Yeah, my grilling rack is literally never clean enough to put in my kitchen closet. And if it ever were, it would become as annoying as the broiler pan.
I honestly think your standards are higher than mine.
But i completely support your “grilling as i am comfortable doing it is too much hassle” position.
My grill rack is just a basic chromed one that actually fits in my dishwasher. I buy a new one every year from Ama*** to keep things simple.
When I had a propane grill, the cast grill surfaces were a royal PITA.
I will need to check with my wife, but I suspect she would give me a C- for cleanliness and attention to detail. More work = lower standards.
Similarly, i chatted with someone who found the instant pot fussy to clean because they clean all the fiddly bits in the pressure valve. I keep the volume of food low enough that it doesn’t get in there. After chatting with them, i did take it apart once to check, and hey, it looked totally clean to me. Not going to bother again unless i have a problem and the food gets into it.
(My grill doesn’t look clean by anyone’s standards, i just don’t care. I’ll scrape everything off the hot cooking surface immediately before plopping for onto it.)
A good Philly grilled cheese steak REQUIRES a dirty grill surface.
I used to grill about every five days, makng enough that we could have protein for 3-4 days. I had a gas grill that basically incinerated whatever residue was left on it, so cleanup wasn’t bad. Putting that bulky cover over the grill without tearing it and making sure I had propane could be a pain, though.
The air fryer has pretty well kicked our grill to the curb. It’s ready almost instantly; the grill is more trouble than it’s worth, especially if we’ve already sous-vided the meat. I’m not usually cooking for a big crowd so…
I’ve lived more years in the South than the North (where I was born), so I guess I’m Southern.
I’ve posted this trick elsewhere but…
Whether it’s grimy oven racks or greasy racks out of your grill etc., take a plastic garbage bag. Put items inside the bag carefully (so you don’t tear the bag). Spray oven cleaner into bag, twist tie it shut, and set it aside for several hours. The fumes do their work. You can rinse them off with little or no scrubbing. When it comes to those mesh type baskets you use in the air fryer, it’s the bomb.
Rubber gloves? I let it go overnight and it seems neutralized by the time I handle it. But that may depend on how much you use, what kind you use, etc. so it’s best to be safe, wash off any that gets on you, etc.
Why is it the job of the person with a penis to operate this particular cooking equipment? Tell her you’re fine with grilled hamburgers and you’ll prepare the potato salad or whatever vegetables are being cooked as accompaniment while she does so.
Lol, i had similar thoughts. My husband doesn’t grill. I do.
I love to grill, the smoke, the sizzle, the divine smells! My only wish is for a clean grill surface every time but it’s the last thing I remember to do after grilling. All it needs is a good scrape with an metal edge while hot but I neglect it.
I recently cleaned my oven and it’s so satisfying to open it and see shiny.
I grill just because for four months out of the year it’s too fucking hot in Texas to even think about turning on the oven.
Am I understanding you correctly that it takes you 3 hours to clean your charcoal grill?
I believe you may be the only adult male anywhere in the world who doesn’t like grilling! 
I’m indifferent about grilling things like corn or potatoes and the like, but it’s pretty much the only decent way to prepare hamburgers, steak, most cuts of chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, and virtually any other meats. I, too, try not to eat much red meat, but there are lots of non-red meats. I’d never part with my beautiful grill and its smoky goodness.
Your protestations notwithstanding, I do think you’re probably obsessive about cleaning. I use a Weber propane grill and I regard it as essentially maintenance-free. All I do is scrub down the grill surface after it has warmed up a bit, which takes literally about five seconds. Every once in a while I replace the grease collection tray that sits below the grill housing. It just pulls out of a little rack. Nothing easier. I occasionally scrub the burners with a steel brush but it’s been years since I’ve done that.
