drain pan” and made one up for me. Drain and hanging eye to boot, I have an old (antique) cowboy coffeepot holds about a gallon of water which I heat on the stove or kettle or hillbilly hearth and put a shot of dish soap in it, pour the hot water on and wait an hour or so later' scrub with a wire brush, rinse with the hose and put it all away.
I don’t use a water pan, I do the terra-cotta saucer with double foil wrapping.
That’s MY method, by no means the best or only method. Try a few and see, what works for you.
 
I put the grates on my grill and heat at 400+ for 5-10 minutes and then brush clean. Wipe it off when cool if you want. NO! Do not leave meat chunks or anything else that can be removed!

As for the water pan, cover with heavy duty foil after filling with a slight bowl in the middle, remove and discard after a big cook. Quick wash with dish detergent and rinse is all the cleaning needed.
 
I'd think putting the bowl in the dishwasher should be perfectly OK, as it's protected by the enamel. The grates that come with the WSM are not stainless steel, but a lower grade metal that is plated. That's why Weber recommends against dishwashers. If you replace your grates with SS, you'll likely be able to clean them in any fashion you choose. For me, I cover the inside of the bowl with heavy duty foil, and use my Weber branded metal grill brush and scrub them after removing the food while everything is still hot. I also scrub them again prior to the next cook after preheating the cooker. I'm mainly looking at getting chunks and goo off of the surface. I don't worry about making the grates look shiny and absolutely clean, because I figure that there's enough heat going on during the cook to kill off any surface bacteria and other bugaboos that could alter flavors or cause illness.
 
Grates in the DW. If, and I say IF, they ever deteriorate, I'll replace with SS. At 78, I think they'll outlast me. 😁 Oh, foil the bowl with heavy duty wrap.
 
I used my DW once and 0nly once because that was a mess.
My old one did not have a SS inards just ivory.
The leftover BBQ black crud made quite a mess, had to do multible cleanings with glisten and citric acid.
Take em to a spray wash and leave the mess behind!
 
No water bowl here either. A 3/16" solid SS disc that sits on the water bowl tabs. A foil tray can be put on top to catch drippings for gravy or roast spuds, or just let the drippings sizzle on the disc for flavour, scrape the burnt residue off...easy.

Grates? I use heavy duty fibre scourer, dish soap and elbow-grease to give them a bit of a spruce up. Otherwise a grill brush over high heat.
 
I told my wife the other night as we were chowing down on some 10 hour prime brisket that she should enjoy my enthusiasm while it lasts. I can see a time where the work involved in shopping, prepping, cooking (BBQ), and especially cleaning, get to be too much work. We rarely go out to eat these days, as what we get at restaurants does not stack up to what we cook at home most of the time.
 
Joe Anshien said:
...she should enjoy my enthusiasm while it lasts. I can see a time where the work involved in shopping, prepping, cooking (BBQ), and especially cleaning, get to be too much work. ...
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Perhaps, I tend to get enthusiastic about some things and go all out for some years, then may lose that enthusiam, but since I got the Webers (good equipment), it's been 15 years for and haven't still going strong. Yeah, we don't go out much either for various reasons, but I'm not big on pre-prepared frozen or can meals. A few fit in largely prepared on my grill. The best I get (often better than most any restaurant) is what I fix myself, and that helps keep me going.
 
RichPB (richlife) said:
Perhaps, I tend to get enthusiastic about some things and go all out for some years, then may lose that enthusiasm, but since I got the Webers (good equipment), it's been 15 years for and haven't still going strong. Yeah, we don't go out much either for various reasons, but I'm not big on pre-prepared frozen or can meals. A few fit in largely prepared on my grill. The best I get (often better than most any restaurant) is what I fix myself, and that helps keep me going.
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Plus the cost of eating out has gone through the roof. (Here anyway). What we cook at home/bbq is superior to what we get in a restaurant at a fraction of the price. If I do go out to eat, I never, ever, ever order steak. I can cook them much better.
 
TonyUK said:
Plus the cost of eating out has gone through the roof.
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Went out for Breakfast with my Lady for dads day.
$17.00 a piece for eggs with sausage and potatoes, green peppers and onions, toast. ( a skillet they call it )
Country gravy for a small bowl was another $3.00 apiece.
I remember the old 222 from the 70's.
2 slices of bacon
2 slices of sausage
2 eggs
hashbrowns
2 slices of toast or pancakes
All for $ 2.22
 
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