The deli I worked at did not offer this to us! I didn’t even know this was a thing! It took us 30-60 min of hard elbow grease, is that typical? We used… lemon juice, because it worked the best.

by Any-Angle-8479

26 Comments

  1. CriticalAd7693

    Well, degreaser is a strong chemical, so has to be wiped carefuly after use. If your staff is bunch of lazy fucks maybe it’s better not to use

  2. BootsToYourDome

    You don’t need degreaser to clean a grill/flat top

  3. wanderlustnw

    I only recommend it for extreme cases where the unmaintained griddle has tons of polymerized / burnt oil stuck to it. Otherwise water/heat/grill screens/grill bricks/elbow grease/clean oil are all you need.

  4. chrisman0091

    We have degreaser but are strictly no chemicals on the flattop. To clean ours we put down fresh fryer oil and let it heat up a little (helps lift soils), then we take a brick (actual brick, not a grill brick), put a green scratch pad, wrap that in sandpaper, and clean the grill using that. Squeegee the oil off after scrubbing. Shines like new and don’t have to worry about any potential chemicals or contamination. We only ever used chemical cleaners on our breakfast grill because we wanted the top to stay as smooth as possible but we don’t do breakfast anymore so that’s no longer a problem.

  5. Shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to clean with nothing but a grill brick and some oil.

  6. Couesteau

    No self respecting (or griddle respecting) cook does that. Chemicals on the cooking surface is a no go in our kitchen. We scrub it spotless every night, so it’s not that hard of a job. Takes us MAYBE 15 min at most, and that’s even with a shifty beer in hand.

  7. freshtimber

    We use soda water, vinegar, ice with steel wool. Then oil and a grill brick. Takes 10 minutes tops and looks brand new. No harsh chemicals needed

  8. witchitieto

    I spent years huffing degreaser fog when cleaning the flat top. Turn it off, pour degreaser straight onto it ( I was like 17) then a shit ton of ice and move it around to clean. Would be sparkling every night with minimal effort.

  9. Electronic_Camera251

    Degreaser is the best anyone who is afraid to use it doesn’t understand chemistry a final wipe down with some dilute white vinegar ensures that the chemical is neutralized, i have better things to do than spend 20 minutes grill bricking

  10. squeakynickles

    Shouldn’t need degreaser if the cook sufrace is cleaned regularly. If it gets a little out of hand, it can be a huge help

  11. yurinator71

    Nothing like the flavor of smashburger and degreaser!

  12. We used Keating Cleanser (basically powdered Comet) and a palmetto brush to scrub the grease and crud off. Rinse with water, wipe down, all good. 

    Now we have this stuff from EcoLab that’s even better than degreaser. Put a little down, spread it around, give a little scrub and rinse and you’re brand new again. It’s potassium chloride or something like that, so it’s pretty much non-toxic after it’s broken down. Even concentrated it’s not really nasty

  13. Kindly-Department686

    The corporate chain i worked for had some sort of degreaser for the flat-top. It was used every night. I worked in more than one of them (when transferring states, opened some new ones, etc) and it was the same across the company. Only used at the end of the night, and seasoned after cleaning. I wouldn’t say it was “food safe”, but it didn’t wind up in the food.

  14. yotreeman

    Like, *on* the flat top itself? The cooking surface? I’ve never seen that, I didn’t think you were really supposed to do that.

    Now, under it, behind it, etc, sure.

  15. Master-Plant-5792

    I honestly hate using it if I don’t have to. Something just doesn’t sit right with me using such a strong chemical on a cooking surface just to make food on it the next day. Even if it’s wiped off with water and vinegar.

  16. Engineer_Existing

    My grill cook would die on the lemon juice hill. Anytime anyone questions it he just says “look at that flat top” yes it is like a mirror.

  17. degreaser can clean anything, even gets distillate off your hands. dream chemical

  18. insideout_pineapple

    We usually put a sheet tray over and burn it off

  19. Lol my whole kitchen would get cooked like a sauna with degreaser steam when we would clean our griddles. I do not miss it one bit.

  20. ZhugeTsuki

    Because that shit will eat your skin off and people are dumb.

  21. Saltycook

    On the griddle?

    ##Hellno

    That’s poisonous, and anyone who does that is going to give customers the shits.

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