It was my distinct “pleasure” yesterday to be relegated to cleaning the BBQ to get it ready for use. Now usually my husband takes up this task, but I lost the coin toss. I came from a long line of charcoal grillers, and my husband is a die-hard gas griller. Never having cleaned a gas grill, I donned the rubber gloves, grabbed a bucket of hot water and a sponge and off I went.
Not having been used for quite awhile, I was greeted by a number of earwigs as they fell from the cover as I removed it. Not to be daunted by that I shook the darn thing to make sure that no others were hiding only to have three of those little bastards land on me, and one of which went down the front of my v-neck white shirt! I found myself running in circles as I quickly ripped my shirt off. My husband came running out to see what all the noise was about and found me standing there topless.
Earwig - Photo from PestCemetary.com
I said that all was OK, as I picked up my shirt, inspecting it before redressing myself. I decided that I would start with the outside surface. I hummed to myself as I washed the top and side boards. I believed that I was doing a great job. Then I stood back to admire my expert cleaning abilities only to discover that the stainless had swathes of sponge marks streaking from left to right and up and down! It was then that I realized that I needed a heavy duty cleaning solution and that I needed to follow the sponge directly with a towel. Into the house I went in search of reinforcements.
Returning armed with supplies, I fixed the streaky problem. Then I raised the lid. I was immediately greeted by the smell of old grease, and bits of last season’s dessicated chicken still clinging to the grates. I slid the left grill rack to the right and peered down into the dark cavern of the inside of the grill. Removing the burner hoods, I found myself looking into the eyes of the creature from the black lagoon.
Creature from the Black Lagoon - Photo - Universal Studios
Never having spent much time with this kind of BBQ, I was amazed at all the parts inside. I realized that there were pieces bolted to the sides, cross bars, gas tubes and another hood like device under the burners. How is one supposed to clean the inside of this thing with all these pieces obstructing where the grease lay? As I stared and pondered, I heard a little voice in my head yelling, “Get me a blow torch!”
Blow torch - Photo by DetentionSlip.org
Not having one handy, I had to figure out how I was going to remove what grease I could. I went into the house, down to the basement, and retrieved one of my husband’s spackle knives. And I returned to the gaping mouth of the beast. Where is Mike Rowe from “Dirtiest Jobs” when you need him? The grease rolled onto the spackle knife as I slowly led it around the inside of the BBQ. It was as good as I was going to get it.
Next I made the trip into the house with the grates, and after a half hour of scrubbing I got those clean along with the covers for the burners. And, I put the pieces back where they belonged.
So the question is this: Which is easier to clean? Charcoal grill,
Inside of a charcoal grill - Photo by SmokingMeatForums.com
Inside of a gas grill - Photo by Dustin
Life in the Foothills 
I would definitely have the same reaction as you and it certainly made me chuckle. As for BBQ’s well I’ve had a gas one for two years and still haven’t used it due to the unpredictable Irish weather 😦 One day, I live in hope.
Hi Barb, now that you know the drill you can come and clean my grill. I’ll treat you to dinner and wine. My personal favorite is my microwave. And yes, I can hear the groans from here!
Thanks for stopping by Cindy! I retired from the grill cleaning business after I went inside to clean up the Valdez spill that covered me everywhere! I will tell you that Dawn dish washing liquid works like a charm combined with a very bristly scrub brush! I was red the rest of the day!
Charcoal! Soak me up some hickory chips and throw slabs of pork ribs and salmon…. I’ll be good to go.
I know there was a theme in this post but I got ‘stuck’ with the image of the earwig, lol. Made me think of being in Santa Fe and a friend telling me never leave shoes or purse on the floor because scorpion like to make themselves at home in things left on the floor. LOL.
Must have been a sight seeing you trying to escape your invaders, Glad hubby was so supportive, lol.
Now that you have your grill spiffed would you mind doing ours? We only have gecko’s and mud daubbers 🙂
Happy Monday!
I think I will have to pass! I didn’t mention in the post how I was covered with grease! I felt like one of those birds after the oil spill from the Valdez! It took lots of Dawn dish soap and a scrubber to get it all off! You have a great week PC!
I am a gas man by choice. Webber do a great range. My approach to cleaning last year’s gunk off is to light the gas and leave it on high for half an hour. That takes care of most everything, living or dead that is hiding inside.
I had our first BBQ last weekend, in pouring rain.
Best,
Conor
I should have done that!
charcoal. definitely 😉
Charcoal would be easier, but there are benefits to both, so I suppose it is a personal choice. Anyway – BBQ time is upon us so enjoy either.