Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Keep That Grill Clean

Mis-Diagnosed Problem From time to time I get emails from customers about how their grill caught on fire and totally destroyed their meal  and their grill tools as well. While it is certainly possible to start a grill fire by overloading a grill with greasy meat, and cooking it too fast, most often the grill overloading is not the root cause of the fire. What is? It’s the fact that the grill isn’t clean, and the flammable grease and oils are not draining correctly or efficiently. Not What It Seems I know that a barbecue kind of looks like a primitive and clunky tool. I mean, you just basically light a big fire in it and cook stuff, right? Not exactly. The shape and contours of a barbecue grill are all there for a reason. One of the biggest reasons is grease management. When a barbecue grill is brand new, it provides a perfectly functioning path for the hot grease to follow and drain away from the flames. Over time, as grease dries on the surface, down inside the grill, and doesn’t get cleaned up, it begins to restrict the flow of grease when you’re using the grill. A Thin Line It’s a very thin line between a clean and highly functioning grill and one that is a hazard and has the potential for a grease fire. Just a bit of clogging in the wrong place and a little puddle of hot grease can ignite and literally light your entire grill on fire. What I’m getting at here is that you need to understand the importance of keeping your grill clean. I’m not talking about the grates. That’s up to you if you want to cook on dried-on food from last time. It isn’t a fire hazard, however disgusting it might be. I’m talking about cleaning the innards of your grill. How To Do It I like to use a metal spackling knife after the grill has cooled down. I remove the grates and scrape the grease from the sides and bottom of the interior of the barbecue, paying close attention to clearing the flow into the grease catcher. I also empty and clean the grease catcher. I realize that people literally go for years without cleaning their grill and never have a fire. This has a lot to do with what they are grilling and how they are grilling it. There are times when you need to pay close attention to the cleanliness of your barbecue. If you are planning to grill a lot of meat especially hamburgers at the same time you’ll want to start with a clean grill. Most fires start with an overloaded grill and the fire could be avoided if the grill is clean. If you are using a bbq grill mat you will ALWAYS want to keep a clean grill. The grill mats concentrate the flow of grease and if used incorrectly will dump a large quantity of grease directly onto the flame. In … Continue reading Keep That Grill Clean

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from BBQ grill mat http://ift.tt/1HbVbqE via cooking sheet for grill

Keep That Grill Clean

Mis-Diagnosed Problem From time to time I get emails from customers about how their grill caught on fire and totally destroyed their meal  and their grill tools as well. While it is certainly possible to start a grill fire by overloading a grill with greasy meat, and cooking it too fast, most often the grill overloading is not the root cause of the fire. What is? It’s the fact that the grill isn’t clean, and the flammable grease and oils are not draining correctly or efficiently. Not What It Seems I know that a barbecue kind of looks like a primitive and clunky tool. I mean, you just basically light a big fire in it and cook stuff, right? Not exactly. The shape and contours of a barbecue grill are all there for a reason. One of the biggest reasons is grease management. When a barbecue grill is brand new, it provides a perfectly functioning path for the hot grease to follow and drain away from the flames. Over time, as grease dries on the surface, down inside the grill, and doesn’t get cleaned up, it begins to restrict the flow of grease when you’re using the grill. A Thin Line It’s a very thin line between a clean and highly functioning grill and one that is a hazard and has the potential for a grease fire. Just a bit of clogging in the wrong place and a little puddle of hot grease can ignite and literally light your entire grill on fire. What I’m getting at here is that you need to understand the importance of keeping your grill clean. I’m not talking about the grates. That’s up to you if you want to cook on dried-on food from last time. It isn’t a fire hazard, however disgusting it might be. I’m talking about cleaning the innards of your grill. How To Do It I like to use a metal spackling knife after the grill has cooled down. I remove the grates and scrape the grease from the sides and bottom of the interior of the barbecue, paying close attention to clearing the flow into the grease catcher. I also empty and clean the grease catcher. I realize that people literally go for years without cleaning their grill and never have a fire. This has a lot to do with what they are grilling and how they are grilling it. There are times when you need to pay close attention to the cleanliness of your barbecue. If you are planning to grill a lot of meat especially hamburgers at the same time you’ll want to start with a clean grill. Most fires start with an overloaded grill and the fire could be avoided if the grill is clean. If you are using a bbq grill mat you will ALWAYS want to keep a clean grill. The grill mats concentrate the flow of grease and if used incorrectly will dump a large quantity of grease directly onto the flame. In … Continue reading Keep That Grill Clean

