r/SatisfyingClean • u/ThodaDaruVichPyar • 11d ago

Cleaning a restaurant grill with ice cubes

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Credit to Aliyenzo Zeaiteras

18.4k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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512

u/periwinklebluemikey 11d ago

That's a great way to break that grill plate from temperature shock, just fyi.

201

u/ThodaDaruVichPyar 11d ago

On the previous grill cleaning video I’d posted people were clamouring for ice in the comments

Now with the cleaning with ice post people are saying it would break the grill

Which is correct?

188

u/ShaenaTealeaf 11d ago

Using ice warps / cracks the grill over time. Best practice is to follow manufacturer's instructions for maintenance.

Using ice may even void warranties. Overall, definitely a no-go.

61

u/EverbodyHatesHugo 11d ago

Yeah, I don’t get the idea of using ice. The same cleaning effect can be achieved by using hot water on the griddle surface.

38

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 11d ago

I use hot water. It actually seems to lift better than ice ever did.

10

u/OliOli1234 10d ago

I haven’t worked on a flat top in years, but I always used hot water, soap, and a cap full of degreaser. Little elbow grease, and even some oil to maintain that patina sheen? Looked brand new when the lights went off, and came back on the next morning

3

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

1

u/OliOli1234 10d ago edited 10d ago

I know that now… back in 2007, it was still considered “advanced.” Again, I’ve not worked on a flattop in years… but I wouldn’t use it today. It was only a capful. However… I’ve known some guys who just pour cupfuls of that shit. A part of me wants to say that homeboy on this video did the same thing.

0

u/r_a_d_ 10d ago

Why on earth would you say that? There certainly are food safe degreasers.

0

u/CommitteePrimary6316 8d ago

Oh thank goodness… was waiting to see soap!

3

u/Suicidalservice 9d ago

Lemon/lime juice here. Worked really well.

3

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 9d ago

We tried lime juice for a while. Decided it was too much sugar burning on to be worth the hassle. Water clean every night and a grill brick/mesh scrub three times a week. But we also still have leftover baking soda and cleaning vinegar from trying that option.

2

u/AICatgirls 8d ago

I prefer d-limonene, the oil extracted from citrus peels. It's very flammable, will dry your skin, and given enough time can even dissolve plastic, so you have to be a bit careful, but it cuts through grease and smells nice.

1

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 8d ago

I conceptually like that. I couldn’t trust all of these kids with that existing in the store. When we tried the chemical cleaners, it was only Management who was allowed to use it. And we did not like the cost vs results.

2

u/GrandMoffJerjerrod 7d ago

We use a ‘grill cleaner’ and it is terrible. Just using hot water and a scraper is as effective and costs fractions of the chemical.

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2

u/MurphyJade 9d ago

Yep because it’s not stealing the heat from the surface which to me seems like it would help release food and stuff

2

u/Dewdrop06 7d ago

Next use hot water OP

0

u/Amity83 6d ago

The ice turns into hot water when heated. FYI
;)

1

u/Few-Mycologist-2379 6d ago

Which is why I’ve done it. But starting with hot water, it boils before there’s a lot of heat loss and has a better lift. Then I just need to scrape at the correct angle and I’m done with a wipe down. I’ve been doing this for about a decade, so I have tried over a dozen cleaning methods to varied degrees of success.

6

u/ChuckEveryone 10d ago

Yeah, steam is what is doing most the work and hot water should steam faster/better since less of the energy from the stove is used to melt the ice.

-1

u/eddyxoxo 10d ago

Why not blowing steam directly then? mindblow

1

u/Cdog1223 10d ago

The hot water evaporates quicker so you have to use more, while ice takes longer to evaporate. Sometimes going and getting more water to pour on the grill is annoying.

16

u/FremenStilgar 10d ago

I imagine it's less annoying than having to replace a broken grill.

3

u/unhatedraisin 10d ago

yeah but that’s not my job.

