I know, it’s not something any of you want to think about. We all love our griddles, but cleaning them, well, that’s a different story. But what if I could tell you a way to clean an electric griddle that wasn’t overly complicated?
What if I could help you take your electric griddle from greasy to sparkling in 5 minutes or less?
Sounds good, right? Then read on to find out how to clean an electric griddle after daily use, and I’ll even provide some tips for those of you who have more stubborn messes to remove!
How To Clean An Electric Griddle After Each Use
Everybody knows by now that the best way to keep ANY griddle clean is to stay on top of cleaning it. That means, yes, you’ll need to clean it after every single use.
It’s really important that you do this, because the method I’ll show you below will take no more than 5 minutes to do, and it’ll prevent you from having to tackle your electric griddle over the course of one elbow-grease ridden evening if you leave it too long and let the mess build up on your griddle.
So, my first tip: follow this method every time you use your electric griddle for best results.
Speaking of electric griddles, did you know Blackstone now has the Blackstone E-Series Electric Griddle? Check out my unboxing video review here.
Step 1: Unplug Your Griddle
The first thing you need to do is unplug your griddle. For this method, you don’t need the surface to be hot as you sometimes do when tackling a big mess.
Instead, you want to disconnect your electric griddle from the socket in your wall, and the element from the griddle too, so you’re left with just the griddle base itself. Then leave to cool for around an hour after use.
Step 2: Tackle The ‘Drip Tray’
For step 2, you have a choice.
You can either tackle the drip tray (the tray at the front or back of your specific model that catches the grease from the food you’re cooking) while the grease is still hot so you can dispose of it safely by pouring it into a container, or you can wait for it to cool and solidify slightly before scraping the contents into a container. It’s up to you.
Either way, your next step is to clean the drip tray.
Start by removing it and safely disposing of the grease inside using one of the two methods I’ve outlined above. Then take some regular dish soap and a sponge.
Use the soft side of the sponge only to prevent scratching, and work your way around the entire drip tray, being mindful of the corners of the tray which tend to be where grease likes to gather.
Rinse with hot water, and then use your fingers to check if there is any more grease. You’ll know it if you feel it – that slick sensation like you’re running your fingers over butter.
If there’s still some there, repeat the steps above with the dish soap and soft side of the sponge to clean it until you can no longer feel grease.
Step 3: Clean Your Electric Griddle Step
Now it’s time to tackle the griddle. When I first started cleaning my electric griddle, I was a little wary about taking it anywhere near water, because I’d always been taught that electric and water do not mix.
And they don’t when handled carelessly, but if you’re conscious of where the element connects to your griddle and keep that as far away from water as possible, you’ll be fine.
With that little tip out of the way, let’s get on to the cleaning.
If you’re lucky enough to have one of those deep sinks and a smaller model of electric griddle, you can clean this in the sink with running water (keeping the element connection end of the griddle far away from the water, of course), but if you don’t have a deep sink, a bucket of hot water and some dish soap will work just as well.
Start by removing any excess grease with some clean paper towels. This will just make it easier for the dish soap to cut through the grease in a moment.
Once done, pour on some dish soap, and use the soft side of a sponge again to work the soap into the grease. Use hot water, as hot as you can handle safely, to help clean the grease.
After the soap and grease has been rinsed thoroughly, use your fingers again to check for grease and repeat the process if necessary.
4: Dry And Done!
That’s the cleaning out of the way. Now all you need to do is use some fresh paper towels to dry the griddle and drip tray. Make sure everything is completely dry here, or else leftover water can lead to damage and rust on your griddle.
Don’t forget to dry the front and back of the griddle too, as the back is usually where the most stainless steel is, which can rust if not cared for properly by keeping it as dry as possible.
Once everything is properly dry, just put the drip tray back in the griddle ready for use next time, and you’re all done. I told you, didn’t I – from greasy to sparkling in less than 5 minutes!
Electric Griddle Cleaning Safety Care & Tips
In this section, I just want to bullet point the key safety and care tips from above because it’s really important you follow them if you want to make sure your electric griddle is still in top condition once you’ve finished cleaning it:
- ALWAYS use the soft side of a sponge to prevent scratching the surface of the drip tray or griddle
- NEVER allow the element connection to get wet, as this can damage the electrics and break your griddle entirely
- ALWAYS dry everything thoroughly before storing away, or else rust may form and ruin your electric griddle
How To Deep Clean An Electric Griddle
Just to finish, I’ll take you through how to clean an electric griddle when grease has been allowed to harden and you’ve not stayed on top of the cleaning tips I provided above after each use. Here we go:
- Put your electric griddle on a low heat to loosen hardened grease and stubborn bits
- Once warm, use a flat head spatula (NEVER a metal one as this will damage your griddle) to gently scrape the stubborn grease away
- ALWAYS use heat-resistant gloves for this step to prevent injury
- Once it’s looking better, switch off the griddle, disconnect from the wall socket, and remove the element connection and allow to cool
- Then soak the griddle section in hot, soapy water for 20 minutes, being careful not to submerge the element connector part of the griddle
- Once soaked, take the griddle out of the water, and clean and dry using the method above
And that’s it. Your electric griddle should now be clean, and if you make sure you stay on top of cleaning it after every use, then you won’t have any problems with it again.
Remember the safety and care tips I’ve outlined above too, and cleaning your electric griddle should always be a breeze!