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Why clean grill with onion


Clean your grill with an onion (and 6 other grilling hacks)

Start your fire with an egg carton and check your propane levels using a tea kettle

Grilling season is divine, there’s no doubt about it. The smoke, the char, the flames and the flavor are each a seasonal delight. But the cleanup? That one’s for the birds.

What if I told you, though, that instead of brushing and bristling at your racks, you could just wipe them down with an onion? Read on for essential grill hacks that will help you take your grilling game to the next level.

Clean your grill with an onion

Cleaning a grill with an onion — Photo courtesy of Getty Images / ideeone

There are two ways to go about doing this, and they both begin with chopping an onion in half. The easiest, non-toxic way to scrub a dirty grill rack clean is to wipe it down with an onion. You’re going to want to make sure your grill is on when doing so, as the heat activates the onion’s natural cleaning power. And skewering your onion on a long grilling fork will allow you more freedom of motion and a firmer grip than a pair of tongs can offer you.

Once you’re preheated and sufficiently skewered, all you have to do is rub the cut surface of the onion along the racks. Any detritus should peel right off as you go.

But get this: wiping down your clean rack with an onion before you even slap your meat and veggies down can make cleanup a breeze. That’s because the onion's natural oils will form a protective coating on the metal, and maybe even add a little flavor to your meal.

Take propane inventory with a tea kettle

Use a tea kettle like this to find out how much propane is left in your tank — Photo courtesy of iStock / DavidPrahl

Never again worry about running out of gas before your meal is fully cooked, thanks to this simple trick. To tell how much propane is left in a tank, all you need to do is pour a tea kettle full of warm water – no need to fully boil it – down the side of a propane tank.

The warm water will heat the metal in the top portion of the tank all the way down to the point where the liquified propane within is contained. If your tank is warm nearly all the way to the bottom, it’s time to fill up. But if your tank feels nice and cool to the touch, you’re good to grill.

Hail a Propane Taxi

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So you’ve tried the tea kettle trick only to discover that you are definitely out of gas? Don’t sweat it. Companies like Propane Taxi will actually come bring you a fresh tank, all at the push of a button on their smartphone app.

And while Propane Taxi may be one of the only companies offering deliveries via app, it's hardly the only company willing to deliver altogether. Companies like AmeriGas and All State Propane offer delivery services, and sometimes even offer coupon codes if you search for delivery in your city.

Smoke some lemonade while you preheat

Grilled lemon — Photo courtesy of iStock / Adam Calaitzis

Don’t let those first precious moments of BBQ time go to waste while you wait for your grill to heat up. Instead, toss a dozen lemons cut in half onto the racks before you even light your pilot. As the grill heats up, the oils and juices within the lemon will as well, making them easier to juice and much more fragrant.

When your grill reaches optimal grilling temperature, remove the lemons with a pair of tongs, and let them cool a bit before juicing. Until you’ve slowly sipped a glass of sweet, citrusy, smoked lemonade, it’s impossible to understand quite what you’ve been missing all this time.

Achieve big, smoky hardwood flavor...from a gas grill

Wood chips — Photo courtesy of iStock / Salomonus_

This trick is so simple, you’ll kick yourself for not already thinking of it. Wood grilling creates some of the most desirable, layered flavors possible in the world of grilling, but it is by far the most challenging fuel source to grill with.

Want a great way to impart smoky, wood-burning flavor into your easier to control, gas-grilled meal? Just toss some wood chips into a tightly sealed aluminum foil packet, and pierce a few holes in the top. Be careful not to punch through the bottom layer of foil though.

As the packet heats up, the wood chips will release their fragrant oils, allowing you to add cherry, pecan or hickory notes to your meat without ever bothering to swing an axe.

Start your fire with a carton of eggs

A paper egg carton — Photo courtesy of iStock / offstocker

Charcoal is a fairly easy grilling medium to manipulate, once you’ve got the fire started. But even briquettes marketed as "no lighter fluid necessary" can be a real pain in the neck if there’s so much as a gentle breeze in the air. But an easy way to get a good flame going is to place a dozen pieces of charcoal into the depressions of a paper egg carton.

Place the entire carton in the bottom of your grill and then light it up. The paper will burn immediately, and help jumpstart the briquettes. Just don’t try this trick with a Styrofoam or plastic carton.

Do your grilling inside

Binchotan, white charcoal — Photo courtesy of iStock / kuppa_rock

No need to cancel your grilling due to inclement weather. Just move the grilling inside! Yes, indoor grilling is not only possible, but frequently practiced throughout Japan, all thanks to a special type of almost pristinely white charcoal called Binchotan.

Formed by burning wood at such insanely high temperatures that it completely destroys all impurities and moisture within it, Binchotan briquettes burn efficiently enough to be used indoors. Unfortunately, they can be quite difficult to get your hands on, and they’re really your only option for indoor grilling.

Never try grilling indoors with regular charcoal, gas or wood-burning grills. If the smoke inhalation doesn’t kill you, and your apartment doesn’t burn down on top of you, the toxic chemicals released by grilling will certainly do you in.

How to clean a grill with an onion and more barbecue hacks

Memorial Day is just around the corner, which means it's basically barbecue season!