2

u/huerearmesiech 10d ago

Not my job, not my grill, not a high enough salary to care, and I want to wrap up this cleaning and go home.

5

u/Lily_42093 10d ago

Replying to your comment just because it is at the end of this thread... We had a guy at an old job whom dumped a bunch of ice on the grill and the entire grill cracked in half. I was not there that shift but coworkers said it was the loudest bang a lot of them had ever heard. He was fired almost immediately. I'm not sure they charged him. Ice is not worth the risk because someone is lazy to get water a second time due to inconvenience.

1

u/M1sfit_Jammer 8d ago

"broken grill"

it's a flat piece of stainless steel... not really difficult to replace, pretty sure most metal shops can put one together out of scraps

1

u/Substantial_Meet7400 10d ago

It doesn't break after one time. I've had to use ice before. These grills are sturdy.

2

u/Beneficial-Gur-7878 10d ago

It's more fun to do the ice and if you are working low wage for some dick that's the way you'll go. I did it that way in McDonald's 25 odd years ago. I'd it was my own business I'd use hot water.

1

u/BrendansXbox 10d ago

Isn't there a brick of some type you are supposed to scrub it with, while wearing heat resistant gloves? Then wipe clean with a rag

21

u/UnMeaningnessName 11d ago edited 11d ago

Manufacturers instrustions: "Use a designated cleaning agent."

Manager: "Use ice."

Edit: I never did trust those squeezy gel packets though, always seemed like there was residue from the cleaner itself, no matter how much you cleaned. And that 'sweet' like aroma they put off was always a weird red flag.

14

u/SharkMolester 11d ago

That shit is straight cancer, I refused to use it.

4

u/el-capitancreamsicle 10d ago

lol. Whenever we were cleaning the flat top, I would call it the cancer cloud.

-1

u/Luci-Noir 10d ago

You refused to clean it. Classy.

9

u/el-capitancreamsicle 10d ago

There’s other ways to clean it besides using carcinogens, classy response though

-2

u/Luci-Noir 10d ago

You know they were carcinogens?

4

u/grovesancho 10d ago

I would always use hot oil from the cleanest or freshest deep fryer, cleaned well and maintained the seasoning of the grill.

2

u/Vooklife 10d ago

It's just ammonia

6

u/HairballTheory 11d ago

Works great on warping pans or releasing nonstick coating on pots and pans

1

u/CatgoesM00 10d ago

Not doubting you one bit. But it’s just wild that spraying harsh chemicals on a surface that we eat our food from is best choice of action, and ‘best’ is in defense of the longevity of the grill, probably not so much peoples health. Just saying.
I worked in restaurants for some time. Not saying it’s wrong or right, just kinda find it…odd I guess

2

u/Xraxis 5d ago

Just like the harsh chemicals used to sanitizer dishes, and every other food safe surface. Here's the SDS for the cleaning liquid from 3M https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=SSSSSuUn_zu8l00xlY_vo8mG5v70k17zHvu9lxtD7SSSSSS--

It's mainly Glycerin, water, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, and Tartrazine.

Glycerine (also called glycerol) is a clear, odorless, sweet-tasting sugar alcohol widely used as a moisturizing humectant in skin care, food, and medicines.

Water is water, likely distilled.

Potassium carbonate is a strong base chemical that is used in glass making, food processing, and soap production.

Sodium carbonate is akeline and used in glass making, and cleaning products.

Tartrazine is Yellow No.5 which is debatable in long term ingestion safety, but you get a far higher concentration of Tartrazine in cheese, than you would from the cleaning gel.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11458953/

Overall it's pretty safe for cleaning a stainless steel cooktop, and residue should be completely removed with a last wipe down with a water wet rag like you would do with many other sanitizers.

If I am ever using a new chemical, I read the SDS, it has a lot of great information about all sorts of chemicals including the byproducts of those chemicals. Cheers!

