How to clean a smoker...

lcbateman3

lcbateman3

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Question....again...go figure

FIL gave me a Brinkman smoker. Nothing real fancy one of the rectangle ones with the full door said he couldn't ever get it to work right, so I'm going to try it out.

Problem is he never cleaned it out since he last used it. Any good way of cleaning the junk out?

Thanks!
 
Fire fire and more fire to start with then steel wool, wire brush or a wire wheel on a drill it it's really tough then season it again.
 
Incinerate is the best method. Build a fire and get it really hot. Use charcoal let it burn for a while. This should reduce any old left over food matter reduced to ash. At the same time this will kill any bacteria and other harmful stuff that might be present in the cooking chamber. Even if you do a good cleaning after each use this is still the best way to sanatize the pit before you use it the next time. I like to do the this trick right before using the pit for cooking. It also preheats the oven and gets it ready to cook whatever you desire and produce tasty and safe parts of various types of dead animals.

On my Weber grill I use a propane torch to treat the actual grill.

Enjoy.
 
A good hot fire should be all you need. You could probably rinse it out with a hose if it's really bad. It doesn't have to be spotless. Just get anything that comes in to contact with the food good and hot then clean with a wire brush.
 
Convince your next door neighbor that you're having the best time of your life using
the wire brush on it, and see if he'll offer you a beer if he can take over.
 
Use a heavy duty oven cleaner or lye on the greasy stuff, rinse it off and repeat if needed. That should get all or almost all the gunk off. I use a pressure washer on the rest. Car wash is a good idea too.


Chuck
 
Look for a local Soda Blaster. I done this, it works. Will make your cooker like brand new and you can re-season it the way you want.

Its Baking Soda. Actually Sodium Bicarbonate. Its a larger grain than the stuff on the shelf. Completely safe, doesnt harm the metal, clean up after the blast can be done with a garden hose.
 
Be careful with that 'real hot fire' thing. If it's greasy and the grease catches fire you can easily burn the paint off your pit. Trust me. ;)
 
Arlin_MacRae said:
Be careful with that 'real hot fire' thing. If it's greasy and the grease catches fire you can easily burn the paint off your pit. Trust me. ;)
Click to expand...

I always figured that was the reason they sold high heat spray paint so I could repaint at least once a year. :biggrin:
 
Nothing excessive is needed. Just scrape of excess grease and char (with a putty knife) and wipe with paper towels. It's a dirty job but I only need to do it twice a year at most.
 
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