Have you abandoned your Blackstone griddle for a while without cleaning? Then most likely, grease and burned food have gotten stubbornly stuck. So what do you do?
Although your equipment looks messed up, you can restore it. I will show you how you use baking soda to remove the stubborn grease and food remains. Read on.
How to Clean Blackstone Griddle With Baking Soda
Make a paste by mixing baking soda and a pinch of salt, then add just enough water. Avoid too much water because the paste must be thick. Apply it to the areas of your griddle that have stubborn grease. Give it between 10 to 30 minutes, remove the paste using a spatula, then clean your griddle.
Why Use Baking Soda to Clean a Griddle?
Maybe you are wondering why we need to use baking soda to clean the griddle.
Baking soda can create a chemical reaction that makes it an excellent cleaning agent for stubborn grease and rust. So, here is why it’s great for cleaning your griddle:
- it has mild abrasive qualities
- has deodorizing effects
- can dissolve dirt
- easily cuts through grime
- it’s safe for you and your griddle
- relatively inexpensive
- highly versatile
If you activate baking soda rapidly, it will produce carbon dioxide. The fast-rising of carbon dioxide helps lift a dough.
The same is applicable during cleaning. When you mix baking soda with water, it produces a paste, and the bubbles help raise any hardened grease on your griddle surface.
You can, after that, clean your griddle with ease.
How To Clean A Griddle With Baking Soda
Here are the steps to follow in cleaning your griddle using baking soda:
Allow Your Griddle to Cool Down
It’s essential to allow your griddle to cool down before cleaning it with baking soda. There are two main reasons for this.
First, it’s for your safety. You don’t want to start interacting with a hot griddle that may burn you in the process.
Second, it’s for the sake of baking soda. If you expose it to heat, baking soda will decompose. Consequently, you will not be able to use it for what you intended.
Prepare a Baking Soda Cleaning Paste
Mix two tablespoonfuls of baking soda with a pinch of salt.
Note: You can vary the quantity of this mixture according to the state of your griddle. If your griddle is worse, you can increase the amount.
To the above mixture, add a very little amount of water.
Keep in mind that baking soda paste should be thick. As such, don’t add too much water. However, ensure that you add enough water to allow the ingredients to mix well.
Apply Your Paste to the Griddle
You have prepared your baking soda paste; the next step is to apply it to the griddle.
You will need to apply the paste to all the griddle parts with hardened grease and burned food.
If your whole griddle is messy, you will need to prepare a huge batch of paste. You will then apply it all over your griddle.
However, if only a few parts of your griddle are greasy or messed up, apply only those.
Important note: The baking soda paste is strong enough to remove even the seasoning on your griddle. If you apply the whole griddle, it means you’ve taken it back to its pre-seasoned state.
As such, you need not apply the paste to all the parts of your griddle if it’s not necessary.
Give it Time
You have finished applying the paste to all affected areas. The next step is to sit back and give it time to react and do its thing.
The baking soda will take a while to react with the grease and cause it to lift from the surface.
The time it takes will again depend on how messed up your griddle is. However, on average, it can take from 10 minutes to half an hour.
So, take a break and give it time.
Remove the Mixture
If you are convinced that the powder has done its work, it’s time to remove it.
You will need a flat head spatula. Avoid using a metal spatula.
Moreover, you will need to be gentle. Being too harsh may cause you to scratch the griddle’s surface.
Remember, you only want to remove the grease that has lifted.
The other reason you need not be abrasive is that the salt in the mixture does precisely that. It works as a gentle abrasive to eliminate every stubborn food remains or grease.
Are you done removing the paste? It’s now time for the next step
Clean the Griddle
You have removed the stubborn grease and food remains.
Your Blackstone griddle now requires thorough cleaning.
I have covered this before, so simply go to how to clean a Blackstone griddle.
Dry the Griddle and Store it away
Immediately after cleaning your Blackstone griddle, it’s time to dry it.
Use paper towels to dry every area of the Blackstone griddle. This step is essential to keep off rust, so ensure you are thorough.
Do you feel you have dried it effectively?
If so, leave it outside for a while to air-dry, then store it appropriately.
Season Your Griddle
I mentioned earlier that baking soda is a powerful cleaning agent. Consequently, it removes even the seasoning from your Blackstone griddle.
You cannot use your griddle again before seasoning it. If you don’t know how to go about it, read about seasoning a griddle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you clean a griddle with baking soda?
You can clean a griddle with baking soda. Baking soda is a potent cleaning agent that helps to remove every stubbornly stuck grease or food remains.
How do you clean a flat top grill with baking soda?
Pour a considerable amount of baking soda water on the flat top grill surface. Using a pumice stone, scrub the surface in a circular motion, then scrape off the remaining liquid.
Wrapping it up
If stubborn grease and food residue have messed up your Blackstone, do not worry. Also, you don’t need to throw away your griddle; the baking soda can help you solve the problem.
Cleaning a Blackstone with baking soda is straightforward. In less than an hour, you will have gotten restored your equipment.
However, remember that baking soda will remove the seasoning. Consequently, you will need to season your griddle again.