Q What should I line my large drip tray with and how often should I clean it?

Drip trays on most bbqs should be lined with river sand or special fat absorbent found at bbq stores. The use of beach sand will cause the trays to rust out quickly due to the salt in the sand.

It’s a good idea to clean the drip tray out frequently but it depends on the oil content in the food you are cooking. Rats and cockroaches love to frequent drip trays and this is the reason Tucker have designed a new system for oil collection.

Fat fires are one of the biggest problems with the large sand filled drip trays as people find it a difficult job to clean them, so they don’t do it often enough. Then they get so full of grease that they catch on fire from heat or a small piece of meat that sets it alight. This is a sure way to damage your bbq .

TUCKER TIP: Tuckers new bbqs have a simple stainless steel cassette draw in the middle of the bbq which oil and grease drains into. This grease tray can be rinsed in the sink after each use and even put in the dishwasher if you want. There is no need for sand or anything in the tray just rinse it after each use so it remains clean.

Q. How do you clean the cast iron cooking plates and grills?

Cast iron is a very porous metal, washing the cast iron will cause it to rust. It is best to scrub the surfaces with a scraper or wire brush to remove any food scraps or loose flaking cast iron. Then wipe the surface over with some cooking oil and a paper towel. The oil protects the surface from rusting due to moisture from rain or dew. If you do wash the cast iron then make sure you dry them thoroughly and the best way is to put them back on the bbq and heat them up for 5 minutes and evaporate the moisture from them. Once they have cooled rub them over with cooking oil to seal the surface from moisture otherwise the surface will go rusty.

TUCKER TIP: Tucker have produced stainless steel plates and grills which are impervious from water so you can wash them as much as you like. Be careful to still dry them after washing as surface rust can still appear on stainless steel, it isn’t bullet proof it just stains less than steel. Give them a coating of oil when they are dry and this will protect surface rust appearing. There is a great product for cleaning these grills and plates its called a grill stone. It actually sands the surface of the stainless steel and removes stubborn marinade and the like and will bring back the shinny stainless steel look.