How to Clean an Electric Griddle – Four Methods
Electric griddles are very popular appliances to have in small and large kitchens because they’re extremely versatile. They’re portable and lightweight enough to easily move around, and you can do everything from cooking juicy steaks to making pancakes.
However, it’s easy for grease and food particles to build upon this device, and they can be very finicky to clean if you don’t know what you’re doing.
So, how to clean an electric griddle? Start by washing it in soapy, hot water before drying it. Treat the face of your griddle with a commercial cleaner, and wipe the surface with a light layer of cooking oil before you use it. Wipe away any drips or spills as they occur on the outside of your griddle to keep it looking like new.
How to Clean an Electric Griddle – Four Methods
there are several different methods you can use to clean your electric griddle to help remove any grease or burnt-on foods. We’ll outline them below, and you can see which one works best to help restore your electric griddle to top condition.
Method One – Hot Soapy Water and a Sponge
The first method will involve using very hot water with dish soap to cut through the grease and a soft sponge scrub at the plates without damaging them.
Tools:
- Dish soap
- Hot water
- Sponge
- Dry cloths
- Paper towels
The first thing you want to do is disconnect your electric griddle from the power source so it cools down and doesn’t burn or shock you when you clean it.
A griddle can get extremely hot, and this can result in severe burns if you’re not really careful with this step. To be safe, give it at least 15 to 20 minutes to cool down before you attempt to touch it.
Get your paper towels and wipe at the grill plates to remove the first few layers of cooking oil or butter. You want to lightly rub at the surface of the griddle plates to remove as many debris as possible, and this may require several paper towels because they’ll soak up the grease quickly. Remove the drip tray, dump it, and wash it out with hot soapy water before letting it air dry.
Run a small amount of hot water onto the surface of your griddle and add a few drops of dish soap to help cut through any debris or grease.
Grab your sponge and rub at the griddle’s surface to remove any stuck-on food particles before dumping the dirty water out. You can add a small amount of clean water to rinse the griddle surface if you like.
Get your clean cloths and dry the griddle as thoroughly as you can, and you want to make sure to get in all of the corners and crevices.
Clean the sponge before adding more hot water and dish soap to the griddle to clean it a second time. Once you get everything off, rinse the griddle before wiping it down with a dry cloth.
It’s essential that you get every part of your griddle dry and remove any soap residue because this can lead to issues later on.
Allow your griddle to sit on your counter and dry for a few hours before packing it away or plugging it back in to use again.
Method Two – Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda and vinegar can form a natural cleaning paste and the baking soda bubbles when the vinegar hits it to help lift and food particles that get stuck onto the griddle plates. It can also cut through grease and make your griddle feel clean.
Tools:
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Sponge
- Hot soapy water
As with method one, the first thing you’ll do is unplug your griddle and leave it to cool down for 15 to 20 minutes to avoid burning yourself.
If your griddle comes outfitted with a griddle surface that you can lift away to clean, remove it to make the process easier.
If you can remove it, fill your sink with hot soapy water and let the griddle plates soak for 15 minutes. You’ll also want to remove the drip tray, get rid of the contents, and let it soak for 15 minutes in the water.
Get your sponge and clean the griddle surface while applying a slight amount of pressure to remove any stubborn or burnt pieces of food.
If the plates don’t come off of your griddle, mix one cup of vinegar into two cups of water before dipping your sponge into the mixture, wring it out, and wiping the grease off the plates. Be careful not to expose and electrical parts of your grill to this solution because it could potentially damage them.
Create a paste using baking soda and warm water to help get rid of any stubborn grease, and you’ll use a paper towel to gently wipe the grease and baking soda off of your griddle’s surface.
Rinse the sponge out to get rid of any baking soda or vinegar traces, and use the clean sponge to wipe any leftover residue from your griddle. Clean any drips you see off the griddle’s sides before letting it air dry for a few hours.
Method Three – Spatula
If your griddle has a lot of hardened grease residue building upon it, you’ll have to take more direct measures to remove the layers before you can clean the griddle underneath. Not doing this will result in a greasy mess that can be a big headache to clean.
Tools:
- Sponge
- Hot water
- Dish soap
- Metal spatula
- Clean cloth
- Heat-resistant gloves
- Clothing protection
Start by turning your griddle on the low setting and watch the grease start to heat up because the heat will start to loosen up the layers of grease.
