I asked the question in the BackYard Smokers BBQ Facebook group a couple of years ago and the overwhelming response I got was that most people at least scrape the grill grates off before cooking anything on it.

When I say “clean the grates” on my bbq grill or smoker, I don’t mean take them inside and wash with soapy water or stick in the dish washer.

What I mean is that I do like to go ahead and scrape last weeks bbq sauce that happened to spill over on the side and burn on the grate. Or of course, any remaining chicken or whatever it was I happened to grill!

I don’t want to mix last weeks hamburger meat particles with my nice ribeye steak. That’s just me.

Using a balled up piece of aluminum foil or a piece of onion after the grates get hot is the method that I use now.

If you need a fresh start, never cleaned the grates, and the ball of aluminum foil method simply will not work you may need to take a look at REALLY cleaning them. Check out the Grillgrate Cleaning Set below!

In my years of bbq’ing and grilling, I have heard that some people never even scrape the old, burnt, creosote like, residue off from their last cook.

Years and years of old caked on burnt sauce, gristle, and who knows what else is simply left on the grates in the name of “seasoning” or “flavor”.

Please clean your grates before placing anything on the grill!