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The TikTok algorithm knows me pretty well by now—my FYP unlocks new fears daily, one of them being bristles from a grill brush getting lodged in my gums (I saw a video where it happened, okay?)
After seeing that, I immediately threw our brush away and purchased a bristle-free one. And my algorithm must’ve known, because shortly after, I discovered a grill cleaning hack that seemed to be the perfectly-sweet solution.
The trick? Cleaning your grill using an onion. It may seem extra to set aside an onion just for cleaning, but I was so curious to see if this would work.
I put it to the test and was really pleased with the results.
The Cleaning Process
Typically, my husband cleans our grill right after use to keep the build-up at bay. But since I knew I wanted to test this hack out on a truly dirty grill, I asked him to forgo the routine one night after he made burgers.
The next day, we put the onion to the test. We started by heating up the grill to its highest setting. Using an onion that I cut in half and a pair of kitchen tongs, we started rubbing the onion up and down in the same direction that the grates run.
Although it took several passes on each section to remove everything, the onion was super effective at getting rid of the debris and grease.
It was easy to see the patches that needed another scrub since they looked shiny with grease, while the other areas looked matte. Since our grill is propane as opposed to charcoal, the onion never got too dark-looking, but you can see where it picked up some of the grime from where it turned brown.
After trying out this hack, I believe it would work especially well on a flat-top grill.
Cleaning Tip
It was tricky to decipher whether the onion turned brown because it was picking up grime or because the heat was cooking it—but I think it was a combination of the two.
Cons of Using an Onion to Clean Your Grill
Photo by Tessa Cooper
Like the majority of TikTok hacks you find online, there are some drawbacks to using an onion to clean your grill.
I don’t think it would be effective if you’re working with a really dirty grill with layers of caked-on grime. Because the onion is smooth, it lacks any abrasive properties, so this hack is best to build into your routine each time you grill.
Additionally, you really need a specialized tool or something with sharp prongs to really grab hold of the onion. We were using kitchen tongs, so the onion did slip out a couple of times.
We are planning on purchasing an onion grill holder from Amazon to combat this.
Pros of Using a Onion to Clean Your Grill
By using an onion to clean our grill, we no longer worry about any metal bristles getting lodged into our food.
It’s also more convenient than using a bristle-free grill scrub brush since we don’t have to bother with cleaning it afterward and letting it dry before storing—you can simply toss the used onion in the compost and use the other half for your meal.
Although the heat of the grill is what really sanitizes it, some research does suggest that onions have high antibacterial activity.
Overall, we are going to keep using an onion to clean our grill after each use, but we are keeping our bristle-free scrub brush on hand to tackle a deep cleaning before we store the grill for the winter.
