Aluminum Foil Is The Easy Way To Clean Stubborn Grill Grates

Part of the joy of summer is being able to embrace the joy of the grill. You can make the best grilled chicken, perfect your flank steak, or even elevate your sides game with grilled peaches. There's just one unfortunately not-that-tiny problem: actually cleaning the grill — unless, of course, you have some aluminum foil.

Grill grates can become coated in burnt gunk, and this presents a whole host of issues. It can be unsanitary, depending on what bits of what foods are getting on others, which can also sabotage the flavors you're going for on particular dishes. Enough build-up can even begin to mess up how well and how evenly your food gets heated. Getting all of that nasty stuff off of your grill's grates could seem overwhelming, though, as the build-up is stubborn, and you have to clean it by hand.

Luckily, there are a few hacks that make that daunting task a snap, and the first and foremost method calls for that aluminum foil. All you have to do is ball some up and scrub — and not for as long as you might be fearing. You want to work with your grates when they're warm, so that the build-up's a bit looser, but not too hot, of course, so you don't risk burning yourself. The abrasiveness of the balled foil effectively cuts into and under the crust and gunk and flakes it off in satisfying chunks.

A few minutes at work with aluminum foil preps your grates so that you can finish cleaning them better than ever and in less time than ever. Foil doesn't quite get to the grease that's probably on the grates, so it's not a stand-alone method. Think of it more like a preparatory hack. You can shape your foil ball to get into every slot and groove, get the big chunks off, and save yourself a bigger cleaning headache.

From there, you have a couple of options to get the grates all the way to spotless. You can combine dish soap and baking soda in a bowl and fill your sink with warm water and more baking soda (about a ½ cup). Apply the soap and baking soda paste to your grates (once they've cooled), then soak them in the sink for about half an hour. Finally, give them a scrub and a rinse. Fun fact: You can also try using a similar paste of baking soda and water with your aluminum foil to further boost effectiveness; just remember to rinse afterward.

If letting a cleaning task do its thing overnight is more your speed, put cooled grates in a garbage bag with two cups of white vinegar and one cup of baking soda, which creates a science experiment-like foam. Seal it tight and wait 8-12 hours, then rinse. All of the build-up should fall off to reveal shiny, good-as-new grates.