Cleaning electric smoker - fish smell and taste👃

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smokybeard

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2022
1
0
I recently used oven cleaner and detail cleaned my entire smoker because I have done nothing but smoke salmon and tuna in it for years, and I wanna be able to smoke meat in it without the fish smell and taste. After all my cleaning, it still smells like fish - Any recommendations on how to remove the fish smell

I have used apple cider vinegar with warm water, I boiled lemon juice in it, and I used a commercial oven cleaner called members mark commercial
 
Not cleaning but I would get some old cheap fatty meat and a strong smelling wood like mesquite or hickory and just smoke and season the smoker. One smell will usually cover up the other. Repeat as necessary.
OR!
Buy another smoker just for meat:emoji_wink:
 
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I cold smoke my fish in a cheap weber knock off. I don't want fish in my good smoker.
 
What smoker? If it's a wood smoker, I'd do like old sarge old sarge suggested and burn some strong wood in it. Maybe use green or unseasoned wood and forget the thin blue smoke, have that thing rolling thick white smoke. Repeat as necessary, but it may take several times.

The more expensive route would be to buy another smoker specifically for meat, as others have suggested...
 
Since you've already used oven cleaner, you could try this odor eliminator.
It may take repeated spray applications to neutralize the fish odor.
Let the spray dry then rinse the inside really good with water.
Let the smoker completely dry out with door open for a day or two.
Then do a burnout at 275° with no wood for an hour.
If the fish smell is gone, then reseason with wood smoke.

 
If you still smoke a fair amount of fish, then yes, keep it dedicated for that. My MES40 is dedicated to fish.
 
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Dedicated fish smoker is the only way to go.. I've had one for 30+ years..

Totem Smoker.JPG



In the Smoker.JPG
 
Fire is your Friend. Get the smelly smoker as hot as you can; you want the flames lapping at the walls. If painted, you want the paint to bubble off.
If an offset, have a fire in both chambers.
It might work.
But I agree; fish needs its own smoker.
 
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