Grill Daddy Pro, my new weapon of choice when confronting grill build-up! What is grill build-up? It’s the cooking junk/gunk that is left on your grill from your last grilling session. At cooking-Outdoors.com we get lots of build-up and that equals lots of cleaning. Imagine my surprise when Grill Daddy contacted me to try out their “Grill Daddy” grill brush, the email said steam cleaning! Never heard of such a thing, brass Grill brush away! (as in Superman) has always been our motto around here. So I of course agreed to do a product review, never telling them what I had in mind (Insert evil grin) as I awaited its arrival.

Now when I think of a grill brush, I think long handle maybe some brass bristle and a scraper on the end, nothing fancy. When I opened the package from Grill Daddy I was stunned! It looked like something from NASA, a two handle space tool that knows no fear, this thing is impressive! Very sleek designs, a forward knob for two-handed use, stainless steel brush and scraper that is completely replaceable!

(Insert evil grin here) Now let’s see how this grill brush works. You can see by the picture that I had a very dirty grill to clean; in fact it had been sitting there for eight months like this! I knew going in that the grill would be dirty (I had peaked before) but this was extreme.

45 people were waiting for me to cook Chicken and Tri-tip and I had to clean it up fast; normally I would have removed the grills and scrubbed but there was no time for that. So, I preheated the grill and the smoke coming out was nasty but the grill needs to be hot before you use the Grill Daddy. On the end of the handle there is a cap, removing the cap I filled the whole handle up with water.

Grill’s hot, let’s start cleaning! I wasn’t sure the Grill Daddy could clean this and I really did set it up to fail, boy was I wrong! Wow, this just dug thru the grime/crud/junk petrified BBQ sauce and who knows what. Just by turning on the water release valve located on the top of the handle, I now had a steam cleaning machine. The water hit the grill grates and just steamed the grime/crud/junk petrified BBQ sauce and who knows what else into soft goo that the stainless steel brushes just scrubbed off. I and everyone else assembled to watch were very impressed.

Guess what, I did this twice! After I cooked 20lbs of chicken and 15lbs of Tri-tip steaks the grill grates were filthy again. Never slowed the cleaning ability of the Grill Daddy down; really, this grill was caked with grime/crud/junk from the Chicken and Tri-Tip. Took all of three minutes to clean and restore to cooking condition. These were porcelain grill grates and I can imagine how much better it would work on Stainless steel grates.

Conclusion:
The Stainless steel brushes are replaceable (thinking about how many grill brushes I have tossed into the garbage) making this a long term asset to my grilling arsenal. My new weapon of choice! I couldn’t be more impressed with this.

Gary

The “Outdoor Cook”

If you are interested in your product being reviewed at Cooking-Outdoors.com please contact The “Outdoor Cook” at product-review-manager@cooking-outdoors.com

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

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From the “Barbecue Bible” websites  June 8, 2009 newsletter   ”Up in Smoke”:

THE SIX MYTHS ABOUT GRILLING STEAK

There are a number of myths concerning how to cook a great steak, T-bones included. So let’s separate fact from fiction.

Myth number 1: Let the steak warm to room temperature before grilling.

Bad idea. Meat at room temperature is a formula for microbial disaster. Steakhouse pros keep their meats ice-cold and bacteria-free until the moment of grilling.

Myth number 2: Salt toughens steak, so don’t salt before grilling.

On the contrary, a generous dusting of salt (kosher or coarse sea salt) and cracked black peppercorns right before grilling gives you the rich flavor and savory crust characteristic of a great steakhouse steak. So, season the steak right before it goes on the grill. Do not, however, season a steak hours ahead, or the salt will draw out the juices and make the steak dry.

Myth number 3: A barbecue fork is the proper tool for turning a steak.

Wrong. The only purpose served by puncturing a steak with a fork is to drain out the flavorful juices. Always use tongs when turning a steak.

Myth number 4: Turn the steaks often.

False. Most of the world’s meat masters turn the steaks only once. Why? This helps achieve a better crust.

Myth number 5: The best way to check for doneness is to cut into the steak with a knife.

False. Again, the last thing you want to do is cut or puncture the meat. For the same reason, don’t buy Dad one of those temperature-reading barbecue forks for Father’s Day. The best way to check for doneness is to use the poke test: Press the thickest part of the steak with your finger. When the meat is rare, it will feel soft and squishy. When medium-rare, the meat will feel semi-soft and yielding. When medium, the meat will yield just a little, while when well-done, the meat will feel hard and springy. Not that we advocate serving a T-bone (or any steak) well done.

For really thick steaks, use an instant-read meat thermometer. Insert it through the side of the steak to get an accurate reading. Here are the temperatures that define varying degrees of doneness:

Rare: 125 degrees F
Medium-rare: 145 degrees F
Medium: 160 degrees F
Well-done: 180 degrees F

Myth number 6: Steak tastes best sizzling hot off the grill.

False: A steak hot off the grill will be dry and leathery. You should let all grilled steaks (all meats, actually) “rest” for a couple of minutes on a hot platter. This allows the meat to “relax,” redistributing the juices. The result: a more tender, succulent steak.

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

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