5 Steps to seasonal grill preparation. Spring!
In the beginning, there was spring time! Birds chirping, squirrels scooting along fences, light breeze, flowers starting to bud, grass going green and of course, trees starting to add greenery to their branches. Well, ok, spring really isn’t the beginning, but it sure feels like the beginning after winter has kept everything dull and dreary. Spring for with all it’s glory sure seems like the perfect beginning period.
With spring comes the time to shed the winter doldrums and more specifically remove the cracked cover off the grill and prep it for the ensuing season. Now that spring is starting to come into full swing, preparing the grill for that all time high grilling season is paramount. Well, that is if you’re the Grilling Guy and the captain of the all-important GRILL.
Now that the grill cover is off, what’s needed to get it in shape. Here are the 5 main steps in preparing your grill for the next 6 months of “heavy” use:
One: hopefully you had the tank disconnected all winter, then reconnect the tank and check all of the hoses between the main shut-off valve near the tank and the grill burners. If the tank was left connected, or you’re a winter griller, no problem. It’s still imperative that you check the hoses and connections. Winter is hard on metal and plastics both can become damaged. Either way, if anything looks bad, then replace the part, IMMEDIATELY. The last thing you need is a grill, deck, patio or house fire. Neighbors hate that, trees and bushes around the grill usually don’t fair well and worse case scenario, you catch your house on fire and of course, there’s nothing worse than ruining a perfectly good day, then there’s the ruined steak.
Two: Clean the outside of the grill with a good de-greaser. There are two philosophies on this one. First, it’s like driving a clean car, it seems to just drive better when it looks better. Second; if you use the side tables or cabinets around the grill, you want them to be just like the kitchen cabinets, clean. (PS… DO NOT clean the interior, that’s the “secret” grilling taste mechanism.)
Three: Well, okay, you should clean “some” portions of the interior, but not to the point that it’s like the day you brought it home. You will want to reasonably clean the really badly burnt parts off the grill. To do this, warm up the grill with some heat. Using a grill scrubber, simply rub down the tines and brush off the nasty burnt chunks from last season or the last sacrificial offering, which ever it was. However, this cleaning is best if done half heartedly. The goal is to just knock the chunks off.
Four: inspect the burners and burner covers. First, double check that the flame holes are not obstructed or blocked. Even if most of them work, if some are blocked, it will create uneven temperatures, which isn’t desirable. Also, look for the stability of the burners and covers. If they’re falling apart, now is the time to replace. For the covers or defusers, if they’re falling apart, they’ll just get worse. Also, this is a good time to also half heartedly clean out the built up chunks sitting on the covers and around the burners. Don’t remove everything and definitely leave the sides greasy and built up, as long as they’re not blocking the fire. They add flavor.
Five: Cook something, anything. Even if you’re not hungry or not cooking for dinner. Grab a burger or an old frozen steak and let’er rip. This serves two purposes, if something isn’t working right, now is the time to discover it, not when you have all of your friends sitting around with watering mouths waiting for that first steak or burger. Plus, it kicks the summer grill smells and prep off with a bang. Now, eat the early season sacrifice, throw it to the dog or chunk it if it’s an old steak with freezer burn. Probably tough and will not be pleasant. Your call.
So, now that the 5 step early spring program has been completed, you’re ready for the season. Even if you use your grill all winter, following winter’s thaw and prepping the grill for the next full year is always best.
Go grill something!
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