Musty Stanky Cook Chamber

[G$]

Only thing in my smoke chamber this weekend is a little bit of a musty stank. Anything that I should do about that in between cooks?

[tommykendall]

I split this post from "What's in Your Cooker". It's a great question, applicable to everyone on the board, and should be a good thread.

[G$]

Thanks tk, knew I was hijacking.

[tommykendall]

I'm surprised you get such a smell in Aridzona, especially in between cooks. I've never had that happen. Perhaps you didn't season the cooker well from the get go, or you left something nasty in the chamber at one point. How is the cooker stored? All should really need to do between cooks is rid the chamber of excess grease, clean the water pan if you go one, and clean your grates a bit. The smell of cooker between cooks should smell like, a smoker oddly enough. I wonder if what you smell is normal and you just don't know it. Do you see fungus growing, or maybe see BRD's old teeth protruding from the baked in sides? IF it doesn't smell right - I'll trust your judgement and recommend that you clean it real well with a pressure washer, or simple green (or other degreaser) and a hose, then reseason it.

[Wayne]

When this happens to me I clean it out really good. If I decide to use soap then I re-season the pit. Somebody else might have a less drastic method but that is what has worked for me. Left over grease can get rancid or moldy. Even if you think you are getting it clean you might be missing some of the harder to reach spots.

[Wayne]

:twisted:

[G$]

Thanks folk, we have had a wet spell this week, which may have contributed. I have been keeping it under a covered porch.

The odor is like wet smoked wood, not real stanky, but not a "clean smoke" smell either. I do believe the culprit may be some grease that got somewhere I missed. It is surely not the grates - they are sparkling . I'll check it out tommorrow, and probably (reluctantly) clean and re-season it.

[jeffsasmokin]

I agree with Wayne...........possibly old renderings that have gotten rancid.

[BigBelly]

I use Simple Green. It is environmentally safe (good for all the tree huggers) and cuts right through the grease. As Wayne said that grease can get rancid and does contribute to the nasty odor. My Dera gets quite smelly because I do use a tarp to cover it when it is not in use to prevent rust.

Just clean it out after every two cooking sessions and re-season.

[parrothead]

Be prepared to get a fire going as soon as you are done cleaning. You want to dry the beast out quickly to prevent the influx of cancer.