What is the best way to clean a pancake griddle? The 5 most effective methods

how-to-clean-a-pancake-griddle

When it comes to preparing diverse meals for your household or clientele if you’re managing a commercial kitchen, a griddle is remarkably effective. It can be utilized to whip up delightful treats such as pancakes, steaks, eggs, sandwiches, French toast, and possibly hundreds of other dishes. There is, however, a drawback, which can be seen as the griddle accumulating grease. Occasionally, food might adhere to the surface and persist even after being soaked overnight. But don’t fret, as this comprehensive guide on how to clean a pancake griddle will assist you. If you’ve appreciated the meals your griddle has produced, you should also embrace the cleaning process. Continue reading to learn more.

Methods to Clean a Griddle:

Since there are so many methods to clean a griddle, you can choose the one that you find most affable for you. You can also choose one that encourages the use of cleaning items that you already have at home. Here are the five best methods for how to clean a pancake griddle:

Method 1: Soak and Clean With Grease Removing Soap

What you will need:

  •         Grease cutting soap
  •         Warm water
  •         Dishcloth
  •         Paper towels
  •         Nylon scrubber

The cleaning process:

  1. Unplug your electric griddle pan. Leave it to cool for a few minutes. It is also best to disconnect the plug from the port.
  2. Fill the sink halfway with hot water and add your grease-cutting soap.
  3. Immerse the griddle in the hot water. However, make sure you place it in such a way that the connector port stays out of the water. Leave it to stay and soak for about 20 minutes.
  4. Get the griddle out of the water. You will see some bits of food falling off if you shake it just a little. You can then wipe out the bits of food using a nylon scrubber. If you do not have one, you can use a dishcloth to wipe the griddle.
  5. Turn the griddle over, check the exterior for any drips of scraps of food hanging out there. Remove them if there are any.
  6. Dry the griddle off with a clean towel and then leave it somewhere for some time to dry out completely. This will also allow any water that may have entered the connector port to dry completely. Please note: You should ensure no water gets inside the connector port.
  7. If you smell the griddle, you will feel that it is completely clean, with no trace of the food that you had cooked in it.

Method 2: How to remove sticky grime

What you will need:

  • A small bucket
  • Griddle cleaning soap
  • Cleaning cloth or griddle brush
  • Paper towel/regular cleaning towel

The cleaning process

Unlike the first method where we said to soak the griddle in hot water, with this method, you are going to turn it on to the temperature setting where it will be warm.

  1. When food is stuck in the griddle, you will find it easier to remove if you heat the griddle. So turn on the heat.
  2. Pour warm water into a big bowl. Add griddle soap in the right proportions. These should be indicated on the soap packet. If not, you can check the user manual that came with the griddle. Submerge the griddle taking care not to get water into the connector port. Let it soak for about 10 minutes.
  3. Take it out of the water and if it does not have a drip tray, attach one. You should also have a small bowl or tray under the drain of the drip tray. This is going to catch the water that you use to clean the griddle.
  4. Remove the griddle from the warm water and use a griddle brush or sponge to scrub the surface. You can do that in an up and down motion or you can scrub it from side to side.
  5. To ensure that you are using soapy water all the time, just keep dipping the sponge in the water. You can apply more force if needed when scrubbing to take out the gunk.
  6. Sometimes, even forceful scrubbing with a sponge is not going to remove everything. Therefore, you can try a harder cleaning tool, for example, a scrubbing pad.

Method 3: Spatula and warm soapy water for stuck grease

If the pan has stayed with grease for too long, it will stick. Therefore, you may have to use a spatula to get rid of the grease.

What you will need:

  • Heatproof gloves
  • A sponge
  • Metal spatula
  • Cleaning sponge
  • Warm water
  • Soap

The cleaning process:

  1. Turn on the heat on the griddle. It will help loosen the hard grease
  2. Take your spatula and gently scrape the grease off. It is important that you wear the heat-proof gloves to protect your hands because the griddle is hot. Also, keep a fair distance between your body and the griddle to protect yourself from harm.
  3. Switch off the griddle once the hard grease is removed. Unplug your griddle and set it aside to cool a bit.
  4. If there are still bits of stuck grease in the griddle, pour warm, soapy water into it and let it stay for about 30 minutes.
  5. Take a sponge, dip it in warm soapy water and clean out the griddle again. This should take care of any remaining grease.
  6. Take a clean piece of cloth, dry the griddle completely. This should get rid of any watermarks.
  7. Soak a second clean cloth in cold water; wipe the griddle deeply so that you can get rid of any airmarks. You can repeat this a few times to be sure that your griddle is completely free of any marks.

Method 4: White vinegar and warm water method

What you will need:

  • White vinegar “ 1″ cup
  • 2 cups warm water
  • Sponges or soft cleaning cloth
  • Paper towels

The cleaning process:

  1. Remove any hard grease on the pan. You can do this by using a spatula as discussed in Method 3. If there is no hard grease, carry on cleaning.
  2. Mix 1 cup of white vinegar with warm water
  3. Take a sponge, dip it in the water and white vinegar solution and scrub the griddle’s surface firmly. White vinegar removes stains.
  4. When the griddle is clean, dip a clean sponge in cold water and wipe the surface thoroughly to remove any traces of white vinegar.
  5. If the stains are too stubborn, use a baking soda and water paste on the surface of the griddle. Spread the paste using a paper towel. Use a damp sponge to clean the surface with this paste.

Method 5: Soapy water and sponge

What you will need:

  • Paper towels
  • Clean cloths
  • Sponges
  • Dishwashing liquid soap
  • Hot water

The cleaning process:

  1. Disconnect the griddle from electricity. Let it cool down a bit because a hot griddle can be dangerous.
  2. Remove any oily grease from the pan using a paper towel and then pour some warm water and dishwashing soap
  3. Rub the griddle with a sponge to get out any burnt food particles or any gunk that is stuck on the surface
  4. Dry the griddle with a clean cloth or sponge
  5. Pour water and dishwashing soap into the griddle again
  6. Take a clean sponge and clean the surface gently to get rid of any leftover food material
  7. Rinse the griddle in clean cold water to remove any traces of the dishwashing soap
  8. Wipe the griddle down with a paper towel or dry cloth
  9. Dry the griddle fully and then plug it in, ready for use

Why Cleaning a Griddle is Important?

Clean cookware looks nice and is safe for your health. When you are cooking food, the last thing that you want is to have contaminants getting into the food. When your pancake griddle has some leftover food, bacteria will breed and get into the food that you cook next.

Old food affects the taste of new food. This is another reason why you should always clean the griddle after cooking with it. Always clean the griddle plate thoroughly such that there is no trace of the old food.

When you clean your griddle often, you enhance its lifespan since you don’t have to scrub it as hard.

Plain water is not enough to clean the griddle. Therefore, you need a good product. For example, the Scotch Brite Cleaner Pad that you can buy on Amazon.com can help you clean the griddle to perfection. It captures all the dirt and grease and you can use it at the highest operating temperature of the griddle, of course with your heatproof gloves. Sold in a pack of 6 pieces, it will be some time before you have to buy a new pack.

Final Verdict

The longer you let a griddle stay with the grease, the harder to clean it will be. Therefore, clean the griddle as soon as you are done cooking or soak it in warm water so the grease can loosen up. You may have noted that all of the cleaning methods that we have discussed here require you to use warm or hot soapy water. In the process of how to clean a pancake griddle, heat is very effective.