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Monday, October 26, 2015

Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat

Hi, Chef Caron here, with an update or two on how to make the best use of your bbq grill mat so you don’t run into any frustrating difficulties or problems. Keep in mind that every type of food you barbecue will react with the mats differently. I point this out because everyone’s use of the grill is pretty much unique. For example, you might use a specific type of marinade that you make yourself. It’s possible that no one else on the planet is using that exact combination of ingredients on a grill mat. I had a customer call me the other day because his grill mat had gotten a sticky residue on it after using it all summer. The trick to knowing what to do about this sort of thing, is to think of the mat exactly as you would an expensive nonstick frying pan. What would you do if you had sticky residue on your nonstick kitchen cookware? You’d wash it, of course. Same thing with a grill mat. You need to keep it clean. After every use, you need to wash it so that it looks and feels like new. Some ways you can do that if you have difficult residue on the mat: Soak the mats in soapy water for an hour or longer and then wipe them clean. TIP – if something you’re cooking is sticking to the mats use the soft side of a scrub pad to scrub it off. The longer it’s on there the harder it will be to remove. Put the mats in your dishwasher, on the top rack and run it on hot. Usually that will remove any stubborn residues. Always wash your mats immediately after use. That technique alone will work like magic.l always have a damp cotton cloth handy, and wipe them right away when I remove them from the barbecue grill. Then I let them soak for a while and transfer them into the dishwasher. Doing all three of those things guarantees that I don’t have any residue building up on the mats. That’s really the ticket here. If you get a little bit of residue that stays on the mat every time you barbecue or grill, eventually this will turn into a sticky surface on the mat that will be very difficult to remove without damaging the mat. So to summarize, be preventative. Just take the time to clean your grill mats thoroughly and carefully after every use and they will continue to provide you with years of great use a service. If you have any problems or questions please feel free to contact me using the Contact Us page on this website. We can usually answer questions and offer help right away, unless we’re in the middle of some ridiculous barbecue emergency. I look forward to hearing from you. And one more thing. Don’t forget to visit our BBQ Gift Store. We have specials every day and have absolutely everything for the barbecue and … Continue reading Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat

The post Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat appeared first on BBQ grill mat.



from BBQ grill mat http://ift.tt/1Nx1SIP via cooking sheet for grill

Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat

Hi, Chef Caron here, with an update or two on how to make the best use of your bbq grill mat so you don’t run into any frustrating difficulties or problems. Keep in mind that every type of food you barbecue will react with the mats differently. I point this out because everyone’s use of the grill is pretty much unique. For example, you might use a specific type of marinade that you make yourself. It’s possible that no one else on the planet is using that exact combination of ingredients on a grill mat. I had a customer call me the other day because his grill mat had gotten a sticky residue on it after using it all summer. The trick to knowing what to do about this sort of thing, is to think of the mat exactly as you would an expensive nonstick frying pan. What would you do if you had sticky residue on your nonstick kitchen cookware? You’d wash it, of course. Same thing with a grill mat. You need to keep it clean. After every use, you need to wash it so that it looks and feels like new. Some ways you can do that if you have difficult residue on the mat: Soak the mats in soapy water for an hour or longer and then wipe them clean. TIP – if something you’re cooking is sticking to the mats use the soft side of a scrub pad to scrub it off. The longer it’s on there the harder it will be to remove. Put the mats in your dishwasher, on the top rack and run it on hot. Usually that will remove any stubborn residues. Always wash your mats immediately after use. That technique alone will work like magic.l always have a damp cotton cloth handy, and wipe them right away when I remove them from the barbecue grill. Then I let them soak for a while and transfer them into the dishwasher. Doing all three of those things guarantees that I don’t have any residue building up on the mats. That’s really the ticket here. If you get a little bit of residue that stays on the mat every time you barbecue or grill, eventually this will turn into a sticky surface on the mat that will be very difficult to remove without damaging the mat. So to summarize, be preventative. Just take the time to clean your grill mats thoroughly and carefully after every use and they will continue to provide you with years of great use a service. If you have any problems or questions please feel free to contact me using the Contact Us page on this website. We can usually answer questions and offer help right away, unless we’re in the middle of some ridiculous barbecue emergency. I look forward to hearing from you. And one more thing. Don’t forget to visit our BBQ Gift Store. We have specials every day and have absolutely everything for the barbecue and … Continue reading Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat

The post Updated Tips for Using a Grill Mat appeared first on BBQ grill mat.



from BBQ grill mat http://ift.tt/1Nx1SIP via Continue