It’s already July – the peak of grilling season. But remember, this is Florida and grilling season is essentially year-round. Tony Marsico has launched a unique business in St. Augustine, Top Dog Grill Cleaning and Restorations, just in time for 4th of July. Marsico shared some words of wisdom on grill maintenance for grill masters and novices alike.
How often should a grill be cleaned and maintained?
Well, every time you use it, you should clean it. Just use rolled up aluminum foil to scratch the gunk off. If you use it on a weekly basis, do a thorough cleaning once a month. If you use it any less than that, just clean it whenever. To get all the microbes and carcinogens off the grill, that needs to be done by a professional at least twice a year.
What are some grill cleaning / maintenance tools that all grillers should have?
They all should have a grill brush and a griller. A griller is more of a scraper that fits around the actual grates. Those are the two most important things, along with degreaser.
Is there any specific cleaning or degreasing product you recommend?
There are so many products out there. Lowes has them, Home Depot or you can even order them online. Just make sure that it’s eco friendly and you’re not using anything that could harm you, as well as your environment. It’s very important.
At Top Dog, we use all orange and lemon cleaners. We use a specific mixture that we created on our own, so ours is unique. Because we want to be unique.
According to the Top Dog website, grease fires are the No. 1 cause of grill fires. How can cooks prevent fires or minimize the risk?
Getting the right temperature is first and foremost. People sometimes put their food on the grill too soon while there’s a fire there. Don’t put food on the grill when there’s still a flame. Some of the grease from what’s cooking, like from a burger or steak, could flare up. If you’re by the grill, that flame could reach up to your chest or face, so you want to make sure that the fire is down to a minimum.
Checking the flame guard is also important because once the grease comes down to the gas grills, you want to make sure there are no holes or rust. That’s typical for the grease to get down to the flavorizers or burners. It causes a flame up.
There’s also a grease trap underneath every grill. Getting the grease trap cleaned is extremely important. If you don’t, the grease could build up and it could cause a major fire.
Is there a way to prevent rust?
We recommend oil, just regular cooking oil. First, clean the grill as much as possible. Wipe it down and dry it off. Don’t let water sit on it. Keep it covered. Once it’s dry, take some cooking oil on a paper towel and lightly dampen it all over the grill. That’ll not only help preserve the grates and the inside of the grill, but will also help with the cooking.
I also actually recommend an onion. Take an onion and rub the grates with it. The oils from the onion will stick on there and will help keep food from sticking. It’ll also give you some flavor. You can’t go wrong with an onion on a grill.
Do the same maintenance rules apply for all grills?
Well for charcoal grills, they come and go. Those don’t require a lot of cleaning and maintenance. You can go buy one for $50.
But the big grills, double grills, gas grills and outdoor kitchens are the most expensive. They’re an investment and should be cleaned and maintained as much as possible, whether they’re used or not. You want to protect them. It’s just like the oven in your house. People don’t let food build up on them. You don’t want to be cooking on things that are dirty.
Clean it. Protect it, just like you do your inside kitchen. At least wipe it down.
What do you do in extreme weather?
Just keep it all covered the best you can. That’s really all you can do.
What’s the cleanest or most hygienic way to cook on public grills that you find in locations, such as parks or campsites?
How many times have you cooked out at a place like that and then later, maybe one or two people start feeling a little sick? It happens. A lot of the time, it’s because they ate that contaminated piece of food that was on that grill or underneath that grate that wasn’t scraped.
So if you’re going to use one, take some cleaner with you. You can also find sticks laying around to scrape off all the leftover gunk. Get a flame on there nice and hot while you’re grating. Then scrape it down again. Rolled up aluminum foil also works really well.
What are some red flags for leaks on the grill?
Your grill isn’t getting hot enough. Flames aren’t at their normal height. Instead of being 3 or 4-inch flames, it could be a 1-inch. That’s a good sign that your regulator is bad or you have a leak in your lines which is very bad. Because you have flames and you have gas in the air. That’s the biggest reason why we inspect before we even clean anything. We don’t want that to happen while we’re working on it. We don’t want to be the ones who cleaned the gunk that was actually keeping the gas from leaking out. We actually stick an air line with a pressure gauge on the line to tell whether there are any leaks.
Where did you come up with the business idea of grill maintenance?
I'm a stickler for a clean grill. If I go somewhere and someone is about to start up a dirty grill, I go up to them and say, ‘Dude, just give me five minutes.’ I kept stuff in my truck at all times, like brushes, cleaners and scrapers.
But I have to give the credit to my wife. She came up with the idea. One day, she said, ‘We’re both close to retirement. Why don’t we just do this?’ We worked on it together and came up with a business plan.
Now, we’re a mobile service. We have a trailer that’s loaded with degreasers, soaking tanks, air compressors, all the tools I need. I even have a pressure washer for cleaning the whole area.
We do market in Ponte Vedra into the south Jacksonville area. We go down to Palm Coast.
Any upcoming news for Top Dog?
We’re really trying to get into the government-owned property, like those campgrounds and parks. We’ve said, ‘Hey, we’ll come in and clean all of your grills for x price,’ but we haven’t been able to market it.
I mean, look at California, the fires, most of the fires are from somebody camping and we don’t want the same thing to happen over here. It just makes sense. Doing it once a year is better than never doing it and relying on the people cooking on them.
Final question, what’s your favorite thing to cook on the grill?
Steak. I don’t eat it often, but it’s my favorite. With some asparagus with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and of course, that onion.
For more information on Top Dog Grill Cleaning & Restoration, call (904) 481-6685 or visit www.topdog-restorations.com.
