Cleaning a pellet grill is very easy, but you have to pay attention to a few things to avoid any electric components damage. A clean pellet grill will result in delicious cooking sessions, and your guests will also love your grilling skills. So, below we have a detailed guide on how to clean a pellet grill.
We have described the steps in detail and separated the complete procedure into different stages. This will let you clean your pellet grill from the shiny exterior to the burn pot, a grease drip tray to the grill grates. You need to invest your next ten minutes in reading this guide to get the complete information.
Table of Contents
Cleaning the Exterior of Your Pellet Grill
Your pellet grill may have dust, grease marks, and dirt on the exterior. You can use a dry cloth for a quick clean. It will easily remove the dust and dirt spots. If you plan for deep cleaning, then a barbeque degreaser or a stainless steel cleaner, soft cloth, and water and soap are sufficient for the job. You need to go through the below steps for the deep cleaning of the exterior:
1. As always, safety first. Make sure your pellet grill is cold and unplugged from the power source.
2. Now, you have to make sure that the pellet hopper is empty.
3. Now, you can apply your cleaner through the spray bottle or a soft cloth.
Note: When spraying the cleaner, make sure it doesn’t get inside your grill. Don’t use stainless steel cleaner on the plastic components because it will degrade the quality.
4. You have to wait for at least 30 seconds so that the cleaner sits to breakdown any food residue or grease.
5. Next, you can use a clean towel or cloth to wipe out the cleaner. If you have a painted surface smoker, then wipe it in circles. If you have a stainless steel smoker, then tap in the exact direction as the grain.
6. Now, you can repeat these steps until the grease and dried food residue is removed.
7. It’s time to wipe down the surface of your grill altogether to remove all soap and cleaner residue. You can use a wet cloth for this job.
Note: Don’t rinse a bucket of water on your grill because it will damage the inside grill components. If water gets inside the grill hopper, then it will ruin the pellets.
8. Now, let your pellet grill dry entirely for at least 24 hours before proceeding with the next grilling session. Also, make sure that the pellet hopper has no water inside before putting pellets in it.
Cleaning the Interior of Your Pellet Grill
You have completely deep cleaned the outside of your pellet grill. Now, it’s time to clean the inside as well. We have described the inside cleaning process in detail. We have divided the process into three sections – cleaning the grease drip tray, vacuuming and scraping the burn pot, and scrubbing the grill grates.
Cleaning the Grease Drip Tray
1. First, remove the grill grates and any extra cooking racks.
2. Now, scrub grease off of the surface of the tray using a griddle scraper.
3. Use a paper towel to remove this grease.
4. Next, use a clean cloth to wipe the grease drip tray.
5. If you want to clean the grease drip tray with a cleaner or soap and water, remove it from the pellet grill.
6. Now, you can apply the cleaning solution and wipe out the grease.
7. Let the drip tray dry before putting it in the pellet grill.
Cleaning the Burn Pot
1. First, you have to remove the grease drip tray then the heat deflector to get hands to the burn pot. While removing these pellet grill components, keep attention to how they are installed. This will help you in putting them back after the cleanup process.
2. Use an ash vac or vacuum cleaner to clean all the ash and debris from the burn pot.
3. Once done, use a clean rag and wipe out any remaining ash.
4. Now, wipe the interior of your grill using a damp cloth.
Note: Never put direct water into the burn pot because it will damage your pellet grill’s electric components.
5. Now, let the burn put and interior dry completely.
6. Once done, you can replace the grease drip tray, heat deflector, and grill grates.
If you are proceeding to deep clean your pellet smoker after winters, you can also scrub the interior walls. It will remove any dirt or grease from the inside. Now, wash the remaining dirt with a non-metallic brush. Here, you can use a clean cloth to wipe the firepot.
Cleaning the Grill Grates
It is always recommended to clean your grill grates after every cooking session. You will not face any issues if your grill grates are dishwasher safe. If not, then there are two best working methods widely used for cleaning the grill grates – cold method and hot method. Let’s have a look at them in details:
Using Cold Method
The freezing process is widely used in the grilling community. This cleaning method must be done before the cooking session.
1. First, make sure your pellet grill is cool and unplugged from the power source.
2. Now, remove the grill grates from your pellet grill.
3. Then, use a barbeque degreaser or water and soap for the cleaning process. You can clean grates in the sink.
4. Now, use a spatula or brush to remove any residue from the grill grates.
Note: You have to be extra careful if your grill grates are painted.
Using Hot Method
This hot method can be applied for cleaning the grill grates. You can even use this method after every cooking session very quickly.
1. Once you have done cooking, set your grill to the highest temperature.
2. Now, you have to wait for at least ten to fifteen minutes. This high heat will burn off any grease and remaining food residue on the grill grates.
3. All the stuck grease will be loosened, and it will become easy to scrap the ash. Simply use a long-handled brush and grill gloves for convincing and safety. Also, check out the best pellet grill for cold weather.
Summing Up
Above, we discussed in detail how to clean your pellet grill thoroughly. You just have to follow the above steps for easy and safe cleaning. Make sure not to put direct water inside your pellet grill because it will damage the electric components.
Also, carefully check that the pellet hopper is completely dry. Let your pellet grill to dry for at least 24 hours after the cleaning process. Comment below if you have any questions for us. Have a nice day.
