Hired for kitchen work in a community centre setting and this flat top is a nightmare. It looks like it hasn’t been properly cleaned in, I don’t know, a year? Maybe more? There’s NO WAY it should be this dark.
The flat tops I’ve worked with before have NEVER looked like this. Can anyone give me their best advice on fixing the situation?
by slightlymoistrashbag
26 Comments
Get it hot af and throw water on it, see where that gets you
Fire E V E R Y O N E that has ever cooked on it. Secondly, its gonna take at least a week of hard cleaning every night and $$$$$ of undiluted degreaser
crank the heat, and when it’s fully hot, turn it off and pour a solution of diluted white vinegar and water then scrape.
I’d start with as many griddle cleaning pouches you have, then go from there.
Turn it on. Scotch-brite, soft scoring pad (don’t wanna scratch), then hit it with ice.
Might have to do it a few times but I’ve seen that method work on the gnarliest of flattops.
Some might disagree with the use of Scotch-brite, so you could try soda water and lemon juice instead. There are other various combinations that people will recommend here.
Flattop cleaners that do wonders. Then a grill brick. Rinse. Lemon juice to wipe that bitch clean. Looks thick… expecting an after picture
Oven degreaser and one of those grill fart blocks.
Mmm seasoning!
griddle screen and elbow grease.
Harvest your elbows for grease, because that’s how it’s gonna get clean.
Fucking **CLEAN IT**
Scotch Brite 700 heavy duty griddle cleaner. Scotch Brite #88 extra heavy duty scouring pad. Putty knife from home depot (or Lowe’s. I don’t judge).
Elbow grease.
Finish with distilled vinegar.
Rub a light coat of oil when it is cold.
Use a Scotch Brite #96 medium duty scouring pad in small circles to put a nice finish back on it.
Wipe away the metal bits with the same oil rag.
I know there are going to be a bunch of comments here about what to use…….grill cleaners, bricks, scrubbies, lemon juice, degreaser, vinegar………and most if not all will be correct to a certain extent.
I’m going to take a slightly different approach and suggest that it may have a lot to do with a combination of the current staffing and proper expectations being set.
Yellow cap easy off oven cleaner has lye in it and will get that carbon off with good long soaks.
Then rub the absolute hell out of it with griddle bricks with oil Pumice stone -it’s abrasive. Don’t go all into the corners, the hot oil will splash out and get you.
Finish off with vinegar and paper towels.
It will be bright and clean.
While you’re at it, the burners next to it don’t look too hot either.
Lava rock/grill stones. Get it hot, but if oil and then use stone to take it off down to shiny metal.
Be careful not to squirt the boiling hot black sludge between the edge guard and your grill brick, splattering your exposed forearm like xenomorph blood.
Griddle /pumice stone? Oil and muscle
Oven cleaner overnight. Shit will melt off
Take all of these advices and try every one. This is going to be a multiple attempt project.
Not being an asshole diluted vodka hot cook top
Sprite zero sugar
get you some of the grill cleaning pouches, crank that fucker up in heat, and get SCRUBBING !!! squeegee excess, then i prefer to use ice on it after you shut it off, then pour white vinegar or soda water! if you have both use both!
Can’t tell how thick it is, looks ignored by a good year or so but we’ve frozen water in a large tub and used it to boil away the gunk. Start in the back, side to side so you don’t steam away the flesh on your arms. Then use a grill brick. Probably need to do it several times.
Anyone suggesting manual labour for this hates you and probably themselves.
Nuclear option. Oven cleaner and griddle cleaner. Nothing else. Get it to zero as quickly and easily as possible and then maintain with elbow grease.
Someone mentioned a chef putting cheap vodka on a hibachi grill and it came up like new.
I’d probably give the vodka to the cook that gets that clean.
So maybe vodka does work?