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Q-talk *ON TOPIC ONLY* QUALITY ON TOPIC discussion of Backyard BBQ, grilling, equipment and outdoor cookin' . ** Other cooking techniques are welcomed for when your cookin' in the kitchen. Post your hints, tips, tricks & techniques, success, failures, but stay on topic and watch for that hijacking. |
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11-11-2003, 05:24 PM | #1 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 10-17-03
Location: small town South Dakota
Name/Nickname : Todd
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When and How to Clean Smoker
How often do you clean your smoker? And what is the best way to do it?
I don't have a drain valve in the bottom of my smoke chamber yet but I do have 2 small drain holes drilled. I usually spray mine down with Simple Green then let it sit for about 15 min. come back and scrape the walls, top, and bottom, then spray again and let sit 15 min. Then spray it with the garden hose. It does an O-K job but I feel like it should be cleaner. Any help or Ideas would be great. |
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11-11-2003, 05:55 PM | #2 |
is One Chatty Farker
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Coldwater, MS (just south of Memphis)
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I clean my smoker after I've taken the meat off to rest. That's the perfect time to do it and it helps make sure you don't go out there a week later and find some sort of wicked biology experiment growing in there.
Open the smoke chamber, dump the water pan, wash it out and set on top of the fire box to dry. Spray the racks, walls and bottom with a water hose and use a grill brush if necessary. Put the water pan back in place, let the whole thing dry and then spray with a light coating of veggie oil or Pam spray. Go back the next day or after the fire is out and dump the ashes. Ashes left in a firebox, especially in a humid environment, only accelerates the rust through process.
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Richie Perfect Smoke BBQ Team Pork Me Baby BBQ Team Coldwater, MS (just south of Memphis) KCBS CBJ #7595 NB Bandera Mod E Custom Drum Smoker 18" Weber Smoky Mountain Weber Kettle One Touch Silver |
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11-12-2003, 01:03 AM | #3 |
Grand Poobah and Site Admin
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Long Island, NY
Name/Nickname : Phil
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personally, the extent of cleaning MAY be a quick shot with the hose. At the beginning of the season, i will give it a light scraping with a trowel to get off the big buildup, or pressure wash it when I do the lawn furniture, but after that, i leave the stuff in there most of the season. After I cook, and its still hot, a quick hose shot or wipe down is it for me. Anytime you use soap, means ya gotta reseason.
Ashes however, go right away.. they contain lye which will eat thru the firebox.
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Site Administrator and Grand PooBah CBJ with a Fuzzy Blue Hat, 18 Foot Competition Trailer, Customized Klose BYC, Custom Built Shirley built to feed our Veterans(A.K.A "Abrams"), 1 Double Barreled Lang 84, 1 Heavily Modified Bionic Bandera, 1 Custom Super Medium Stickburning Spicewine w/stoker, 2 XL BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 2 Pit Barrel Cookers, 3 WSMs, 3 Weber Kettles, an NB Hondo, A Modified Brinkman Horizontal, DCS 48" Grill, a Broilmaster P3, a Blackstone 36 and 17, a covered, pellet pooping FEC100, and our duck died. :( News Flash: "A mans worth is judged by the weight of his integrity " You know your getting older when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy Smoke on KC. WWW.BBQ-BRETHREN.COM |
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Thanks from:---> |
11-12-2003, 07:31 AM | #4 |
somebody shut me the fark up.
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Chicago Southwestern Burbs, but always south of Madison Ave.
Name/Nickname : Professor Dickweed
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I use a variation of Phils method.
My method varies in the fact that I have never used a hose, towel, trowel, etc. Now that is partly since my unit is only 1 year old, and is only used, on average 1 time a month in the Winter/Spring 2-3 times month in Summer/Fall. I use heavy duty foil on the bottom and change that each and every time, but thats it for the walls. Racks come out each and every time for a full scrubbing. I never leave my racks go. So most of the fat is cleaned up. Water pan clean, foil on bottom changed, and anything that hits the baffle just sizzles right off in the cook process. Once the coals are about gone, I dump them and the ashes into a pile in the garden. Use those big blue leather gloves in the Bash Pics. No need to wait for the grates to cool down. Then I take the hair dryer that I have just for cooking purposes (read: end is all deformed from the farking heat while turbo igniting coals in the charcoal pan of the WSM or ECB) and blow all that ash out of the firebox. twice a season, I will take the hose to the inside of the firebox, just because all that peeling paint and crap I wanted to get out. Then dry it real good to fight the rust. I use an oversize grill cover for like a big ass Weber gas grill, and it covers the Bandit nicely.
