Make Cleaning Your Grill's Grate Easier - The Grillstone
Written: Apr 18 '05
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Pros: Makes cleaning a grate quicker and easier
Cons: Will wear down quickly if you grill often and need to clean a lot
The Bottom Line: The Grillstone works better on cleaning my grill’s grate than my wire brushes and just about anything else I had tried to use to clean it in the past
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| jps246's Full Review: Grillstone - Grill Cleaning Block |
Even though I love to grill, one of the things I hate to do is clean the grill, especially that really good cleaning you should do before you put it away for the season and when you take it back out. I’ve tried the grill cleaning sprays, brushes and just about everything else and each have their pluses and minuses when it comes to getting that grate clean in your grill.
Now I’ve discovered the Grillstone, which makes cleaning up the burnt on grease, sauce, food and whatever else a lot easier and a lot quicker than it has in the past. Now at least cleaning the grate in my grill is somewhat easier.
Grillstone Basics
The Grillstone is a 4-inch by 2-inch by 3-inch rectangular block of recycled material that feels like volcanic tuff (that light and airy rock). I’m not exactly sure what it’s recycled from (I couldn’t find it online or on the box), but it has the same texture as the volcanic tuff, though it is slightly softer than the tuft would be (that is, it wears down faster). The company claims that there are no chemicals in the Grillstone and it is non-toxic.
The use the Grillstone, you take your grate out of your grill (or you can leave it in, but I found it easiest to take it out) and rub the grill up and down in the direction of the grate. The Grillstone will wear to conform to the contours of your grate.
The cleaning ability of the Grillstone depends a lot upon the design of your grate. The Grillstone will conform to your grate but if you have a grate that doesn’t have long expanses of the grates all going in one direction, the stone won’t be able to wear down and conform to the grate – it’ll just keep getting knocked at from each direction.
The Grillstone will still work though on grills like this, you’ll just find that it will take a bit more effort to make sure that you get around each part of the grate and that you get all of its nooks and crannies. The Grillstone will also not last as long for people with grills like that, the entire thing will wear down faster.
When you’re down rubbing down the grate, you simply take a cloth and wipe down the grate to remove any dust and you tap the Grillstone a few times to knock off any residue still on the stone.
My Experiences With The Grillstone
I have a fairly good-sized propane grill and I had tried to push the grilling season well into winter last year so when we had a big blizzard coming, I had to hussle and get the grill put away. I didn’t have time to really clean it well, so basically it was put away as if I had just used it and put it in the barn.
I spent the rest of the winter considering how much of a mess it was going to be. One of the things I picked though this winter was the Grillstone, I figured it couldn’t hurt with the massive grill cleaning that would be needed this spring.
So it was about a month ago I brought the grill back out and opened it up and was like “yuck,” it was as dirty as I remembered it to be. I took out the grate, which was encrusted by burnt on grease, sauce and whatever else was on it and proceeded to clean the rest of the grill.
Then when it was time to tackle the grate, I took out the Grillstone and even though my grate is such that the Grillstone was able to conform to my grate, with the first two or three passes of the Grillstone, I could see a difference on my grate.
The stone is rough enough that it makes quick work of just about everything on your grate. I spent a few minutes on each side and also had to spend a bit of time making sure I got in between the grates as much as possible and when I was done, the grate was cleaner than I could have gotten it with a brush. I got myself a damp paper-towel, wiped down the grate and while it was obviously a well-used grate, it looked clean.
For this really thorough cleaning probably about a quarter of the Grillstone was worn away. I’d suggest doing the cleaning over grass or somewhere else you won’t mind having the grill residue and the Grillstone particles pile up.
Since that first initial cleaning, I now run the Grillstone over my grill after I cook. I usually let the grill cool down first, though the manufacturer says the Grillstone will work on a hot grill – I just find that the burnt on residue is easier to scrub off when it is cool.
Make sure you wipe down your grate after using the Grillstone, you don’t want to have any of the grit that wears down from it end up on your next meal.
For me, the Grillstone will probably last for most of the grilling season before it wears out to the point that I can’t use it anymore. Subsequent to that massive cleaning in the beginning that wore a lot away, it’s just a few simple swipes after cooking that barely wear down the Grillstone.
I think the life of the Grillstone depends a lot on your grate configuration and how often you use it. I tend to be grilling about once a week, but if you were grilling more often and needed to clean your grate more often, the Grillstone would wear down faster.
Final Thoughts
I find that the Grillstone works better on cleaning my grill’s grate than my wire brushes and just about anything else I had tried to use to clean it in the past.
It makes quick work of burnt on grease, food and anything else that’s stuck on your grill.
Each stone should last for about a season of grilling.
Overall, I’m glad that I found the Grillstone, it’s made one of my least favorite grilling tasks easier for me.
Many thanks to Pogomom for getting this added to the database!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 4.00
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