SMOKER CLEANING

smokeluver · May 19, 2013

I wouldnt clean it. if you can walk by it and smell smoke, even when its not lit. that is a well seasoned smoker and that is where alot of your flavor comes from.

gary s · Jun 17, 2013

Again, I am not sure about electric smokers since I have never owned one. The smoker I am using right now is a reverse flow that my son and I made. After each cook and while it is hot I get the water hose with the sprayer and just spray out the inside and grates, not full blast just a hard mist. This causes lots of steam and gets rid of all the bad stuff. It never washes off the seasoning or aroma. I guess if you used a pressure washer you might get it back to bare metal, but that is not what I would do or expect anyone to do. Misting out the inside while hot get rid of the creosote buildup and the grease you don't want to build up. You can go out and open the door on my smoker anytime and it smells just like you want it to. So unless you over do it, use chemicals or a pressure washer cleaning after each use just helps. I usually use my weed burner to start my fire. I'll go over the grates and inside each time I fire it up. This does a couple of things. Gets rid of anything I missed when I rinsed it out. And gets the grates and inside up to temp quicker. Also every so often I pull out my racks and my plates in the bottom and give that a good scraping out than rinsed with the water hose. Depending on how mush you smoke determines how much build up you will get. I use mine quite a bit so I build up pretty fast. Just saying keep an eye on it and clean that part when you think it's time. I do have my plates at a 1/2" drop toward the drain and have the firebox end a little higher but you will still get some buildup under there over time. I have found that if this part stays pretty clean my smoker gets hotter faster and maintains heat better. Anyway just finished cleaning it. Cooking Brisket and Beef ribs Wednesday.

.

gary s · Jun 17, 2013

I noticed a couple of pictures that had a lot of buildup on the door (creosote) one thing may be burning too green a wood and wood types. I usually use pecan, hickory or oak and sometimes fruit wood I try to make sure that my wood is at least 10 to 12 months old. Just a thought

palladini · Jun 28, 2013

deersmoker58 said:
The racks i throw in the gas grill and on high and burn it off. then just use the grill brush on them. I clean the window of the MES every few smokes and around the door seal. When the walls get too much build will knock it down some but never fully clean it.

I did that with my MES smoker after the first smoke, threw them on BBQ, High Heat. Next time I went to smoke, my racks were all rusted. Contacted MasterBuilt, they never to do that, it burns the coating off of the racks. Anyway, they are sending me new racks. Thank You MasterBuilt.

palladini · Jun 28, 2013

Semper Fi said:
I've never noticed an off taste, but then again, smoking is an excuse to drink beer!

I've had my MES30 for two years and only clean the grids and water pan. I use Grease Off, let 'em stand for a couple minutes, then hit them with a green scouring pad and rinse. Never noticed any build up. 'Course I;ve never looked either.

SF

p.s. I'm 68 and still living................. how much more proof ya need???

You do it drinking beer, that's your choice. I cannot drink beer, if I do, I am sick for several days. I used to drink beer in my younger days, but over the past several years it has turned against me. Any way, Rum and Coke tastes better.

My smoker i clean the racks, water bowl and drip pan in the Sink, I take a bucket of warm soapy water to inside of smoker and door and window. Cleans all the stuff off the walls that wet smoking leaves on them.

saltydawg1 · Jun 29, 2013

All of my smokers electric and wood, I clean the racks every smoke, the walls I scrape the scale off as needed

ribwizzard · Jul 1, 2013

I leave them "dirty" after cooking, until getting ready to smoke again....then I will pull all racks and pans and pressure wash everything out ( no soap, just hot high pressure water), on the smaller smokers I will just use a garden hose. Once I get everything clean, I then heat them up to around 400* for a few minutes and let all the water steam out, then spray a light coat of veg. oil on the inside before loading the meat.

The only flavoring I want from the smoker is the sweet wood flavoring from the smoke, ...I don't wanting to be tasting char grilled cockroach's, sizzling ants, rancid chicken fat or anything else that was left or crawled in there.

whyssper · Dec 8, 2013

We had this same conversation at work today.. My buddy says he cleans his MES 40 and his window too after I commented I had one as well but the window was of little use after the first few smokes.. He said he cleaned his after ever smoke and wiped the side walls down. I was like...... thats where all the flavor comes from. But I would like to get the window a bit more useful. Just to chime in though, i scrape the worst off of the grates and the pan.. bout it.

ole smoke · Dec 8, 2013

How about a new grill haven't used yet. Sat out side and it rained now have some rust in the bottom of cook chamber.I have an okie joe.what can I use to clean the rust that won't be bad for cooking.

jarjarchef · Dec 8, 2013

Ole Smoke said:
How about a new grill haven't used yet. Sat out side and it rained now have some rust in the bottom of cook chamber.I have an okie joe.what can I use to clean the rust that won't be bad for cooking.

