What’s the real secret to great grilling?
Evan B. Pomeranz answers the query with another question: When was the last time you cleaned your grill?
Pomeranz, longtime grilling enthusiast and owner of Empire BBQ Cleaning, doesn’t wait to hear the answer. He knows that most people don’t ever do it; that’s why he makes it his business to do all the dirty work.
“Taking care of your grill will not only prolong its life, but it will also reduce grease fires and the growth of bacteria and help your food taste best,” he says. “Think of it this way: You would never cook a new meal in a dirty pan with bits and pieces of old food cooked in it.”
Empire BBQ Cleaning, which he established in East Brunswick in the summer of 2021, is as rare as a perfectly grilled steak: It’s one of only a handful of such companies in the state.
Pomeranz is a grilling enthusiast and owns three of his own: a three-burner gas grill, an 18-inch kettle-style charcoal grill and a 36-inch wood-fire smoker pit-style barbeque. What's surprising to most people is he actually gets just as much enjoyment from cleaning grills as he does from cooking his signature spare ribs on them.
“I call my backyard my barbeque sanctuary,” he says.
His passion for the pits began some two decades ago, when he was in his early 20s. “It was fun to hang out and tailgate and barbeque with my friends,” he says. “I’m partial to charcoal grills. I like the fire and the flavor.”
Before he knew it, he was competing in baby back rib competitions and inviting 50 to 75 people to his house for backyard barbeques.
It never occurred to him to not clean the grill after each use.
“I admit that I’m a little bit OCD and I was surprised that my friends didn’t share my enthusiasm for this task,” he says. “When I heard about people doing this professionally, I felt like I had discovered oil.”
When he decided to start Empire BBQ Cleaning, he shut his marketing and branding company and delightedly dove into deep-cleaning courses. “I really enjoy the process,” he says. “I take photos as I’m doing each grill, and it’s a very dramatic ‘before’ and ‘after’ experience.”
Pomeranz recommends that grill owners protect their investment by getting them professionally cleaned at least one to three times a year, depending on the amount of usage.
“People are so excited about Empire BBQ Cleaning’s work that some have told me that they actually are using their grills more and are using more seasoning and marinades because they don’t care how messy it gets,” he says.
Pomeranz, who uses bio-degradable materials and disposes of waste responsibly, transitions to oven cleaning in the winter months, which he’s just as enthused about as his grill work.
When he’s not cleaning other people’s grills (he generally does three per day in two-hour stints) or his own, Pomeranz is, of course, grilling.
“I recently made applewood smoked bacon from scratch,” he says, “and my kids and I really enjoyed it.”
Learn how to improve the performance of your grill at empirebbqcleaning.com.
Empire BBQ Cleaning’s Recipe for a Spotless Grill
Supplies:
2 27-gallon storage containers
5-gallon bucket
Small bucket
Paper towels
Microfiber towels
Nitrile/PVC-coated gloves
Safety goggles
Stainless-steel scouring pad
Degreaser
Disinfectant spray
3-inch to 4-inch paint scraper
Garbage bag
Tarp
Vacuum
Stainless-steel polish
Turn the gas off. Place the tarp in front of—and if possible, underneath—the grill; put on gloves and goggles.
Spray disinfectant generously throughout the inside of the grill and allow to set for 5 minutes.
Remove the grill grates, bars and racks from the inside of the grill and set aside.
Use the large bucket to fill one storage container with 10 gallons of warm/hot water.
Add degreaser to the container (read instructions on bottle for how much).
Add grill grates, racks and bars to the container and soak for 1 hour.
Use the paint scraper to clean out grease, debris and food remains from the inside of the grill. If the burners come out, remove them and place them aside.
Vacuum the remains out of the interior of the grill.
Move larger pieces of debris and grease into the drip tray.
Remove drip tray and empty contents into garbage, using the paint scraper to remove difficult chunks/pieces.
In the small bucket, prepare a solution that’s one-part degreaser, two-parts warm water.
Soak the scouring pad in the degreasing solution for a few seconds, then scrape and clean off grease residue and coating from the sides, back and hood of the grill interior, while using paper towels to clean and dry.
Remove the grates, racks and bars in the storage container after one hour.
Use the bucket to fill up 5 gallons of water in the second storage container to use as a rinse tank.
Use the scouring pad to scrape grease and remains off the grates, racks and bars, and rinse off in the second container.
Wipe down the grates, racks and bars with paper towels and do another round of scouring if necessary.
Put the burners, bars, racks and grates back into the grill.
Wipe down the grill cart storage area, sides and hood.
Vacuum debris that may have fallen into the patio or grilling area and fold up the tarp.
Turn the grill on and run it for 5 minutes before using.
Evan B. Pomeranz’s Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
High-quality cut of baby back ribs, like an organic slab from Whole Foods
½ cup each of sea salt, garlic, rosemary and brown sugar
Dry rub seasoning, like a combination of BBQ rubs and seasoning
Apple cider vinegar
Apple juice
Butter
BBQ sauce
Brine the ribs in a large container filled with 2 to 3 gallons of bottled (not tap) water and the sea salt, garlic, rosemary and brown sugar mixture for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Remove ribs from brine. Trim excess fat and use a knife to remove the membrane from the bone side.
Coat ribs with apple cider vinegar and add dry rub seasoning to the slab. Let ribs sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Warm smoker to 225° F. (Pomeranz uses applewood and hickory burning fires.)
Place the ribs on the smoker grates with aluminum drip pans filled with water underneath for added moisture.
Keep a spray bottle filled with 1/3 each bottled water, apple juice and apple cider vinegar nearby. Spray the ribs generously every 30 minutes. Rotate the rib racks every hour.
After 3 hours, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil, using a generous amount of butter and BBQ sauce inside the foil wrap. Return the ribs to the smoker.
After 2 hours, remove the ribs and measure the temperature. Your target should be 190° F.
Increase the temperature to 250-275° F and place ribs back on the smoker if the internal temperature needs be higher. Add BBQ sauce with a BBQ mop to the ribs, using more apple juice/cider spray. Monitor the ribs over the next 30 to 60 minutes until they are done.
Let ribs sit for 30 minutes before slicing and eating.
Polishing the Grill
Clean the outside of the grill with heavy-duty wipes or cleanser and paper towels.
Spray a bit of polish on the outside of the grill top, sides and any stainless-steel components.
With a microfiber towel, polish the grill, using circular motions to wipe the polish away.