With a Blackstone griddle, you can cook a variety of dishes. While barbeques are the most popular meals you can cook with the grill, you can also make pancakes, waffles, and bacon. While it is easy to use and set up, it might be more challenging to clean it – mainly after you have used it for cooking.
However, if you know how to do it, you can take as short as ten minutes to finish the entire cleaning process. Here, you can get a detailed step-by-step guide on how to clean Blackstone griddle after cooking.
Equipment To Use When Cleaning Blackstone Griddle
Before you start with the ways on how to clean Blackstone griddle after cooking, you should prepare your equipment first. This way, you can save time when you do it. Depending on whether this will be your first time, you might need to buy a few things.
Here is the list of items that you need to prepare:
- Gloves
- Scraper
- Scrubbing or scouring pads
- Tissues or washcloth
- Bucket of water
7 Steps to Clean Blackstone Griddle After Cooking
After getting your tools ready, you can now follow these steps on how to clean Blackstone griddle after cooking.
Step 1. Cool Down the Griddle Surface.
Before you can start cleaning your Blackstone grill, the first thing that you need to do is to wait for it to cool down. Depending on how intense the cooking heat was during grilling, you might need to wait around five to fifteen minutes. While you might want to start cleaning immediately, that is not a recommended option. If you start cleaning immediately, you might get injured because of the hot surface.
Step 2. Manually remove solid food bits.
Once your skillet has cooled down, you can begin removing bits of stuck food from your griddle. While you do not need to remove all of them, taking off the large ones will make the next steps easier. After grilling, solid chunks may have fallen off to the surface – find the big ones and remove them by hand.
If you have a hard time taking out the residual bits, you can pour a small amount of hot water. This will soften the bits and pieces so that you can take them off easier. Make sure that you use gloves when you do this step because your hands might get burnt from the hot water if you are not careful.
Step 3. Start scraping.
Once the big chunks are removed, you can start scraping off the surface with a spatula or a scraper. With this step, you can discard the smaller bits that you remained after the previous step. When you use a scraper, make sure that you use it on the entire surface of your grill. This will allow great coverage so that you do not miss out on any solid residue.
Step 4. Wipe with tissue.
After scraping, wipe off the entire surface with a clean tissue to discard the bits you have scraped out. When you use a wipe, you can remove the bits that have been scraped off but remained on it. During this step, you can also use a washcloth or a dishtowel. However, a tissue is preferred because you might repeat this step a few more times.
Step 5. Scrub out problem areas.
After scraping and wiping, there might still be the smallest of bits on your griddle. When this happens, you should use a scrubbing or scouring pad and use it on your equipment. Pour some water on your grill if you are having a hard time scrubbing. While you might be tempted to use dishwashing liquids, avoid them when you can.
In this step, you will not only remove the remaining debris, but you can also get rid of the food stains incurred during grilling. While you can use several types of scrubbing pads, you should pick one that does not have a rough texture. These can be good at cleaning, but they can also damage the surface of your grill.
Step 6. Repeat previous steps.
While the previous steps can be enough to clean your griddle thoroughly, just one run might retain a few more debris or stains on your appliance. If you find that some tricky bits remain, you can repeat the previous steps – starting from scraping to scrubbing.
Once you are entirely sure that the griddle’s surface has been cleaned out of food bits and stains, you can now pat it dry with a soft and clean cloth.
Step 7. Season your grill.
Even though you are already finished with the cleaning, that is not the last step you should take. Instead, it would be best if you seasoned your griddle afterward. When you season it, you are preparing it for future use.
Blackstone Griddle Maintenance Tips
To ensure that your Blackstone griddle lasts for a long time, you can follow some tips and tricks to prolong its use. With these tips, you can also ensure that it always remains in peak usability.
Clean it before and after using.
While you might be tempted to just clean your griddle before or after use, the best way to maintain it is by cleaning it both times. When you regularly clean it, you ensure that no stray bits or stains remain.
Store your griddle in a cool and dry location.
If it is not in use, you should place it in a dry storage area. As an appliance, it might get damaged if it is placed in wet locations. It is also better to keep it in a room with a cool temperature.
Remember to cover it after use.
When you are not using your griddle, you should place a cover on top of it. This prevents dust, scratches, and similar damages on its surface. Cover it tightly so that it will not accidentally fall off or be removed.
Avoid soap products when cleaning.
Using strong cleaning products can harm your griddle. When you clean it up, stay away from detergents or strong dishwashing liquids. While they are suitable for cleaning, they can also damage the seasoning layer of your appliance.
Remember to preheat it.
While it is exciting to use it immediately, make sure to heat it before you cook. This way, your appliance can warm up. Doing this can considerably help with maintenance.
