Why You Should Start Rubbing Lemons On Your Grill Grates

Picture this: It's a warm summer day, and all you can think about is firing up the grill and making some juicy burgers or the perfect medium-rare steak. You open it up with eager eyes, only to find a complete mess inside. A dirty grill ruins all good vibes — and it certainly won't lead to good-tasting food. While it's important to clean yours after every use, sometimes life gets in the way. When that happens, turn to your fruit bowl. It might sound strange, but that lone lemon just might be the chemical-free solution your greasy grill needs to return to its normal self.

Fresh lemons are basically your best friend when it comes to all-natural cleaning, and this is largely due to their acidity. Lemons are good at breaking down grease, are high in citric acid, have antibacterial properties, and, of course, smell delightful, making them an optimal choice for those who are looking to avoid chemical cleaners. Harsh chemicals are never really recommended for cleaning a grill grate anyway, so lemons are a great, reliable way to keep your grates looking nice and sparkly clean for all your future barbecues.

While you can use lemons on their own, you might want to try combining them with either salt or olive oil. Lemon and salt is a common cleaning combination, and the salt will help scour all that buildup from your grates. Olive oil, on the other hand, can help future foods from sticking to the grates. And if you don't have a lemon, a lime will do the trick, too. 

To give your grill grates a citrusy makeover, you'll really only need half of a lemon and a little bit of elbow grease, since the other ingredients are optional. The technique works especially well if you've just finished grilling and are letting your grill cool down. Simply rub a lemon on the grates back and forth against each individual grate while it's still warm. After a few minutes, you'll notice that it's nice and shiny, thanks to the lemon's acidity that's working its magic to break down grease. If your grates aren't so bad, lemon should do the trick, but if the buildup won't budge, you might want to salt your lemon.

To do this, simply pour salt out onto a plate and dip the lemon into it. You can use traditional kosher salt, but a coarse salt can be even more effective, and it won't scratch the grill's surface. Since the salt acts as an abrasive tool, this combo is especially great at scrubbing off thick, gnarly food residue from your grates. You can apply olive oil to your lemon half in the same way to encourage a shiny, nonstick grate. Once you experience the lemon working its magic, you won't want to close up your grilling station without a proper scrub-down again.