How To Clean Your Commercial Griddle
The most important thing a chef does is to prepare quality food for their loyal customers. Not only does the food have to be delicious, but this means that the food must also be safe to consume as well. The most common way a chef can make sure that their food is safe to eat is by making sure the kitchen staff washes their hands and by making sure the food is fresh.
However, another important way to ensure your kitchen staff is serving consumable food is by making sure your cooking equipment, like your griddle, is thoroughly cleaned.
When cooking on your griddle, it is common for fats, juices, and crumbs to be left behind on either the surface of your griddle or the collection pans. If this debris is not cleaned off, it will start to compound into a disgusting thick layer of grease. Not only is it unhealthy for people to consume this grease, but this gummy layer will eventually harden, making it extremely difficult to remove from the griddle. Also, with this thick layer of grease, your griddle will not evenly transfer heat. Consequently, there is a high chance that your food will not be fully cooked, which ultimately puts your customers at risk.
When using a commercial griddle, it is important to properly and thoroughly clean it to avoid these potential safety risks. Not sure what is the proper way? Read our tips below on how to clean your commercial griddle.
1. Turn Off and Cool Down Your Griddle
Making sure your commercial griddle is turned off may seem like an obvious first step, but it can be easily looked over. Many commercial griddles can produce extremely high temperatures, presenting a burn risk. Make sure that you not only turn off your griddle but that you also give it time to cool off before attempting to clean it.
2. Scrape Off Large Debris
The most challenging part about cleaning a commercial griddle is scraping off the large amounts of solid grease and debris. The best way to correctly complete this task by using a scraper, such as the Nemco grill scraper. Specially designed to clean a griddle, you can scrape most of the debris away without the risk of scratching or damaging the surface.
Even though our Nemco grill scraper is top of the line when applying strong force to scrape your griddle your scrapper could slip. If your scraper slips, there is a high chance that you will slip and touch the grill. So to minimize the chance of injury, we recommend once again to turn off your griddle before scraping.
3. Turn On Commercial Griddle and Add water
Once you have most of the grease off, turn on the griddle and wait until the surface is hot. Once your griddle is turned on and hot, add soapy water to the surface to loosen up the remaining grease and debris build-up. Once the water is boiling, place a clean rag or towel on the griddle. Use your Nemco scraper to guide the towel around the griddle lightly. This process will soak up loosened grease and debris. Finally, push the debris that has not been soaked up into the catch-tray.
4. Clean the Catch-Tray
The catch-tray is designed to catch all debris, grease, and miscellaneous trash around your griddle. Once the surface of the griddle is thoroughly clean, and you push all debris into the catch-tray, you can remove the catch-tray from the griddle. Dispose of all waste in the tray and then wash it thoroughly with warm water and soap, as if you're washing a traditional dish. Unlike the surface of the griddle, the catch-tray does not need to be cleaned as frequently. It is recommended to clean the catch-tray once a day, or once the catch-tray is full.
Clean Your Commercial Griddle Frequently
Depending on how much debris and grease buildup there is, you may have to repeat these steps a few times, to make sure the surface of the commercial griddle is thoroughly clean. To avoid having to repeat these steps excessively, it is recommended to clean your griddle after every use. Cleaning your commercial griddle after every use will make sure that there is never a substantial build-up of grease and debris. Consequently, cleaning the griddle will be significantly easier and faster.
Here at GoFoodservices, we are determined to bring you and your company the best in commercial cooking equipment. With our extensive selection of commercial griddles, we are confident that you’ll find the right one for your kitchen. If you have any questions about our products, don't hesitate to contact us.
Share This!