Cleaning racks


 
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Rita Y

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Has anyone used EZ-Off oven cleaner on your racks? I suspect that it might affect the finish or corrode the nickel plating, but if I have to buy new racks every few years it'll be worth not having to spend and hour or two cleaning them after each cook!

I usually hose off my racks before cleaning them. This morning I tried Simple Green non-acidic formula, the foaming kind made for BBQs & grills, and let it sit for about an hour, but it really didn't do much.

My cook went really well
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- will report on that separately.

Regards,
Rita
 
I just wire brush them after cooking, then put them in the dishwasher afterwards. The same with the water pan.
 
The WSM racks fit perfectly into the Weber gas grill. A nice full heat application will bake the stuff right off. I only clean before a contest.

I can't imagine putting anything like EZ-off or Simple green on something I will be eating from.

Just my opinion!

Stogie
 
Rita-

I just do mine in the sink with Palmolive. I don't work to get them looking like new, just to get most of the crud off.

I made a mistake with my Brinkmann water pan, and now I've got brisket fat baked onto it. I've been soaking it for several days in water with Palmolive. I'll let you know if I can get it clean
 
Thanks Charlie and Stogie for the good advice. It's been pouring for 4 days and I didn't get to brushing the racks after the cook like I should have, but it did help a lot when I did get to it.

I have the water pan in the dishwasher on the "scrub/pots" cycle right now. It'll be interesting to see if it takes care of some of the crusty drippings on the wide rim of the pan. (I took of what I could first.)

Putting the racks on the Weber gas grill really did the trick and took care of the hard-to-get-to places as well. Althogether much easier (and safer) than using oven cleaner, and quicker too!

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Many thanks to both of you for your help!
Rita
 
Hi Ken,
Your message came in as I was working on my last post. I have the same problem as you do -- burned-on brisket fat. It's not too bad, though, because I kept my pan pretty full of water except for the last 2 or 3 hours. I'll know if the dishwasher took care of it in an hour or so.

I usually soak my racks overnight in soapy water too, in one of those 6" deep black plastic-type pans for oil-changing. It helps some, but I have to say that burning the crud off works best of all and it gets the job done fast. Just lazy, I guess.
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Thanks,
Rita
 
The dishwasher did a better job than I thought it would on the water pan. Just had to do a light scrub on a few spots - good as new!
Thanks,
Rita
 
Rita,

I would highly recommend covering your water pan with aluminum foil. Cleanup is soooo much easier. The 18" wide heavy-duty stuff fits the standard pan perfectly.

Steve
 
Hi Steve,
I usually foil my small pan, but I was using the larger pan and the foil isn't quite wide enough.

Do you also foil the outside?

Rita
 
Yes, Rita, I foil it all over.

Also, I've heard that if you lay a piece of foil (shiny side down) on your cooking grate immediately after cooking, and leave it there until the cooker's cool, that cleanup is easier. I have yet to try it, though.

Steve
 
I'll be sure to do that next time. I've heard of the foil-on-the-rack trick for the gas grill and will try that on the smoker as well.

Thanks so much to everyone for all the helpful information!

Happy cookin'
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Rita
 
Hi Pat!

Not to worry!! My neighbor uses it religiously and he is still alive.

I simply get a kick out of some people(my neighbor included)that insist on NOT using briquettes because they are not natural...and then turn around and scrub their racks with this stuff!

Dirty racks will never kill you and a quick trip to the "gas" chamber is all it takes....free and easy.

Stogie
 
I love this Website -- so many creative folks!
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Actually, the blowtorch might be kinder overall to the racks than the 15 or 20 minutes of sustained heat of the gas grill, although the grill is a great hands-off solution and worked very well for me. Since I have a torch in my kitchen, I'll give it a try next time. Thanks very much for the idea.

Rita

PS: What does a pressure washer cost? (Just kidding)
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Hi again Rita:

I have to add my two cents to this clean-up question with a bit of a warning. Many years of Weber experience with grill parts (gas and charcoal) being washed in the dishwasher have yielded one conclusion - don't do it. The accumulation of grease in your dishwasher can kill the motor, or clog the drain, or both.

You probably didn't hurt it too bad with one use, but I'd strongly recommend against doing it again. Stogie's definitely right with his recommendation to avoid all the cleaners. This will also extend the life of your grates and water pan.

Hope this is helpful!

Weber Dave
 
I just use PAm on the racks and pan before I cook and have no problem cleaning them in the sink after the cook. Just make sure you scotchbrite pad is new and some grit. Cleaning the racks and pan is the only thing my wife refuses to clean, so i get to do it after doing the cooking.
Dan l
 
Thanks, Dan.........Yes, cleaning up does take some of the fun out of it......but not much!
Rita
 
Kevin's method didn't work for me.

I put the top/bottom cook grate in my Weber Genesis and cranked it up.

Oh man, was I disappointed when I opened it up!!!

I have cast-iron grates on the gas grill, and it "baked off" the seasoning on my grates to the point that it exposed rust on the gas-grill grates. The rust even was on the WSM grates. What a mess!!!

I'm guessing (a pure guess) that the cast-iron touching steel/aluminum got so hot (500+ degrees) that it cooked off the 2+ years of seasoning I had on the cast-iron grates. Perhaps some sort of different type of metals at high-temp situation????

Anyone else experience this?
 
Rita-

Just getting back to the board here. It's been pretty crazy in NYC this week.

After soaking the water pan with Palmolive and water for about 4 days, the crud came right off, without too much elbow grease needed.

Ken
 
Hi Lewjeff:

Yes, you did bake the seasoning off of your cast irobn grates. Very disappointing I'm sure.

You can start over by simply re-conditioning the grates. Just use a Stainless Steel brush to remove the loose rust, then re-coat the entire surface of the grates with Crisco Shortening. Bake this on at Medium-Off-Medium for 1 1/2 hours, and continue to coat the grates after each use until you once again get that nice shiny, black coating. It could take up to 2-3 months.

Number one tip: Never use PAM or any other cooking spray on the grates.

Number two tip: Go easy on the grates with heat and/or brushing.

Weber Dave
 
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