This article is part of our Cocktail Chatter series, where we dive into the wild, weird, and wondrous corners of history to share over a cocktail and impress your friends.
There are countless publications and social media posts that tout onions as a safe, all-natural way to clean a grill. The steps generally go as follows: Turn your grill up to a ripping hot temperature. Cut an onion in half. Skewer the rounded side with a grill fork, and rub the onion back and forth along the grates cut side down to remove any gunk and buildup. The thinking is that the onion’s juices will break down debris, leaving your grill spick and span, all while imparting oniony flavors on whatever you’re about to grill up next. It sounds simple, and way easier than working up a sweat with a grill brush. But does this supposed hack actually work?
Some swear by it, and to their credit, onions do contain antimicrobial compounds that can kill bacteria. But the reality is, heat can do the same thing and there are more effective, tried-and-true ways to get the job done.
Here, we’re breaking down two ways to clean a grill that’ll put the onion method on the back burner.
The Grill Brush
There’s a good reason handy-dandy grill brushes are in any grill master’s arsenal. But before you go to town on the grates, we suggest making sure your grill is as piping hot as possible. Most bacteria will die after they’ve