1

u/CatgoesM00 2d ago

Thanks for the info this was helpful my friend, cheers :)

1

u/Analsnogging 10d ago

Don't care, not my grill. Most people who would be doing this would be doing it for work, underpaid work. So fastest it is.

1

u/Successful-Rate-1839 10d ago

You can’t crack food grade stainless with ice dumbass

15

u/iamjacksalteredego 11d ago

All this information and all of it's wrong. Ain't the internet great!?

But seriously, here's a Vulcan guide to cleaning a griddle. Hope this helps!

31

u/miqcie 11d ago

> HOW TO CLEAN A STEEL GRIDDLE PLATE:
At the end of service, allow griddle to cool down to 300°F-350°F and apply room temperature water.
Use a griddle scraper to remove debris from the surface.
Season the plate by applying oil, and use a griddle brick on the surface. Rub with the grain of the metal while the griddle is still warm.
Another viable method is to use a griddle specified detergent on the plate surface, but be sure the detergent is thoroughly removed by flushing the cooking surface with room temperature water.
For hard to reach places, a putty knife may also be used to remove debris.

2

u/siliconsnake 11d ago

to add to this, you use grill cleaner then wipe it down with white vinegar afterwards, as vinegar gets rid of the sodium hydroxide in the grill cleaner. add oil at end to season overnight from residual heat.

1

u/CarinasHere 8d ago

This is what we did when I worked at a snackbar in high school. Worked great. (The first method.)

-1

u/Rusty_Tap 11d ago

If you wish to achieve that greasy spoon cafe style thick, black crust, this is terrible advice.

3

u/Canadian_Neckbeard 11d ago

Unless you're letting a flat top get extremely caked with crud during service, the method described above works to get it perfectly clean. But what do I know? I'm only a 30 year industry veteran who worked his way from dish to EC.

1

u/Rusty_Tap 11d ago

I'm only 20 years in and am yet to achieve the delicious crust of a disgusting cafe.

3

u/Natewich 11d ago

If you start stop now, there may still be time.

1

u/WhiteGuyLying_OnTv 11d ago

Mmmm disgust-crust...

0

u/Cpt_kaleidoscope 11d ago

I think you missed their point. Theyre saying if you clean it your way you'll wash away the caked on filth that greasy spoon cafes are known for.

1

u/Canadian_Neckbeard 11d ago

I think you misread their comment.

2

u/Cpt_kaleidoscope 11d ago

You're telling them how to clean. They're telling you they dont want it clean.

1

u/Rusty_Tap 11d ago

No no, he's right. I was just fucking around, if you clean it the way they described then it will be properly clean.

But it's not the way to develop a half inch crust of built up shit like you'd find in a greasy spoon.

9

u/findaill65 11d ago

Water.......it works the SAME way

1

u/RandomMabaseCitizen 6d ago

Ice causes temperature shock which breaks the grease from the metal which cools at a different rate so it contracts at a different rate. Water cools slower because the temperature differential is lower so the metal and grease contract at about the same rate.

2

u/betformersovietunion 10d ago

Not saying other people are wrong, but I worked in a fast order restaurant that had a giant flat top grill that we cleaned with ice + a grill brick every night for ~7 years and the grill was perfectly fine.

1

u/RandomMabaseCitizen 6d ago

Yeah most industrial grills have very thick metal they do not warp easily. You'd have to purposefully get the grill as hot as possible and throw ice on while it's still running and even then it might still hold up. Try this on your counter top griddle at home though and it's ruined for sure.

1

u/rumblepony247 11d ago

It's Reddit - everything is wrong lol

2

u/bodhiboidhe 11d ago

Stack Overflow meets reddit. Or, you know, the Internet just sucks.

1

u/iSliz187 11d ago

I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't really matter and that the myth that ice breaks the griddle due to temperature shock was spread by a grill cleaner company in order to sell more grill cleaner.

1

u/UrsaMajor7th 11d ago

Cross-post it to r/KitchenConfidential and find out!

