I wonder if there is a non mechanical way of cleaning it and instead a chemical reaction like oven cleaner. Ideally it would be something that wasn’t seemingly related to a chemical weapon but maybe that’s what it takes.
I think a lot of people don’t let their grill get hot enough. I know I have problems with cleaning my smoker racks (and my wife won’t let me run them through the dish washer) so I have to throw them on my charcoal grill when I’m heating it up.
Yeah, probably. Charred food is not good for you really, but it's going to be on there anyway after you cook on a grill no matter what (unless it's like, a George Foreman...?). I can't imagine the bit of carbon on the grill from the last session would ever cause more harm than normal charcoal!
Hot concentrated sodium hydroxide will do it. Or oven cleaner, if you can't get chemicals. It won't damage steel, but will dissolve aluminum. Ammonia works too, but not as effectively.
OxiClean (or other clean-in-place products) should do a good job if you have a way of submerging the grill top. Brewers use this to clean fermenters and other equipment.
Would it be safe/feasible to use a butane or propane torch for that? Would there be an issue of carcinogenic residue? If not, then a handheld torch is cheap and easy to use, and goes well last 700 degrees.
Yes, but it'd be very slow. Lye would be much more effective. But any solution strong enough to saponify the grease will be strong enough to damage your skin, so use gloves.