bosco, I really don't do anything special. Mainly I do not let the crud build up and I very rarely put sauce on during the cook. If I do get into a real mess I have this for my main grate, although I haven't used it yet:) It's sits on the top of my lump bin and keeps the rain and soon the snow out. The whole thing slides under my countertop. For now I just use a stainless steel sponge, aka curly kate. The upper grate will fit in my kitchen sink. Believe me, I am not obsessed with cleaning.