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. Bill-Chicago The death of "willkat98" Me: If you aren't woke, that means you're still sleeping, right? Kid today: That's racist! Bandera, M-BGE, WSM, Gold Kettle, Kenmore Gasser, 36Qt Turkey Fryer, ECB, Dutch Oven, Black Iron BBQ Viper-M, Blackstone 36" Griddle |
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11-12-2003, 08:41 AM | #5 |
Got Wood.
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Colbert, GA
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I do about like Phil does, I have had mine for about 4 or 5 yrs now & have only did a quick wipe out of the build up when it gets to that point, but I use mine year round so it never gets to sit long enough.
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11-12-2003, 11:39 AM | #6 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 10-17-03
Location: small town South Dakota
Name/Nickname : Todd
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Thanks for all the info guys! I will have to try out some of the ideas next time I clean mine. Winter has allready set in up here so I can't hose it down untill spring, I guess I will have to just keep scraping it out till then.
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11-12-2003, 11:45 AM | #7 | |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 08-11-03
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Quote:
Going to let a little cold weather stop ya ? |
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11-12-2003, 12:17 PM | #8 |
On the road to being a farker
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Carrollton,TX
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You mean you have to clean it?
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Mark Original made in USA Banderamod, WSM, Patio grill, gasser, lots of cold cheap beer |
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Thanks from:---> |
11-12-2003, 07:44 PM | #9 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 08-11-03
Location: Beaverton, OR
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Clean IT??? The farking thing is self cleaning.
I put all the grates over the fire and put the water pan above that to burn off any nasties, at the start of each cook. I did line the bottom of the smokebox with a foil "tray", to keep the crap from dripping out, but I've never had the need to really replace that. Every once in awhile the fire is too hot and takes care of that foil just fine on it's own.
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David - Beaverton Steelhead Stats 2010: maybe I'll get around to buying a license this year! 2009: well, you'd need to actually go fishing to have stats :( 2008: David 0, Steelhead 1 2007: David 0, Steelhead 2 |
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11-14-2003, 11:34 AM | #10 | |
Found some matches.
Join Date: 08-25-03
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Quote:
I shovel out my ashes and burn the crud off my grill-grid thingys, toss a tarp over it and run! 'Course I don't have a Bandera either, but I don't reckon there's THAT much difference. There's a stray dog in the neighborhood; I reckoned if the grease built up in the bottom I'd just shove him in there and close the lid on him a while. That'd do it, wunnit? Melis
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"Smokin!" |
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11-14-2003, 11:16 PM | #11 |
On the road to being a farker
Join Date: 09-02-03
Location: Michigan / Arkansas
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Yup. I've never "cleaned" anything except the grates and waterpan. I change out the double foil bottom liner every whenever it needs it. You open up the door and it smells sweet as honey. After all this time of getting this clean self-sustaining environment going on in there, I'm not messing with it.
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It was like this when I got here. Well, ...mostly. |
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11-15-2003, 07:53 AM | #12 |
Found some matches.
Join Date: 08-25-03
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seriously, that's all I do too. I reckon I'll know when it needs cleaning, like you, by the smell.
If we're wrong they can bury us in the same hole I guess. M
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"Smokin!" |
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11-15-2003, 12:46 PM | #13 |
Full Fledged Farker
Join Date: 10-17-03
Location: small town South Dakota
Name/Nickname : Todd
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As I mentioned above winter has set in already so I think I will put the grates and water pan over the fire to burn off the crud, I will worry about cleaning it "real good" next spring.
Thanks again for all the tips. |
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11-15-2003, 03:49 PM | #14 |
somebody shut me the fark up.
Join Date: 08-13-03
Location: Clearwater, FL
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Because of the small size of my ECB I clean the grills every time I cook (sometimes before, sometimes after :D). I empty the water pan and clean it with soap and water each time (I admit I let it get nasty pretty often -- can't clean it hot and often don't clean it the next day either).
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Dave Southern Brethren BBQ Competition Team "It's all about getting paid!" - Myron Mixon "I love being hated in my hometown!" - David Hair KingFisher Gator Rotisserie cooker (RIP), WSM (RIP), Stainless 5 burner with IR gas grill (RIP), Turkey Fryer, Weber JD Commemorative grill (RIP), Masterbuilt 40" insulated ELECTRIC smoker (new heating element), Pit Boss Tailgater pellet pooper. |
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11-16-2003, 08:03 AM | #15 |
is one Smokin' Farker
Join Date: 08-11-03
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Have not cleaned my water pan since I have had the smoker.
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