TODAY Food's Grilling Guide is filled with expert tips and delightfully easy recipes from chefs and grill masters from across the country. Megan Day, Loreal Gavin and Matt Abdoo revealed how to clean and prep any grill, different cookout safety measures to take and how to make amazing kebabs.

Clean your grill with an onion

"An alternative to using wire brushes (that may leave small wires and bits of metal behind) is rubbing your grill grates with a peeled half onion," Day told TODAY Food. "Allow the grill to heat up to a high temperature. Pierce the half onion with a fork and rub the cut-side down along the grill grates. The onion's juices will release and produce steam to remove the bits and charred on debris."

"Another fun grill trick is using a potato to measure the ambient temperature at your cooking level surface," said Day. "Take a wired probe thermometer and a halved potato and stick thermometer through the cut spud, allowing the tip of the probe to stick out the other side. Place the cut side of the potato on the grate. This helps take the guess work out of grilling."

It's very important to have everything you need around you before you fire up the grill.Pixabay

Use a potato to take the grill's temperature

"Make sure your grill is preheated. What does that mean? It must be hot enough to immediately sear what you're placing on the grill," Gavin told TODAY. "I like to use a raw potato cut in half to see if it's hot enough to get cooking. Cut a potato in half, and set it flesh side down on the hot grill. Set a timer for 1 minute. The potato should have a slight grill mark on it and have easily been removed from the grill. You can also use the trick to locate the hot and cold spots of your grill."

Gavin also recommends, "Before you get to grilling, it's very important to have everything you need around you before you start cooking. If you need tongs, have them! If you can't grill without a drink in hand, you better have one already made. Grilling is a big deal and you don't want to forget something that will cause you to have to leave your cooking station. A grill should always be attended, even if you're a professional grill master. You are literally cooking with fire and it's important to keep a watchful eye on it.

"With safety in mind, keep a box of baking soda nearby to throw on the grill if the flames ever get out of hand."

Perfect your kebab-cooking technique

"Kebabs are something very near and dear to my heart! Being half Lebanese and half Italian, I grew up eating them all the time and they were a staple during the summer," Abdoo told TODAY. "We would eat them with rice, fresh pita bread and a cucumber and tomato salad made with ingredients from my parents' garden."

"The great thing about kebabs is that they are quick to cook, super convenient to assemble the day before and your ingredient options are limitless. It's very common to make them with cubed chicken, beef and veggies. But lamb, pork, ground meat, sliced meat, firm fish (like sword fish and tuna) and shrimp are also great options to jazz up your summer cook out!"

Keep meat and vegetables on separate skewers.Pixabay
Timing is everything.

Cook your meat and veggies separately. They have different cooking times, so to keep meat from being overcooked while your veggies are still undercooked, keep them on separate skewers. Even though it looks really pretty to alternate meats and veggies, it doesn't cook as well.

Prep ahead.

Assemble and marinate them the night before. This allows you to really boost the flavor of whatever it is you are cooking and makes it super fast to cook when needed. Marinades can be as fast and easy as a pre-made Italian or Greek salad dressing, or you can make your own.

Select the right skewers.

If you are using wooden skewers, definitely soak them at least an hour before skewering your meat to prevent them from catching on fire on the grill. I find that metal skewers work better and cook a little faster because they conduct heat better than wooden skewers. If you are going to make kebabs more than once a year, metal skewers are a good, inexpensive investment. For metal, make sure they are flat skewers, not round, to prevent the meat or vegetables from spinning or sliding around on the skewer.

Choose the right cut of meat.

If you are making beef kebabs, you definitely want to use a more tender cut of meat. Something like chuck is great for stews and long slow cooking techniques, but for the quick, high heat of a grill you want to pick something along the lines of tenderloin, strip loin, rib-eye, flank steak or skirt steak. If grilling up chicken, breast is usually the go-to, but thighs will be a lot more moist on the grill.

Control the temperature.

When cooking kebabs, set up your grill with two heat zones. High- to medium-high on one side for searing and medium low to finish cooking everything through without over charring the outside of the meats and veggies.

Don't forget the flavor.

Try some finishing glazes and dipping sauces to accompany your kebabs. Just be sure that if you glaze your kebabs with something that is sugary (like teriyaki or barbecue sauce) to add those sauces toward the end of the cooking time so they don't burn. Dipping sauces are also always fun to have with any kebabs. Try serving garlicky lemon yogurt, creamy guacamole or a tangy Dijon mustard and balsamic dip.

TODAY Food's Easiest-Ever Grilling Guide (PDF)
TODAY Food's Easiest-Ever Grilling Guide (Text)

For more tips and tricks from TODAY's trusted grill masters (and the anchors!), download our special-edition guide right here.

How and why to clean the grill? — INMYROOM

Tips

Does the kebab burn and stick to the grate? If you clean the grill in a timely and correct manner, you will enjoy outdoor recreation and not scrape off burnt meat.

Why is a dirty grill dangerous?

How often should the grill be cleaned?

Are you a barbecue fan and do you grill every day? Then it is enough to carry out deep cleaning once every couple of months. If you rarely use the grill, clean it just before you start cooking.

What do you need for cleaning?