I live in Virginia and have for most of my life, I don’t generally grill that often in the summer. I actually don’t like grilling when it’s super hot out, most of my grill time is in the spring and fall (and sometimes even winter.) Still, I don’t grill that frequently. I do all kitchen related home chores either inside or outside, and at least the way I use a grill cooking inside absolutely has more cleaning time than grilling. Similar to puzzlegal, I don’t really clean my grill other than scraping the worst particles off the grate, I trust heat to obliterate everything else. I have never had my grill get magically super dirtied by the elements or anything else where I live.
I generally ascribe to the philosophy that a lot of people seem to want to find ways not to use their oven + range, which even the cheapest ones are usually around $850+ these days. While you can certainly find high end outdoor grills that cost more, the average backyard grill is generally pretty cheap and devoid of features. Meanwhile there are very few cooking techniques that can’t be done well, and better, using the oven your house already has. The broiler is a feature that a huge swathe of America seems to be entirely unfamiliar with, for example, and yet basically everyone has one.
No, it doesn’t take me three hours to clean the grill. I just have milestones I need to hit along the way.
Again, I currently have a charcoal grill, so it’s not nearly as easy to clean. It is somewhat easier to clean compared to a propane grill simply because I don’t have to deal with drippings and grease (they all go out with the ashes).
It would probably also be much easier if I used the grill on a regular basis. In my case, it gets used maybe once or twice a year.
Broilers are good for many things, but IMHO it would be a very unusual meat item that turned out better under a broiler than on an outdoor grill. I know of no such thing, and I’ve definitely done both for the same types of meat.
For example, there’s a great store where I can pick up the most wonderful lamb chops – they’re basically cut from a fine rack of lamb, then marinated in olive oil and beautiful spices. They’re so good that they’re delicious when broiled in the oven, but they’re ten times better when grilled!
That works for stuff that might easily burn on the grill, too. For instance, similarly marinated skin-on chicken breasts from the same place. But the best way by far to do these is still on the grill, but over indirect heat. They brown without burning, and the drippings create a wonderful smokiness.
There is really nothing that compares to outdoor grilling, IMO.
Not from the South, but a female charcoal griller year round. Snow is no deterrent. Although frozen propane has been a time or two.
Weber charcoal grill with propane assist to light the coals – best of both worlds, IMHO.
This is my opinion, too. You can’t get charcoal flavor from a broiler.
My cleanliness standards are similar to @puzzlegal’s. Mostly I grill for me alone, so no biggie. Wire brush before, wire brush after and let the coming-to-temperature heat do the rest in the middle. I do keep it covered in between uses.
I only give the grill grate a thorough clean if I’m hosting a crowd. I’ve been known to go buy a new one just for the occasion. About once a year, I give whole apparatus a good scrub. Great tip, @lobotomyboy63! I’ll try your method next time.
I have a great oven, but man, I hate cleaning it! Give me the grill!
My opinion is colored by not especially liking charcoal/smoke flavor. I don’t hate it, and it’s nice for variety. But i think almost everything smoked tastes better without the smoke. Smoked salmon may be the only exception to that. I guess i like a little smokey flavor added to my pea soup, too. But I’m eating some grilled chicken and thinking it would have been just a little nicer on the broiler.
My oven is self-cleaning. And that works great (like the grill, it just burns everything off.) But boy does it make the house stink. I need to wait for decent weather, open the kitchen window, and stay out of the kitchen for the duration.
I would agree charcoal grilling creates flavors that can’t be replicated by a broiler, but I disagree that charcoal grilling is universally better than the broiler, there are a number of dishes where it is my opinion the broiler is the best option for producing the tastiest meal.
I’ve had them in the past and I do miss the self-cleaning features. The stove I have now is easily the most expensive thing in the kitchen, yet no self-cleaning feature. No real features at all – no clock, no timer, no electronics except for the electronic burner igniters. Not why I bought it, so that’s ok. But I do miss that self-cleaning feature…
There are things I prefer in the oven or by broiler, but red meat isn’t one of them. For that, I’m off to the grill unless it’s a stew or stove top concoction (Stroganoff, e.g.). 