I would use a green scrubby with some mild soap and water. Then heat it up and wipe some vegetable oil over the surface to season it like cast iron.

urbotrimmm · Dec 8, 2013

I have 2-7' reverse flows on a trailer and Faithfully totally clean the inside every other cook. I scrape out the bottom and powerwash with hot water the whole inside and racks. No soap or chemicals. Stays seasoned but removes the debris that could taint my next smokeout.

gary s · Dec 9, 2013

It seems like this discussion will go on forever, since there are so many opinion's on whether to clean or not clean ! I posted my comments to this thread back in June. Again I am not saying take it down to the bare metal, just keep it clean. If you seasoned your smoker and have cooked on it several times, trust me spraying it out with the water house Will Not wash away your smell or seasoned CC coating. The smoker I am using now is a little over 3 years old, every time I am finished smoking I wash it out with the water hose, you can walk out there right now and open the door and it smells like I just cooked on it. Another of my 2 cents worth !!!

Gary

ribwizzard · Dec 9, 2013

If they don't want to clean it, you cant make them! I clean mine because I share my food with friends and I feel responsible for their health.

magslam · Dec 9, 2013

Here's a great amount of useful info, including cleaning, from one of the greatest out there.

Enjoy it!!

bruno994 · Dec 9, 2013

I clean mine in between cooks. Usually in the evening when I get home from work, just to get out of the house and be around my smoker. Scrape the RF plate free from all loose fat drippings and meat particles, but not the seasoning, wire brush the grates, then build a small fire, drain the heated up grease out and give it a few squirts with the water hose to steam clean a bit.

As far as creosote, it is a naturally occurring by product of burning wood. The hotter you burn wood (more oxygen to the fire), the less creosote you will build up. This is why you will find on this site most people recommend a thin blue smoke, not a heavy, white plume. I actually prefer to see very little smoke coming out of my exhaust, Ninja smoke some like to call it. Just because you don't see smoke, your still smoking, as long as your cooking with wood.

gary s · Dec 9, 2013

R W I agree, I have a couple of friends that never clean their smokers, (I don't eat their BBQ) funny about things like that.

Gary

electricsmokin · Dec 9, 2013

I cleaned my smoker after about 10 smokes started with the window but kept on cleanin.rinsed real good and re seasoned it,done,its already dirty again,I think a wood box and a electric skillet would be more easy to not worry about,just leave it dirty.......My nice masterbuilt smoker is something i must maintain for its good looks.

ribwizzard · Dec 10, 2013

Well, you don't soak and scrub a cast iron skillet, but you at least rinse it well, wipe it clean and burn off the crap before cooking on it again, ......I look at the smoker the same way! I'm not saying to spray it down with oven cleaner or anything, but you should at least rinse out all the juices , and tid bits, and scrub the crud off of the cooking racks. Nothing worst than laying a fresh piece of meat on a rack and having nasty black lines on it before it even has started cooking. That's just plain nastiness! Yuck!

gary s · Dec 10, 2013

Nasty and lazy. I was talking to a guy about a year or so ago about cleaning Smoker pits, There was another guy standing there who chimed in saying "never clean your smoker" you don't want to wash all that good build-up away, That his parents have a BBQ place in Ft. Worth and never clean their pit, needless to say we had a pretty heated discussion with me finally asking where his parents BBQ place was, he asked so you can try them out? I sand NO so I will know not to eat there. I have seen a BBQ joint in Longview (years ago) who didn't clean their pit regularly and had a lot of grease buildup, caught on fire, burnt up the pit and most of the restaurant. Bad deal. Anyway my 2 cents worth again.

Gary

humperdump · Dec 10, 2013

I live in the damp Pacific NW and to make matters worse for mold, I have waterfront property on Puget Sound. If I dont use either my kettle or smoker (WSM) often, I am fighting mold. Even though I think that I have them clean, after sitting over the winter, I find mold every where. Any thought on how to eliminate or reduce the problem???

SMOKER CLEANING

Newbie

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Smoking Fanatic

Smoking Fanatic

Newbie

Master of the Pit

Newbie

Newbie

Master of the Pit

Meat Mopper

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Master of the Pit

Smoke Blower

Master of the Pit

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Newbie

Master of the Pit

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Newbie

Similar threads

Hot Threads

Featured A couple thick strips please!