Your griddle works hard – are you giving it the care it needs?
Commercial griddles are versatile and invaluable to many restaurants and as such, go through a lot every day. Whether you’re serving up buckets of burgers daily or flipping a few perfect pancakes for the Sunday brunch crowd, if your restaurant uses a griddle – you need to know how to clean it properly.
Foodbuy spoke to the experts at 3M to see how best to manage the cleaning process for your griddle. Dr. Cait Meree, 3M Technical Manager explains, “To make sure we have the best solution for our customers, we analyze griddle type, size and usage and recommend top performing differentiated products.”
Keeping cooking equipment clean is key to ensuring a sanitary, efficient kitchen and restaurant – and the griddle is no exception. As a griddle is used, grease, char, fats and food debris accumulate on the surface and, if left too long, can create a hard, unmanageable layer that’s difficult to clean. This extra layer can cause more food to stick and affect heat transfer, giving you inconsistent or undercooked meals. Not only that, but this dirty layer can flake off into food or pass unwanted flavours from one dish to the next, creating an unappetizing dining experience. In addition to being frustrating to work with, a dirty griddle could actually be dangerous. Grease buildup can overflow onto floors, staff or even electrical or gas components, limiting the lifetime of the griddle and creating the potential for fires.
What your griddle is made of?
Commercial griddles are made from a handful of different materials, including steel, cast iron, ceramic glass and chromium, each with their own benefits and quirks – including how they should be cleaned. Knowing which material you’re working with will help avoid accidental damage that could hinder productivity.
The right way to clean
That’s why it’s important to review your cleaning methods and tools to ensure you’ve selected the best for your commercial griddle. Dr. Meree advises, “While a variety of griddle cleaning methods exist, such as griddle brick and pumice stones, these methods can be time and labor intensive. Not only do they require more work, but they can also not be food safe and occasionally dangerous should particles from those solutions break off and enter the food or should an employee have burn due to the intensity of labour required to clean the grill.”
3M suggests using the Scotch-Brite Quick Clean Griddle Cleaning System, which is designed to help make cleaning griddles easier, safer, and more efficient. In just three simple steps, you can clean a griddle 30% faster than with a griddle brick – while the griddle is still hot.
Other tools designed to improve safety and efficiency by 3M include:
- The optimized Liquid 700-40 loosens and lifts mess,
- The Griddle Polishing Pad 46 and multipurpose Pad holder 405R make scouring fast and easy.
- Finish off with the Squeegee 410 which safely removes residue for a gleaming griddle in 3-5 minutes.
The 3M process follows the three “S” process
- Squirt: Pour Scotch-Brite™ Quick Clean Griddle Liquid 700 or 701* onto hot griddle (300-350°F). This powerful liquid loosens and lifts carbonized grease and food soil on contact – without chemical odors or caustic soda.
- Scour: Using the Scotch-Brite™ Griddle Polishing Pad 46 and Scotch-Brite™ Multi-Purpose Pad Holder 405-R, apply light pressure and gently scour the griddle.
- Squeegee: Use the Scotch-Brite™ Squeegee 410 to safely remove residue, leaving the flat-top griddle clean in just 3-5 minutes flat.
Develop a clean routine
3M recommends for a heavily used commercial griddle, maintaining a consistent cleaning schedule is vital to producing the best food possible and avoiding caked on messes. Your griddle should actually be cleaned before, after and during use:
- Before: Lightly clean the griddle before cooking to start fresh and remove any residue from the previous day.
- During: Scrape the griddle between uses to prevent cross-contamination and make end-of-day cleaning easier. Empty and clean the grease trough as needed to avoid overflows.
- After: At the end of the day, thoroughly clean the griddle and empty the grease trough. Avoid using ice to cool it—this can cause warping or cracking.
Deep cleaning should happen once a week and involves letting the griddle cool completely before doing a comprehensive clean of the entire unit.
Foodbuy is proud to partner with 3M to offer members the right tools for the job. By maintaining a regular cleaning schedule and using the proper methods and equipment, you can help extend the life of your griddle while improving food quality, consistency, and overall efficiency.