'Your Steaks Will Love You': Andrew Zimmern's Grilling Tip For Meat That Can't Fail

You may know celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern as an overly adventurous eater who tries some of the most bizarre and exotic foods on the planet. But he's also a knowledgeable chef in his own right, with plenty of helpful tips for home chefs. As a meat lover and grill master extraordinaire, chef Zimmern's grilling tips will serve fellow grill masters in the making well. And the grilling tip for meat that Zimmern stresses first in a recent grilling compilation on YouTube is, in his words, to "clean and oil your grill, [so] your steaks will love you."

Cleaning your grill grates between grilling sessions is essential for taste, safety, and texture of whichever cut of meat you want to throw over the flame or coals. A dirty, greasy grill with stuck pieces of food debris will impart an unpleasant flavor, over charring, and even a dark or muddy hue that'll diminish the visual presentation. If you're smoking meat, dirty grill grates might even impede the airflow, resulting in uneven and improper cooking. Plus, leaving your grill uncleaned for extended periods of time poses risks for foodborne illnesses and denigrates the functionality of the grill. Oiling grill grates is the crucial part of the cleaning process that effectively protects and lubricates them. Slick grates will prevent the meat from sticking when you try to flip it. It's also vital for getting those perfect grill marks on your meat.

Cleaning regularly extends the life of your grill and ensures optimal taste and texture of grilled meats. The best time to clean your grill for seamless Summer BBQs is while the grill is still hot. A hot grill will make scraping bits of stuck food much easier and quicker. If the grill cools off, dried-up charred bits of food will harden, becoming one with the grates. There are different degrees of grill cleaning. Between heavy grilling seasons, you'll want to deep clean the grates by coating them in a paste of dish soap and baking soda. Vinegar and baking soda is another effective solution for deep cleaning your grill grates. Either solution will break down all stuck-on foods and act as an antiseptic and antibacterial cleaner.

In between grills during less busy seasons, you can use potatoes, onions, and even lemons to quickly wipe down the grates, following up with a heavy duty brush. Whether you're deep cleaning or lightly cleaning between uses, oiling the grill is a must. And you can easily do this with the help of a paper towel that you'll dip in a container or bowl of oil before running it over each grate; use tongs or your fingers for this task. Apparently, oil is also the key to cleaning a flat top, acting not only as a lubricant, but also as a deglazer to get all the stuck bits of meat off the griddle.