Why You Should Rub Ice On Your Grill Grates

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

As much fun as grilling at home can be, the biggest frustration may be the cleanup afterward. You should be cleaning your grill grates after each use, and it can be a hassle. Sometimes scraping a grill clean can seem like a punishment, especially if you let it sit too long and everything has carbonized to a rock-hard crust. While there are plenty of grill cleaning tools you can buy and formulas you can use, it never hurts to have another cleaning tip in your repertoire. The best ones are quick, easy, and inexpensive. With that in mind, the next time you're cleaning your grill, give ice a try.

Tasting Table spoke to Robert Irvine, chef and the Food Network personality known for "Restaurant Impossible," as well as Jess Pryles, founder of the Hardcore Carnivore BBQ line and author of "Prime Cuts: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Enjoying Meats" (available in October 2026), about why cleaning a grill with ice is often the best approach.

"The ice trick works because of two things happening at once when that ice hits the blazing-hot grates," Irvine told us. "That sudden temperature change shocks the hard crust and it cracks and breaks apart. It's like the cold makes the gunk shrink and splinter while the hot metal stays strong."

Pryles broke it down this way. "The theory is a dual action — thermal shock (cracking the dirt off the grates by causing the metal to contract), then letting the steam come in and finish the job." It's the steam that is the real secret behind this grill cleaning trick. "It softens everything up from the bottom, almost like it's prying it off the metal," Irvine said. "Then when you scrape it, the stuff comes right off instead of fighting you."

The basic idea of cleaning your grill with ice is simple enough. The cold shocks the baked-on grime, and the released steam helps soften it up. However, Robert Irvine and Jess Pryles say technique and timing are important, since a grill is often easiest to clean while it's hot – creating a window of time for this cleaning trick to be successful.

"It's perhaps easiest on a griddle where there are no gaps or holes," Pryles said. "For traditional grates, you will need to use larger pieces of ice and make sure to hold them with tongs. You can even freeze larger shallow blocks for this purpose. The trick is to use the ice when the metal is hot — it's the temperature variation that makes this work."

Irvine warned to avoid using ice on anything with an electric heating element, as well as to be mindful of technique. "Don't use a ton of ice; you only want enough to force the temperature change on the metal and create some steam, not so much that you've got a puddle on the bottom of your grill," he told us. "After that, hit the grate with a brush and it should come off real easy." And remember, avoid using a wire brush on your barbecue as it can leave bristles behind.