When's the last time you deep cleaned your cast iron stove grates? Yeah. Me too. I avoid it like a wet kiss from a stranger because - what kind of suspicious character likes cleaning stove grates? Not this one.
I don't hate cleaning, I just resent it for taking away from my more important mess making time. I know there are those of you who loveeee cleaning, but if my choice is clean the stove or rip up all of my floors on a whim - I go with ripping stuff up 100% of the time.
Yes, I wipe the stove after cooking on it, but it's usually a half hearted wipe punctuated with several eye rolls and groans. I can admit that to you because you and I are as close as 2 people who do not know each other at all can be. 🤞🏻
Last week I did my once a year or so deep cleaning of the grates on my gas stove and am amped up enough with the results that I thought I should share my technique for clean cast iron grills.
It doesn't involve any chemicals or cleaners other than a bit of dish soap.
WARNING: It's not as fun as ripping up a floor. (but the end result is pretty satisfying)
Table of Contents
How to Clean Cast Iron Grates
Cast iron grates, just like cast iron pans, benefit from a bit of seasoning. It's the seasoning that makes cast iron non stick and easy to clean. The process just involves scrubbing it clean, applying a thin layer of oil and then baking the item in the oven.
(You can also clean debris from grates by spraying them with oven cleaner and bagging them, but the fumes are horrendous.) And then you *still* have to season them.
See the difference you're going to get? The top of the photo shows my uncleaned, unseasoned grates. The bottom are the portions that have been cleaned and seasoned.
Materials
Nylon scrubbing pad
Hot water
Dish soap
Drying towel
High smoke point oil (avocado, olive or vegetable)
Bar Keepers Friend (this is a GREAT gentle cleanser)
Instructions
➡ I'VE ALSO WRITTEN A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO CLEAN THE STAINLESS STEEL PORTION OF YOUR STOVE
PREHEAT OVEN TO 176 C / 350 F
QUICK INSTRUCTIONS:
- SCRUB
- DRY
- OIL
- BAKE
- Remove the burner grate you want to clean.
2. Soak a scrubby with hot water and a drop of dish soap. Gently scrub the surface to remove any particles.
3. If the scrubby doesn't clean the grime off of the grates entirely, use a bit of Bar Keepers Friend (a mild abrasive) to help with cleaning. Rinse the grates under water.
4. Dry the grates with a clean cloth and then rub them with a paper towel that's damp with cooking oil.
5. Place the oiled grates into a 176 C (350F) oven for 45 minutes.
6. Fit as much as you can onto a baking sheet and then put remaining pieces overtop. This prevents any oil drips from hitting your oven floor and smoking. You can also line your oven racks with tin foil to prevent it.
TIP: No Bar Keepers friend around? Make your own mild abrasive baking soda paste by mixing 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water
You can easilyyyyyy see the difference between the grates on the right that have been scrubbed and dried, and the grates on the left that haven't.
So I wasn't lying to you when I said this was a satisfying cleaning job. The cleaning isn't much fun for me; it's hard scrubby work - but seeing the difference? That's the fun part.
Hint: Leave your grates on the stovetop while it heats up. It'll make the stuck on crud easier to scrub off.
TIP: You can put really dirty grates in a sink with hot soapy water for soaking first but this increases the chances of your grates rusting if you don't dry them properly.
Blotchy grates
- Blotchy looking grates (even after cleaning) are caused by stains (tomato sauce is especially bad for this) and natural seasoning.
You can see the newly cleaned and seasoned grates above are still splotchy. That's because when you cook, grease splatters on your grates creating an impromptu seasoning.
You can make a point of really scrubbing these seasoned portions off of the grate if you want a brand new look but it'll make your job 3X as difficult.
OR you can see it as a patina, proof of kitchen adventures and prowess.
Top tip
For an emergency quick cleaning you can clean some cast iron grates in the dishwasher - just know that this will remove some of your seasoning and can cause rust.
How to clean cast iron grates
How to clean and season cast iron stove or BBQ grates
Materials
- Nylon scrubbing pad
- Hot water
- Dish soap
- Drying towel
- High smoke point oil (avocado, olive or vegetable)
- Bar Keepers Friend (this is a GREAT gentle cleanser)
Instructions
- SCRUB the cast iron grates with a nylon scrubber, hot water and dish soap until all grime is gone. Rinse under water.
