For some grey nomads, public barbecues are an important feature of the trip due to the fact they are often free, there is normally less to wash up, and they offer some variety to the daily meal routine.
However, using a public barbecue can be an ‘adventure’, whether it’s at a van park or a reserve somewhere. It is also something of a lottery. If it’s your lucky day, the cleaner will have just been by and the metal plates will be sparkling in the sunlight as brightly as they did the day they were installed.
However, life is not always this good. While common courtesy would dictate that all barbecue users leave the facility in at least as clean a state as they found it,  the realities of the road mean this is far from always the case. And when things are bad, they can be really bad. While you may arrive at the shelter with an esky full of sausages and steak and a sense of hungry anticipation, the joy can quickly evaporate as you clap eyes on the charred remains of the previous chef’s greasy meal.
While some people are happy enough to give things a bit of a clean and let the heat burn off any bacteria, others are frightened off forever, destined to either pack their own portable barbecue in the van of give the frying pan more of a workout.
Do you use public barbecues on your trip … or would you never do so? What’s the dirtiest barbecue you’ve ever seen? Where are the most reliably clean ones? Do you always clean up properly after use? Do you travel with your own barbecue? Comment below.
I always carry my Weber BabyQ and mostly use that. However if I need to use a public bbq I will clean it as best I can then cover it with Baking Paper. This gives a perfectly clean surface to cook on then when finished the paper goes in the fire or in the bin.
I agree, always use baking paper whether bbq is clean or not.
Like Mazz and probably most seasoned travellers, the good old baking paper is a godsend.
we use our own burner.
some cleaning products can be deadly. baking paper should prevent contamination.
We use a hot plate non stick liner cheap clean & reuseable
Never use a public BBQ, carry a Weber Baby Q, an OzPig and camp ovens.
When available we will use public BBQS and I will clean them before use and after. Currently at Bemboka and the BBQ is filthy. Plan to clean it this arvo so we can BBQ tonight. Only takes a bit of elbow grease and a will to do it. Pretty easy really. More travellers should do this, after all, shires provide the facilities and they should be looked after.
Couldn’t agree more, Liz, clean before (when necessary) and after all the time, B.B.Q’s are so handy, even for a toasted sanger, lay on the baking paper and 10 mins a delicious toastie
I always travel with Teflon non-stick BBQ sheet, which avoids having to clean up somebody else’s mess. And, for my own on-board BBQ, makes for a very easy clean-up.
We rarely use them these days, preferring our own two burner butane cooker with all the accessories.
If we do choose to use the public ones we always clean them before & after regardless of how they look..
Just get the plate really hot & then pour over a glass or so of cold water & scrape. Might have to do this a couple of times.
We always use either a non stick BBQ mat or a bit of baking paper.
Never use a public BBQ….. we carry our own Baby Q……at least we know its clean
I so agree. always have my own bbq. my middle size q is very economical on lpg.. but a good tip on the baking paper, however I have seen in barbeque galore a mat you can buy that’s made from a silicon composite that can be rinsed and reused in place of baking paper,