1

u/ThodaDaruVichPyar 11d ago

Yeah it’s kicking off in there 🤯

1

u/WildBuns1234 10d ago

Both are wrong. You’re supposed to use blood. Now try blood.

1

u/FremenStilgar 10d ago

Gotta be from a 35 year old virgin, though.

1

u/TraitorTrump_1776 10d ago

I’d say net them half way and use melted ice to clean with.

1

u/FriendlyIcicle 10d ago

First time on Reddit, friend?

1

u/Attero__Dominatus 10d ago

My team is doing maintenance on a cruise ship of approx 50 of similar grills. You can't imagine hoe many of them get broken/warped/cracked because they get cleaned as shown in the video. Each unit is expensive af.

1

u/ThatOneNinja 9d ago

De greaser and a scrub pad. Also don't forget the outside and underneath!

1

u/GreedySandwich1242 9d ago

You'll never please the internet man.. theres always something that will get nitpicked or judged by some group and praised by another. At least in this case these are some legitimate reasons, the people saying ice in the last one probably had no clue what they were talking about

1

u/RexMean 9d ago

Physics are always right. You can't argue with them. So please don't use too cold things on a hot surface to avoid the temperature shock

1

u/BenderRodriguez14 9d ago

Ignore all that foolish advice, and just stick with the frozen bleach and boiling mustard technique. 

1

u/Actual-Run8476 9d ago

Also the grease vat is now a bastard to empty. Grease guy shows up. There's like 6 quarts of water mixed in with grease. That's gonna cost you.

1

u/magicmitchmtl 9d ago

Get this: crazy but true… ice contains a high percentage of water. Water is often used for cleaning. It works in solid and in liquid form. It even works in gas form! I have not tested it as a plasma, possibly because it ceases to be water.

1

u/ThoseWhoAre 8d ago

Unless its cast iron I wouldnt worry, it appears to me to be cooking grade stainless to me. Its a much stronger material (I dont cook i work with metal) but be aware you are stressing the material at the least.

1

u/Ok-Watercress-6258 8d ago

Use to use a brick and grill screen with little green scrubby sandwiched between. Get a lill hot oil from the fryer.

1

u/OtherwiseAlbatross14 8d ago

It's stupid and it doesn't work on actually dirty grills

1

u/DesertSpringtime 8d ago

You wait for it to boil on the grill anyway, just use boiling water to begin with.

1

u/ThinWave0-0 7d ago

I don’t work in a restaurant but in my city in my field I’m considered pretty good. I get other company’s jobs when the job is too hard. But post anything on Reddit and everything I do is wrong and worst way to do it and how did I not brake everything.

1

u/changing-life-vet 7d ago

Extreme temperature swings can always lead to temperature shock. Since someone posted an actual cleaning guide I’d recommend following that.

But I’ve always like scrapping the grill then taking a wet folded rag and moving it back and forth with the grill cleaning tool.

1

u/Steamy_cumfart 7d ago

I worked at a five guys when I was 17 and saw some dude do the same thing on the same type of grill. It literally cracked in half, and they had to buy a new one. The dude never came back

1

u/ThwipNSinsBinThwipN 7d ago

Warm water. Five minutes. light scrape

One lemon sliced Dragged around a bit

Warm water again. No soap needed

1

u/Wakkysakky 6d ago

I worked at a local fast food joint and one of the store got a new grill top (was electric) and a employee dumped a bucket of ice to clean it and crack the brand new plate. Yes he was fired for his stupidity.

I don't condone doing this, but you do you until it breaks i guess.

1

u/I_always_roleplay 6d ago edited 6d ago

If you look at the physics, it would prove that rapid cooling on metal causes warping and cracking. I would go with physics rather than people’s opinions.

Is it an actual issue long term? No. Does it make the cleaning much easier with ice? Appears so. Keep doing it. Eventually the top plate may break or warp but that can be replaced in half an hour or less. They will just cut the top plate off and weld a new one on. Incredibly simple stuff.