- DRY the grates thoroughly with a towel.
- OIL the grates with a small amount of avocado, vegetable or olive oil on a paper towel.
- BAKE the grates in a 350 F oven for 1 hour. Place tin foil or a baking sheet under the grates to prevent oil from dripping onto the oven floor.
Notes
Leave your grates on the stove while the oven heats up. The transferred heat will help make your scrubbing easier.
If you haven't cleaned your grates in a while, use some Bar Keepers friend with a nylon scrubber. It works great!
Recommended Products
I'm an Amazon affiliate some I get a few cents when you buy something I've linked to.
Now that it's all cleaned up you're going to want to treat your stove like a piece of art for the next few days. Once that honeymoon period is over for you, you can give this stovetop cast iron pan pizza a try.
Or of course - you can have some real fun and build your own pizza oven.
My cast iron stove grates have little rubber stubs on the corners of each grate. I can't seem to get them off! Can they go in the oven?
Hi MC. I definitely wouldn't put anything rubber in the oven. Have you tried pulling, prying and unscrewing them? ~ karen!
What about putting grates into self cleaning cycle in oven? Then seasoning.
Hi, Karen.
We have been using our new Blue Star open burner range for a couple of months now and had not thought of seasoning the cast iron grates. (LOVE the 25K BTUs!) BlueStar's user care and maintenance manual did not mention this. I'm so happy I found your blog!
How do you clean your burners where the flames come out? I'm not sure those parts are removeable.
Thank You!
Hi Elisa, I just wipe those. The very, VERY odd time I might put a toothpick through a hole to make sure it's clear. ~ karen!
I am going to attempt this today but I have run into a problem already, how do you know what your scouring pad is made of? I have two different packages that look like the green one you are using in your first pic but neither package says what they are made of so I don't know if they are nylon.
Hi Paula. They just have to be non scratch or close to it. As long as it isn't metal, chances are it's nylon. :) ~ karen!
Thanks for the tips. I didn't know you needed to season stove grates. Now what about that nasty oven door? Any tips about cleaning that?
As a matter of fact I do have tips about cleaning the door!. You don't *have* to season your stove grates, it just makes them look nicer and easier to clean. ~ karen!
That is brilliant!! But I'm scared to take the door off. Just cleaning the inside window will make a big difference. And, geez how does stuff get in between the glass anyway? Thank you - looong time reader of your blog and love it all even if I have a black thumb and no chickens.
Love cast iron for cooking. Had to give mine away.🤫 Until I got arthritis so bad in my hands that even opening a milk jug or even a yoghurt container, is most days impossible with out hands going into fits.
That's awful. You'd think they'd be further along with arthritis treatments considering how debilitating it is for so many people. ~ karen!
Love you stove! Thanks for the info I need to clean my grates and this seems easy enough.
It's a bit of a pain and a dirty job if you haven't cleaned them in a while, but once you do it the grates clean much more easily when you wipe them. :) ~ karen!
I'm looking for a new gas stove. What kind of stove is that? I think I need it!
It's a Blue Star, but it's from Costco as opposed to a store, so it's has slightly less BTUS and doesn't have some of the features other Blue Stars have like easy glide racks. Here's a post I did on it when i first got it.
Thank you. I will have to start looking.
Again with the timely post! Just earlier this evening I was complaining to my husband that he never wipes the burners after he cooks and leaves a big mess for me; I have the same stove as you except with 6 burners. Does he use one, no he liked to move the mess around. I have Bar Keeper’s Friend so a new job for tomorrow!
Thanks for the help
You bet Paula! ~ karen
thanks for the good tips. On a related note, that's a helluva nice chef grade type stove you got there Karen. It looks like those burners can put out some serious BTU's. Must make bringing things like stock/pasta pots to a boil much faster?
It does have a lot of BTUs! And it is a very commercial type stove. Which also means it has no insulation so the door etc. gets REALLY hot. I always recommend it but not to homes with small children because small children are notoriously stupid and would touch it. ~ karen!
I know a lot of "adults" like that too. ;)