How to prepare your BBQ for a sizzling summer

Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, advice and interior inspiration Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, and interior inspiration Get our weekly Home and Garden email for tips, and interior inspiration SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Clean grates are essential for killer grill marks, and they help keep food from sticking.” His mantra: “Keep it hot, clean and lubricated.” Here’s how to do just that: 1. To intensify the heat on a charcoal grill and help burn off the food, America’s Test Kitchen says you can place an overturned disposable roasting pan on the grates. If there’s really a lot of food left on the grates, you can let the grill go for 30 to 40 minutes, Karmel says, “or until everything on the grates has turned to a white-gray ash”. “Make sure you rinse the grill well and let it preheat with all burners on HIGH for 30 to 40 minutes to burn off any residue.” If you have a charcoal grill, you can take this advice from Martha Stewart’s Grilling: after washing with dishwashing liquid, warm water and a sponge, take apart the grill, rinse it with a garden hose and let all the parts dry in the sun before reassembling.