Camp Chef vs Blackstone

Infrared grills are prone to rust and wear especially with repeated use. Unclean infrared grills can build up rust that affect the safety and cleanliness of your food and worn parts can affect the flavor of your meat.

Cleaning your infrared grill including the heating element, the grates, and the infrared plate after every use will help reduce the build-up of rust and ensure your grill can last you a long time. Read on to find out how to clean infrared grills.

How to Clean Infrared Grills

While the way to clean infrared grills is similar to how you would clean other types of grills, you need to take special care when cleaning the infrared plate and heating element. There are two main methods for cleaning your infrared grill which are the burn-off method and the deep cleaning method. 

You should perform the burn-off procedure each time you use your infrared grill. On the other hand, you only need to do deep cleaning when there is a build-up of food debris or ash on the panels to keep your infrared grill in tip top shape.

Burn Off Method

After every use, burn off any food debris or excess grease in the infrared grill. Here are the steps you need to burn them off.

• Light up all of the burners in your infrared grill.
• Turn the grill’s control knobs to high.
• Close the lid.
• Leave the burners on for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is enough time to incinerate all the food debris and drippings and turn them to ash.
• Turn off the burners.
• With a grate rake, clean the grates and allow the grill to cool.
• After cooling, use a nylon brush or grill brush to remove any remaining food particles from the cooking grate.
• Remove baked-on food debris with the metal scraper on the backside of a grill brush.
• Remove the grates carefully and scoop out the remaining debris and ash off the glass panels.
• You may need to tap together the grilling grates and infrared emitters lightly to remove remaining ash or baked-on debris.
• If your infrared grill has glass panels, you may not need to take them out to clean them. It’s enough to wipe them with a dry or damp cloth as you don’t have to remove every particle from the glass surface.
• After cleaning, always coat the infrared emitter plates and cooking grates lightly with a coat of high-heat cooking oil. This adds a layer of protection that ensures that your food doesn’t stick to your grill.

Deep Cleaning

While you can always do the burn-off method after every use to keep your infrared grill clean always, you need to also do a deep cleaning at least once or twice a year. Here are the steps to deep-clean your grill.

• If your infrared grill has glass panels, you may want to clean the glass panels to ensure they continue to look clean and clear. Avoid using scouring pads, sponges, corrosive or abrasive cleaners on glass panels.
• Use any ammonia-based glass cleaner like Windex to clean the stainless steel hood and panels. Gently wipe away splatter and grease with a soft cloth. (We have other recommended grill cleaners here.)
• Using a metal polish to eliminate the debris baked onto the stainless steel surface gives a better result. Simply rub the polish onto the stainless, leave it for a few minutes, then rub it away.
• Check the drip tray regularly and wipe off any grease from the drip tray using the flat end of the grate rake to prevent a grease fire. 
• You can use a grate rake to clean the grates and to remove most of the food. 

Infrared Grill Cleaning Tools

You need two main cleaning tools when cleaning your infrared grill. These are brush and scraper and the grate rake. 

These tools allow you to scrape off any food or grease from the surface of your grill before you wipe them down.

Tips on Keeping You Infrared Grill Clean

Here are some essential tips on how to clean infrared grills and keep them in working order.

Clean your infrared grill at least twice a year. Make sure to clean your grill's electric or gas heating element by removing food debris, grease [1], or ash with steel wool or wire brush. You may need to clear out any obstructions in the burner's openings in the case of gas grills.

If your infrared grill has a cooking grate, remove it to clean it. If it's made of metal, use a stiff wire brush to whisk both sides of the grate to remove debris. If your grate is made of cast iron or coated with porcelain, use a grill brush with soft nylon bristles to avoid etching the surface. After cleaning, apply some elbow grease.

Brush off any food debris or ash on the infrared heating surface and use a mild, non-abrasive chemical cleaner to remove stubborn deposits on the heating surface.

(Expand your grill knowledge — read about Fire Magic and AOG here.)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you clean an infrared grill?

To clean an infrared grill after every use, light up your grill and turn the knob of your infrared grill to a high setting. Close the lid and leave your grill for about 15 minutes. This will burn off any excess food debris and grease in your grill so that you can clean them off easily. 

How do you clean a Charbroil infrared grill?

To clean a Charbroil infrared grill, turn up your burners to high and close the lid on the grill. Let the grill heat up for 15 minutes and burn off any grease of food debris remaining in your grill. Use a brush to scrub the emitters and remove any food debris. Remove the grates and brush the emitters from the Charbroil infrared grill. 

How do I clean and disinfect my grill? 

To clean and disinfect your grill, make a solution of a quarter cup of white vinegar and one gallon of soapy water. Use this solution to wash and scrub your grill and its parts.

To clean grill grates that have stubborn debris that won’t come off, make a solution of two cups of vinegar and one cup of baking soda in a sealable container. Seal the grates tightly in the container. Leave it overnight, then scrub the grates. 

Conclusion

If you’re wondering how to clean infrared grills, use the burn-off method after each time you use the infrared grill and do a deep cleaning at least twice a year to help your grill last longer and maintain the flavor of your food. 

Learn more about infrared grills and how they work next!