Unscented kitty litter in a drum smoker?

[Kaptain Kadian]

I have seen a few videos of people using kitty litter or oil dry in the bottom of their drum smoker to soak up the grease and ease of clean up? Do any of you use it in your drums? I have been cooking on drums for years and have never done it. I cooked 3 pork butts on Friday night and today I went to use my drum again and it a a ton of grease in the bottom of it and it got me thinking about using it. Thanks.

 

[mchar69]

I get enough ashes that I don't have the grease issue. I don't see why the litter would be a problem. Are you going to vacuum it out or use a hoe or other shovel?

 

[Kaptain Kadian]

I get enough ashes that I don't have the grease issue. I don't see why the litter would be a problem. Are you going to vacuum it out or use a hoe or other shovel?

I was going to shop vac it out or dump it out and rinse it with water.

 

[ronbrad62]

I have no idea what the cat litter is made of, I've never looked into it, but I would use sawdust before I put cat litter in there. I would just feel better knowing the sawdust was a natural product. Let us know what you decide and how it works for you.

 

[LloydQ]

I have no idea what the cat litter is made of, I've never looked into it, but I would use sawdust before I put cat litter in there. I would just feel better knowing the sawdust was a natural product. Let us know what you decide and how it works for you.

I think kitty litter is mostly clay.

 

[Mikhail]

Yeah, it's the same thing as oil dry. I don't think the grease would be wet enough to be absorbed. Seems like power washing would be better.

 

[midwest_kc]

I do. I find it helps out a lot, especially with fattier cuts like Pork Butt. I use oil dry. The stuff I get at the auto store is even NSF certified, so I have no concern over using it.

 

[K-Train]

I use Oil Dry. I also have a gateway drums tool that cleans the bottom of the drum. Works well, just scoop out clumps where drippings have fallen., replace with new oil dry.

 

[mchar69]

It's not like you are eating the stuff!! OP, have you tried using a garden hoe to remove your ash? I don't like dumping because it gets all over the sides and then you have to clean that as well.

 

[Mikhail]

I use Oil Dry. I also have a gateway drums tool that cleans the bottom of the drum. Works well, just scoop out clumps where drippings have fallen., replace with new oil dry.

Oh, you are putting it in before the cook. That makes much more sense. I was thinking using it afterward.

 

[NCGrimbo]

I use it when I drain the grease cup for my Yoder. I pour the grease in an old tin and then pour in some kitty litter so that I can chunk it all in the trash. If you can dig it out of the bottom of the UDS, then it would probably work fine.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I spend a great deal of my spare time involving cat litter. OK, just some of my spare time, but it seems like a lot.



But we use the unscented stuff for our cat and I don't think I'd want it in my smoker. There's dust everywhere. Maybe it's safe but it reminds me of the dust from a gravel road.



Maybe if you put it in a dish and slowly put the dish in the drum. But if you just dumped a couple of gallons of the stuff in the bottom of the drum, I'd expect there to be a fine layer of dust inside the entire drum.

 

[Kaptain Kadian]

It's not like you are eating the stuff!! OP, have you tried using a garden hoe to remove your ash? I don't like dumping because it gets all over the sides and then you have to clean that as well.

Yes, I have a tool that I use to clean up the ash. I don't have much ash in the bottom of my drums because I put a pan on the bottom of my charcoal basket to collect the ash.

 

[Kaptain Kadian]

I do. I find it helps out a lot, especially with fattier cuts like Pork Butt. I use oil dry. The stuff I get at the auto store is even NSF certified, so I have no concern over using it.

How many cooks do you do before you change it out?

 

[midwest_kc]

How many cooks do you do before you change it out?

I try to clean it out every time, and just add a little on top. Probably every 4 or 5 cooks though I deep clean it, and it all comes out and I put new down.

The comp drums are cleaned before every contest, though.

 

[patrickd26]

Putting food safe oil-dry (it’s labeled on the bag) is what a lot of comp guys do. It certainly makes a difference on flare-ups, and it makes clean-up a snap. I highly recommend.

 

[Nuco59]

I only do one or 2 butts at a time- most of grease flashes off the lit embers. I usually have a bag of charcoal ashes laying around - like most charcoal folks. If I have any pooling, I pull the basket, sprinkle some of the ashes in the bottom and scoop the solids out with a contraption I made (looks like scoop on a stick).

it works