Grill care card · Mid-season
Burners, Briquettes and Grates: What to Clean and When
Wolf’s grill maintenance advice ties a few jobs to a moment, such as the grates while still hot or the drip tray after every use, and leave the rest at “periodically”. Where the guide sets no interval, these cards set none either. Each one covers a single part of the grill and can be read without the others.
- Signed
- Greg Lindqvist
- Role
- Cooking-appliance technician — gas ignition and burners
- In the trade
- 18 years
- Filed
Before you call
Burners that run low or patchy
- Wolf's checks start before the firebox: a proper gas supply, and a supply line that is not bent or kinked anywhere you can see it.
- Judge the flame only after the ten-minute preheat Wolf asks for, with the hood down.
- Once it has cooled, take the grates and trays out and check every burner for spiders, insects or anything else in the way. Wolf warns that nests in burners are a fire hazard and can damage the grill.
Watch Clear whatever lifts away by hand; anything lodged deeper waits for the visit. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484
After a cook
Grates, scrubbed while still hot
- Work a grill brush dipped in water over the grates while they hold their heat. The steam this raises also loosens food bits on the briquettes and the drip tray underneath, Wolf notes.
- The grate section above the infrared sear burner is never cleaned where it sits, because Wolf keeps all liquid off that burner. Lift it away in heat-proof gloves and scrub it elsewhere.
- Once everything has cooled, empty and wipe the drip tray; Wolf links a neglected tray to grease fires.
- Repeated heavy flare-ups send Wolf back to the grates first.
Fix A brush, a bowl of water and heat-proof gloves cover everything on this card. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484
Mid-season
Ceramic briquettes and their trays
- Wolf cleans these with heat: every grill burner on HI, the sear burner included and the rotisserie burner left off, for 10 to 12 minutes with the hood shut.
- Turn it all off and let the grill cool completely, then lift the trays out and wipe them.
- Each tray goes back where it came from. Wolf says a briquette tray is never placed over the sear burner.
Fix Stainless briquette trays are on Wolf's five-year limited parts list, so keep the installation date to hand if one fails. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484
End of season
Interior deep clean and the outer steel
- For the grill interior, Wolf runs the same burn-off and full cool-down, takes out the grates and trays, wraps the burner tubes and sear burner in plastic wrap, and only then uses oven cleaner as its label directs.
- Once cool, the smoker box comes out to be emptied and washed in warm water with a mild detergent.
- Outside, a non-abrasive stainless cleaner on a soft lint-free cloth, always with the grain. No steel wool; a mild abrasive pad shifts baked-on residue.
- Tinted steel near the burners is heat discolouration, and Wolf calls it normal.
Watch Rust that flakes or opens a hole is not tint, and it deserves a look before next season. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484
Asked about this card
How often should the briquettes on a Wolf grill be cleaned?
Wolf sets no interval for the ceramic briquettes and trays; it gives a method instead. Run every grill burner and the sear burner on HI for 10 to 12 minutes with the hood closed, let it cool fully, then wipe the trays. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484, can check trays that no longer seat properly.
Why does my Wolf grill keep flaring up?
Wolf's troubleshooting names three causes for excessive flare-ups: burner grates that need cleaning, a lot of fat on the food, and a setting that is too high. Start with the grates, brushed with water while hot, and keep the drip tray emptied after each use so grease is not left collecting below.