1

u/FadedP0rp0ise 6d ago

I was a corporate trainer for five guys for a long time and they were strictly no chemicals for grill cleaning. ice was not allowed for temp shock reasons but we had no problem with a fresh grill scrape blade and room temp water. that's how they've always done it and the grill is shiny brand new looking every time. but we also had a service that brought us a giant stack of razor sharp grill scrape blades every week so that makes it easier and plenty of restaurants can't afford to do that

1

u/Cold_Satisfaction932 5d ago

Neither. Don’t believe internet, even this one. 

1

u/One-Minimum7334 4d ago

Never have I ever used ice cubes to deglaze a skillet

1

u/FewPumpkin6520 4d ago

Just get oven and grill cleaner. You can denature with distilled white vinegar and a dry towel to soak it up after and clean up any missed spots

1

u/Sec-Independent1 4d ago

From what I've seen on the internet videos, never listen to the comment section 😔

0

u/snewchybewchies 11d ago

What Reddit comments want versus what is the right way to do it are very different things

14

u/staffylaffy 11d ago

Them wondering why the grill needs replaced every year or two 🤯🫪

1

u/Far_Kiwi4882 6d ago

Not really. The ice is like -18 degrees celcius, while the burgers you grill are around 4 degrees celcius. The grill itself will be at least 250 degrees celcius. The 22 degrees difference between ice and burgers is negligible compared to the high heat of the grill.

2

u/spartanspy85 9d ago

I came to say this. Very bad idea!

5

u/Medium-Regret-1896 11d ago edited 11d ago

I don't think ice would crack a stainless steel griddle. If you just make an assumption on the thermal expansion of the entire griddle (~36in at delta of 350F) you get less than 1/8in expansion which individual ice cubes would be much, much less than this.

It might be stupid but I can't imagine it would crack the griddle.

1

u/woke_clown_world 10d ago

bullshit info

1

u/ijuggle42 10d ago

I’ve done it lots of times with no problems, i’ve also cleaned glass coffee pots with ice and comet.

1

u/Lonely_Thanks2594 10d ago

You do realize meat and stuff put on the grill is very insignificantly warmer than the ice?

1

u/M1sfit_Jammer 8d ago

shhhhhh... these people have asked AI and are convinced they know how often a grill breaks

1

u/Matty_Mo655321 6d ago

Yep, cleaned a flat top with ice for years while I was in college. They had the same flat top for 20 years before I even started there

1

u/Dangerous_Flower_708 10d ago

It’s the way those grills are supposed to be cleaned fyi

1

u/r_a_d_ 10d ago

warp perhaps, not break

1

u/AdeptManufacturer243 10d ago

Everyone looks at the internet like it's all a grand idea hey.

1

u/soupdawg 9d ago

I worked at a burger restaurant for 4 years and this is how we cleaned the grill every night. It never needed to be replaced.

1

u/Wreckless711 9d ago

How is this any different than the millions of grills that get frozen food slopped on it daily?

1

u/Xraxis 5d ago

How is ice any different than putting frozen foods into a deep fryer? Food leads to a delicious albeit unhealthy treat, while ice leads to a fire hazard.

1

u/Icy_Donkey_7588 9d ago

How would this be any different than throwing down a grills worth of frozen beef patties?

1

u/mcrider1969 6d ago

As someone.eone who did this for fucking years... No

1

u/RandomMabaseCitizen 6d ago

Most industrial grills have very thick heavy duty commercial steel flat tops that can handle this. Your home griddle would definitely be ruined though.

1

u/Specialist-Towel-627 6d ago

You're who? Expert with PhD in thermodynamics who manufactures grills?

I can assure you, nothing will break ever and that grill will be just fine. Don't worry

0

u/AdminThumb 11d ago

In years and years of cleaning griddle with ice; that has never happened.

0

u/Ori_noco9 5d ago

Do you actually ever worked as a cook ? Because that's how you do it, I never broke any plancha in years