When and How to Clean Smoker

I don't worry a lot about cleaning...unless I have been smoking FISH. Then I scrape and scrub and heat the box to 350 for about 45 min.

[Chef Country]

i just take a wire brush the the grates when i start it up, i open up the valve when im done with a big smoke

[The Grill Sergeant]

One of my grills is over 20 years old and I've scraped off some of the residue, say a half dozen times. I think it adds flavor & character to the various cuts of meat. With my smoker I will clean the water pan each time, but since I'm now "foiling" I suspect that's a thing of the past.

Scrape the food racks each time... empty the ash pan when full.

[Chef Country]

i clean mine every other cook, change the foil on the drip pan, and shop vac the ashes out

[boatnut]

i empty ashes in WSM but other then grates and water pan, I don't clean any of my 3 smokers. I consider it "seasoning" :)

[jestridge]

I burn my smoker out, get the heat up to around 5oo+ . sometime I will use a pressure washer

[Mister Bob]

I torch and brush the grates after every cook. Every few cooks, I remove the grates and power wash them (no soap). That's when I scrape out and hose the bottom of the smoke chamber. I remove the ashes from the fire chamber after every cook. Not only does it keep the bottom from rotting out, it also keeps the air flowing well and give me consistent temperatures throughout every cook.

[tjus77]

funny you should ask, I cleaned mine yesterday for the first time in a year. i scrape out the crude from the bottom. torch the rest of the inside then scrape lightly with a scraper or wire brush. torch the grates before every cook and brush with wire brush. I don't clean the grates after a cook because the grease keeps them from rusting. no power washing and never soap, just like a cast iron skillet.

[Mitch]

I scrape grates after cooking, drain the grease, and oil the firebox

[Boshizzle]

I clean my UDS by just rinsing the inside with the hose and letting it dry. Then, I rub it down inside with vegetable oil. I wash the grates with soap and hot water then rub them down with oil.

I clean the inside of my Bubba Kegs by brushing out all the ash then rubbing the inside down with vegetable oil. I clean the grates by cranking up the temp to as close to 800 F as I can get and brushing them. Then, I cool it down and rub the grates with vegetable oil. I clean the outside with disinfectant kitchen cleaner.

[cookingdude555]

I know I am going to make some people upset, but I clean mine for the same reason that I clean my dishes. I dont think old food and crud gives the new food on my plate any character or taste that I want in there. Thats just me, YMMV.

As far as cleaning goes, I like to get to high heat and just burn it off, and then brush the old gunk powder off, good as new. Stubborn stuff might need a grill brush. Thats about it.

[CBQ]

2003 -> 2010 quite a bump.

After doing a comp cook, grilling events, maybe a people's choice or two, I think my smoker needs some cleaning.

I pressure wash the junk off, then spray a degreaser on, then pressure wash again with fresh water, wait for everything to dry, and then spray on food service grade PAM.

Overkill? Need to reseason? After 5 years of this, my grates are clean enough to eat of off and there are NO rust spots on the grates anywhere. Covering them completely in fresh oil every time seems to be all it needs. (They are regular (non-stainless) steel expanded metal grates.)

I guess I really don't understand why the residue of a brisket I cooked 10 weeks earlier is going to help my flavor.

[cheez]

I was thinking the same thing, quite a bump!

I scrape all of the ash out, sometimes I sprinkle it in the bottom of the cooking chamber (Bandera) first and let it soak up the grease. I scrape that out quite well. The racks get left as is until next time I cook - it's then that I put them on the gasser, along with an upside-down water pan (wiped out), and turn the burners up high. This is about the only work my old gasser gets any more! When all of the smoke is gone, wire brush the grates. I think the grease, etc. protects them... after the wire brushing, my grates still look new, even though they are more than seven years old. I do occasionally scrape down the walls of the cook chamber, because I find some dry stuff that hangs on there occasionally (maybe creosote? yuck! So THAT's why we wait for the thin blue smoke :-) ) Never any water here...hell, I hate if if it even drizzles on it.

[Bertha's BBQ]

I heat her up for an hour before I cook till grease starts dripping out....then I throw the meat to her........the grill that is.

[captndan]

Too much science here. I don't clean I scrape. And only around the lid when it starts to get hard to close.