Clean Grill Grates With Half an Onion

Here's a trick from old grill hands: half an onion cleans a hot grate better than most brushes — and without the worry of wire bristles ending up in food.

How to do it

1. Heat the grill up for 10 minutes to burn loose debris to ash.
2. Cut an onion in half and spear the rounded side with a long grill fork.
3. Rub the cut face up and down the grates. The juices steam and loosen the char as you scrub.
4. Follow with a balled-up piece of foil held in tongs for stubborn spots.

Do it right before you cook and the grate gets a light seasoning too. Whatever brush you use, inspect it — a worn wire brush shedding bristles near food is a genuine hazard, and it's why the onion earned its job.