Why You Should Rub A Potato On Your Grill Grates

Grimy grill grates aren't the most exciting part of backyard barbecuing. If you do any outdoor grilling at all, you understand the frustration of baked-on food, rusted grates, and grill brushes that wear out faster than you can replace them. You may have heard about a grill cleaning hack that uses an onion, but that's not the only common pantry ingredient you can use to clean your grill. Potatoes may also help remove light rust while creating a more non-stick grilling surface.

Just like many use a potato to clean a cast-iron skillet, a potato also works to clean rust from your grill grates. The science behind the idea is that potatoes contain oxalic acid, and oxalic acid is a known rust remover. In theory, the oxalic acid may help break down small amounts of rust, making it easier to scrub away. This popular folk technique isn't backed by hard research, but it is supported by anecdotal evidence of backyard barbecuers and chefs. Because potatoes contain relatively small amounts of oxalic acid, the method works best on light rust and is often paired with abrasives like salt or baking soda.

The other reason to use this idea is to create a non-stick surface. This is perhaps even more useful, since it prevents food from sticking in the first place. How it works is when a moist, starchy potato meets a hot grill, the starch gelatinizes into a thin film, creating a non-stick coating for grilling.

It's pretty obvious how to rub a potato on grill grates, but there are a few practical tips that can make it easier and more effective. To use a potato to remove rust from your grill grates, you don't need heat, so this is a job that's easier to do when it's cool enough to handle. After cleaning loose debris from the grill with a scraping tool, you can take an unpeeled potato and cut it in half. If the grate is cool enough, you can hold the potato in your hand to rub it on the grill. If you like, this is also when you can dip it in a tray of salt or baking soda for extra cleaning power.

For the non-stick treatment, however, you need a hot grill and a clean grate. This trick works best when you do it right before putting the meat on the grill. Skewer a chunk of cut potato with your grill fork and rub the fleshy side over the grate, getting as much surface area as you can. The best part of these tips is that you almost always have a potato on hand, and they're less expensive than chemical grill cleaners. You also don't have to worry about what is in the grill cleaner or getting dangerous bits of metal in your food, which is the bad result of using a wire grill brush.