Keeping Your Infrared Grill Clean
In some places online I've seen complaints about infrared grills being messy or dirty. After seeing some of our returns like a few of the demo grills we get back after the trial period, I don't doubt why they'd think that, some of those grills look like a war zone against cleanliness.
However, it doesn't have to be this way, your grill can be clean with just a small amount of preventative maintenance before minor problems become permanent burnt in stains. Also if I had to guess, people might not know one of the advantages of infrared grills that helps keep them from getting dirty.
Simply enough: just turn your grill on high and leave it on for 5 minutes when you're finished cooking.
After you're finished cooking and take the food off the grill, turn all the burners you used to the High setting and walk away for 5-10 minutes. (if you're a quick eater like I am, you can even just finish your meal during this time). When time's up, head back and turn off the grill, then wait until it has cooled before closing the lid and putting on a cover if you have one.
Use the high heat to your advantage and burn the problem away. Whatever food debris was left on the grates gets burned up and flakes off. Anything that's leftover can be easily be scraped away, either with one of our grid scrapers or a wire brush, which I would recommend doing before cooking while the grill is heating up and right before you turn off the grill at the end of the 5 minute burn off. It takes about 10 seconds per grate and you can store the brush/scraper in the compartment under the grill or in a carrying bag (if you have a pedestal or post model, store it under the hood, but only after the grill has cooled, and make sure you dont forget it's there when you turn the grill on next time).
I highly recommend taking a paper towel after the the grill has cooled and wiping the back portion of the grilling area after every use, or else that section will slowly accumulate the evaporated grease until it becomes burnt in grease. I would also recommend you wipe away the bit of char that ends up behind the grates every couple of uses, if not every use to keep it from slowly becoming a pile. If you don't your grill can end up looking a bit ugly on the inside, which isn't that big of a deal to some, but to others it matters.
You should also empty the tray under the burners from time to time. Additionally, wiping the inside of the grill in the area under the grates from time to time will help just to be thorough. These steps aren't necessary, but they are helpful if you want to be as clean as possible.
Another thing to mention is that due to the nature of fire, the grate will change color from the silvery stainless steel color the rest of the grill has to a golden brown or bronze color, which some people might confuse for dirtiness. In our showroom models that have never been cooked on, but have had the burners turned on, this color change happens. It is just an effect of heat and fire which there is no avoiding, but there are no negative effects, it's just a color change.
This is just a sign that your grate is being seasoned, similar to a new frying pan or wok or other cooking device after you first get it.
A final note for the outside of your grill: we recommend using a cover and rolling it under a roofed area when not in use. This is to try to keep the rain, wind, and dust off of it and make the exterior look as nice as possible for as long as possible. If you have a portable or table top grill, in order to keep it nice for as long as possible, move it to a garage or shed or something when not in use. Also any stainless steel cleaner will work on the outside to keep it looking nice.
So to recap, at a minimum to keep your grill's cooking are looking nice for as long as possible:
1) a quick scrape and a scrub with a wire brush or grid scraper before cooking, if there's any leftover char or debris
2) after removing all the food from the grill, leave the burners you used to cook on high for 5 minutes to burn away most of the remaining food bits and grease
3) give it another quick scrape and scrub right before you turn the burners off to get rid of any char leftover
Optionally: use a paper towel to wipe the back wall of the grilling area and the inside of the hood after the grill has cooled.
And of course, we also recommend having a cover to protect the outside from the elements as much as possible.
You wouldn't leave a frying pan dirty after you cook on the stove, try not to leave your grill dirty either.
Also a special note for portables: from time to time you'll want to take out the grate and maybe the burner to wipe down some of the grease. If you have a carrying bag, I'd recommend a quick wipe down of that area with a paper towel or a cloth before putting it back in the bag Every Time. Like the larger grills, you should also do the burn off at a minimum and I would recommend having a scraper or a brush in your carrying bag to help clean the grate as well.