Take your metal spatula and use the flathead to gently scrape at the grease while wearing heat-resistant gloves to avoid grease burns.
You also want to wear clothing protection and stand slightly back from your griddle during this step because the grease can splatter.
Once you manage to remove the excess grease, you can safely turn your griddle off before unplugging it from the power and giving it 15 to 20 minutes to cool down.
If you see hard grease forming again, get a hot water and soap solution, and pour it onto the griddle. Let it stand for 30 minutes to break up the grease before you get a sponge and scrub at any grease spots you see leftover.
Get rid of the excess water and get a clean cloth to wipe the entire surface of the grill to remove any water stains. You want to remove the drip tray at this point and get rid of any grease or soapy water it has. Dump it out, wash it thoroughly, and let it dry before you put it back into the griddle.
Soak your clean cloth in cold water before running it over the surface of the griddle to remove any other marks. You can repeat this step two or three times to make your griddle shine like it’s new again. It’s a neat trick to get rid of any water spots that can make your griddle look grungy.
Method Four – Soaking with a Degreaser and Grease-Cutting Soap
This final method involves using a slightly more high-grade degreaser with a grease-cutting soap, but you can purchase this at most cooking-oriented stores. It’s popular in restaurant kitchens, but you can easily use it on your griddle in the comfort of your own home.
Tools:
- Paper towels
- Nylon scrubber
- Warm water
- Degreaser
- Dish soap
As always, unplug your griddle and give in 15 to 20 minutes to cool before you start anything, and you want to remove the plug from the connector port at this stage too. Add a light layer of degreaser to your griddle and let it help lift some of the greases before wiping it down.
Remove your drip tray, dump the contents, and clean it before you go any further to avoid a mess. Fill your sink or a bucket with the warm water and add it to the grease-cutting soap to make your cleaning mixture.
Keeping the connector port out of the water, partially submerge your griddle into the water and soap mixture before leaving it to soak for 15 minutes.
Get your nylon scrubber to wipe at the surface of your griddle gently, and you should see both new and baked-on food particles sliding off the griddle after they soak.
Wipe the outside to get rid of any drips or food before grabbing a clean towel and wiping the interior and exterior of the griddle dry.
Water should never get into the connector port at any stage of this process, and you want to leave it out to air dry for several hours after you clean it.
How to Avoid Buildup on Your Electric Griddle
One of the biggest things that’ll dictate how quickly grease builds up on your electric griddle is the type of surface it has.
Most griddles have a non-stick coating applied to their surfaces to make cleanup easier, but others don’t have this coating. One of the biggest things you can do to keep your griddle in top condition is to clean it thoroughly after each use.
Every time you finish cooking, make a point to empty the drip tray and rinse it out before wiping down the griddle surface to remove any food particles or grease.
Everything else should be loose, and this makes it much easier to clean right away. Cleaning it every time you use it can help it stay in better shape, and this means that you’ll be able to use it much longer.
Useful Cleaning Tools for Electric Griddles
If you have an electric griddle, there are several useful cleaning tools you want to have on hand to make the cleaning process go much smoother. You can find them at your local store or order them online and have them shipped to your door.
- Griddle Soap – Griddle soap will help cut down your cleaning time because it has a strong enough formula to cut through multiple layers of grime and grease to reach the griddle underneath.
- Griddle Brush – A griddle brush is a heavy-duty cleaning tool that will help you when you need to dig in and scrub away at layers of grease and grime. This brush usually has a thicker wooden handle with stiff bristles that help you scrub at the most stubborn stains.
- Griddle Sponge – This porous sponge has a very dense and hard structure that allows you to add a little water to the griddle surface and scrub stuck-on stains away. They come in several sizes, and you’ll need a bigger sponge if you have a bigger griddle.
- Griddle Scraper – This tool looks like something you would use to remove paint. You get a fan-style blade attached to a comfortable wooden handle, and the blade has a very wide and straight edge on it. You can scrape this tool along your griddle’s surface to pick up debris.
Whichever method you choose to use to clean your electric griddle, you want to make sure you don’t get any of the electrical components wet.
If you do, you could break your griddle, cause an electrical short, and get a nasty shock. As long as you exercise caution and try these methods, you should be able to bring your grill back to a shiny and new look.