The Firebox

In general, the firebox (the metal bowl of a kettle grill or rectangular box of a gas grill) will clean itself in the process of grilling. Of course, any bits of food that have fallen through the bars of the grate or pools of congealed fat should be shoveled out with a garden trowel. One thing you should clean often is the catch pan, or drip pan, for grease. In terms of more long-term maintenance, barbecue shops sell heavy-duty grill cleaners you can use for removing a season’s worth of soot.