Cleaning inside of Masterbuilt smoker? Do or Don't?

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kudu2222

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 28, 2014
11
10
I have a 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker, After the smoking process I generally put all the removable items in the dish washer and wash out the inside of the smoker with soapy water. I try to get the side walls, back and pay special attention to the glass door and seal. My question is should I allow the side and back walls to accumulate smoke residue? My thinking is this would create an extra seasoning affect for the smoker. Do most of you wash down the side walls?
 
I do not wash the inside of my smoker.  I do clean up any mess on the bottom and of course the Racks.  Put it this way.....have you ever watched a BBQ show and seen those Decades old smokers they use?  They are black as coal.    Since you have a glass door I would clean that but leave the rest to it's own devices. 

A shiny box is an unhappy box
biggrin.gif
 
Thank you PadronMan, That was kind of my thinking, but I wanted some validation. Yes to paying special attention to the door and seals. Thanks again
 
As your seals go too....I might mention NOT to run your therm probe wire across the door seal.  Always run it thru the vent :icon_confused:

I run my probes through the door all the time. No problems.
 
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My door leaks terrible anyway. That's why I am building electra.
 
I am having an electrical problem with my 40" MES right now.  In the short ten months or so that I have owned it, I just clean the racks and foil the bottom as Padronman stated.  With the moisture issues these MES apparently are susceptible to, I will not use liquid to clean the inside.
 
I called Masterbuilt this morning.  I spoke with a young lady who was extremely polite and  helpful.  She asked me a couple of questions and put me on hold for 30 seconds.  She came back on the line and gave me an authorization number and instructions to return the plug and data plate to her.  They are shipping me a brand new unit.  She said it is not a moisture issue but a wiring issue.  Obviously I am quite pleased with this interaction with the company.

So KUDU2222,  I guess I did not have a moisture issue after all,  so I suggest power washing your unit every time you are finished.   
drool.gif
  Just kidding.
 
 
I have a 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker, After the smoking process I generally put all the removable items in the dish washer and wash out the inside of the smoker with soapy water. I try to get the side walls, back and pay special attention to the glass door and seal. My question is should I allow the side and back walls to accumulate smoke residue? My thinking is this would create an extra seasoning affect for the smoker. Do most of you wash down the side walls?
I've begun wiping down the interior walls of my MES 30 with a damp paper towel after each smoke or after a couple--depending on how lazy I am the next day after smoking.  For me, I found that the food stopped having that harsh, oversmoked taste when I started wiping off the excess residue. I also wipe down anything with meat drippings.

Another reason why I clean the interior is because a few weeks ago I smoked cheese and when placing the cheeses in the top rack my forearm brushed against the ceiling and all this black residue fell down onto the cheeses leaving nice, black specks on both sides. The cheeses turned out great but I have to thinly slice off both surfaces before using the cheeses for meals or for snacking. That's more than enough incentive to keep the MES clean inside.

Being a 30", dried food will typically be stuck to the walls because the smoker wasn't wide enough for the racks of pork ribs or a beef brisket (they usually shrink enough so that halfway through the smoke the meat no longer touches the walls). I've had my smoker for three years so the interior is well-seasoned. I also ran the racks through our dishwasher the first time I used them but now I just hand clean them in our kitchen sink with soap and hot water, a couple of scraping tools, and a soft scrub sponge. I wash the drip pan the same way if it has fresh goop.
 
I clean my racks, water pan (yeah I foil it but I'm OCD about clean dishes), drip pan (also foiled) and the chip pan (now and then when it needs it) in the sink and give the rest of the smoker a light wipe down with white vinegar the day after a smoke of something large (pork butt, brisket, anything that touches a wall). If I'm just smoking chicken thighs, bologna, fatties, etc then it might be two or three smokes before I worry about the wipedown.

I'm not trying to remove the "black" so much as just make sure I get any crusty food bits and grease out of it between smokes. No one wants a really crunchy, week old piece of pork butt falling into their chicken thighs.
 
Over the last few months...my machine is 1 year old...I've noticed a white film begin to form inside after each smoking. I keep the racks clean and water pan and funnel rack clean, but the whit remains. I'm worried that it's mold, but cant be certain. Anyone else have this issue? Am I just being paranoid? Also, my control on the 40" has been glitchy.
 
 
Over the last few months...my machine is 1 year old...I've noticed a white film begin to form inside after each smoking. I keep the racks clean and water pan and funnel rack clean, but the whit remains. I'm worried that it's mold, but cant be certain. Anyone else have this issue? Am I just being paranoid? Also, my control on the 40" has been glitchy.
No mold or white film in mine.

What part of the country do you live??

What is a Funnel Rack?

Bear
 
As said above just clean the the removable parts and the glass. You don't have to clean the glass if you don't want to. The more you use it the better it will smoke. A well seasoned smoker is something you just can't buy.

Happy smoken.

David
^^^^ Same-Same Me.

Plus wipe off any loose stuff from the walls & ceiling, so it doesn't fall on the food.

BTW: I quit cleaning the little light lens a long time ago----Not worth the effort !!!

Bear
 
Don't-  never use detergent

DO-  use 50-50 vinegar and water if you must clean the walls.

Do- clean the racks. It is not a grill that you can heat to 600+ to burn clean.

Do- brush the walls of any hanging seasoning flakes.

Do- foil everything you can.

Jted
 
 
Over the last few months...my machine is 1 year old...I've noticed a white film begin to form inside after each smoking. I keep the racks clean and water pan and funnel rack clean, but the whit remains. I'm worried that it's mold, but cant be certain. Anyone else have this issue? Am I just being paranoid? Also, my control on the 40" has been glitchy.
Interesting. I haven't had that problem with my MES 30 but I see it inside my Weber One Touch Silver charcoal kettle grill every spring after being stored in my garage all winter.
 
Wipe off the grates if it bothers you or you are worried it will bother your guests. Everything else is seasoning (adds wall thickness, insulation, plugs small holes, rust protection, etc).

If you give it a cresote bath, then you have to clean it, if you don't why fix what wasn't broken? IF you must clean it, wear gloves!

I have a neighbor who rotates the tires on his lawnmower. Seriously!  He loves the pulled pork but he'd love to chean my smoker....LOL Some folks are just ADD and need something to do. I mix him a double and after a few, he relaxes.
 
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