The Key To Stopping BBQ Sauce From Sticking To Your Grill Grates

When you're grilling, it's always nice to have a little assistance. It can come in the form of ready-made barbecue sauce, and Chowhound's ranking of popular Amazon barbecue sauces can be a help. You can even improve your store-bought sauce with some tips, or customize your perfect homemade barbecue sauce with a few easy steps. But it can still be tough, working at the grill, when the barbecue sauce is constantly sticking to the grates as you flip your chicken or ribs. For a little help on how to avoid it, we reached out to Christie Vanover, head cook and pit master for Team Girls Can Grill and a contestant on season 4 of Food Network's "BBQ Brawl."

Vanover says barbecue sauce shouldn't be put on right at the beginning of the cook, but toward the end to ensure it's coated with flavor and not dripping all over the grates. "Most sauces contain a lot of sugar," she says, "so when it's added to meat on the grill, it will cook rather quickly and can stick to the grill." Vanover says you should brush your sauce on top of the meat after it has already begun cooking, then close the grill lid to let the sauce set for a few minutes. "Then, flip the meat and sauce [to] the other side," she says. "This should prevent some sticking." Plus, if you're adding the sauce once the grill is good and hot, it sears the sauce on the meat so it's not quite as sticky.

For the best nonstick grilling experience, keep your grates clean (especially stainless steel). You should also "add a bit of high-heat oil to add a nonstick barrier," Christie Vanover says. The hotter the surface, the less sticky it is. However, stainless steel still likes to grab onto sugars in the sauce, so some oil or cooking spray can help. "Personally," Vanover says, "I prefer cooking on cast iron grill grates. Just like a cast iron skillet, they build up a natural nonstick coating." It's inevitable that some sauce sticks to the grates, but with a couple extra steps, you can prep the cast iron or steel for the next time you use the grill. Vanover says that "if sauce or marinade sticks to your grill grates, keep your grill on for another five to 10 minutes after you remove your food. The heat will help to cook off the stuck-on food. Then, use your grill brush to scrape the grates."

While it can be a contentious issue whether you should use soap or not on cast iron, you should definitely season it regularly. Once you've scraped off the burnt residue and the grill has cooled, you can dip a paper towel in vegetable oil or bacon grease and rub it on the grates. For stainless steel, a mixture of baking soda and vinegar scrubbed on with a wire brush works great for removing sticky grill gunk. Whatever surface you're using, take some advice from the expert and keep your grill nice and clean to avoid sticky, burnt-on sauce.