KETTLE CLEANING

Q  What's the easiest way to clean a kettle barbecue, for health
and hygiene reasons?

Brian

Sunderland

England
 
A To a large extent Brian, the better designed and built kettles are self cleaning.

The high heat generated at the start of the cooking process normally

burns off most of the residue from when the barby was previously used. And the
temperature is usually sufficient to knock off any lurking bacteria.

The part the food comes in direct contact with is another story. This needs
to be rubbed thoroughly with either a ball of rolled up aluminium foil, a
stainless steel pot scourer or a special barby cleaning brush - and it must be done

every time you use the barby .

About twice a year, I give the barby a thorough clean to get rid of
accumulated deposits of grease and carbon. Remove the food grill and the
metal grate the briquettes sit on and immerse them in a tub of hot water and
detergent (or sugar soap if you've really let the maintenance slide). Once
again, rub briskly with foil or a scourer.

You can also use hot water and detergent to clean the body
and lid of the kettle or take the easy way out and spray it with one of
those evil- smelling oven cleaners (it's true that the worse they smell the better

they tend to work). Just don't be tempted to use scourers and brushes that

could damage the porcelain coating.

Rinse everything off very thoroughly, let it dry and give the briquette
grate (and the detachable rails if fitted) a light spray of vegetable oil
before reassembling the barby.

By this stage, the kettle will be so clean you will promise yourself to use it as

garden art and never light a fire in it again!

Oh and another thing, do make sure the top and bottom vents are completely
closed when you put the barby away. A friend recently discovered her kettle
barby had become home to a family of rats while she was overseas for a few
months. Spiders are also keen kettle dwellers if given the slightest chance.

TTFN

BBQ Blue

Back