Grill Hack: How to Clean Grill Grates Without a Wire Brush

Hey grill hounds and anybody with a gross grill, here’s a hack for how to clean grill grates without a brush. Actually, it’s an awesome way to clean grill grates, period.

So you’re in a situation where you’ve got meat that has to be grilled. Now. But the grates are greased up with gross and, gulp, the grill brush has died. Or you’re on vacation and the rental shack has a grill with no brush. Damn. Either way, you need to conjure how to clean grill grates without a brush. Now. Fun depends on it. Keep the meat (and, boring, veggies) on ice. This hack works better than a grill brush every day of the week.

The key ingredient in your cookout is now a stone driveway or garden—plentiful in the places we’ve vacationed, actually. The smaller the stones, the better this works.

Remove the grates from the grill and place them on the stones. An area where the stones are a few inches deep is best. Pile a layer of stones about an inch deep on top of the grate, then rub the stones around. The stones abrade the muck off the grates like magic. Flip and repeat. Find me a grill brush gets both sides of the grates…wassup! Hit the grates with the garden hose or soap and water, then replace.

One note on how to clean grill grates, because, yes this has come up: Don’t paint them. That will not do anything to help repair or otherwise keep them clean. You can paint the outside of the grill (Krylon High Heat Max) grill grates must remain bare steel (it’s a food-contact thing).

Hungry now.