Cleaning your offset smoker?

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

I wanted to get some input on how people clean their smokers when done cooking?

 

[dannylang]

I add a few more sticks to in, then clean racks, and bottom of smoker with a wire brush, and use my water hose to clean out all the gunk, spray everything down with hose, and let the temp stay around 250 for about a hour and everything is clean, if you seasoned your smoker right. It will still be black in there but that’s the seasoning part of it, hope that helps.
dannylang

 

[forktender]

I no longer run an offset but did for many years. The best thing you can buy for starting your fire is a weed burner.
Which comes in handy because they are also the best way to keep the inside of the smoke box cleanish.
After every smoke fire up the weed burner and burn out the crud a good scraper and a good wire brush is also needed. I used to burn my smoker out every other time I used they then either wiped it out or hit it with a hose to clean it up. If it wasn't too dirty I'd cut a few onions in half and just wipe it down with them and call it good.

Good luck.
Vinny The Fish Hook.

 

[flatbroke]

I would answer but after seeing @73saint smoker in a photo the other day hope he chimes in. that dudes griddle was bomb. definitely need to learn the method to his madness. I thought i kept mine clean until I saw his.

 

[73saint]

My method is I get it hot to clean. Not too too hot, but at least 350. Then i remove the racks and clean them individually while the pit gets back up to temp. Meanwhile I scrape the inside of my pit real good and then I mist it clean. I use a combo of a scraper, brush and my hands. Once it’s clean, I wipe the whole inside down with my leftover bacon grease, or some high temp cooking spray and replace the racks (spray them too). Then (with a firebox pretty full of Coals and a split or two) I close off the dampers and let it smoke cure until it totally cools off. Then I cover it with a tarp. As it’s cooling I season the outside of my firebox much like the inside of my smoker.
That’s about it.

 

[73saint]

Hey fork, I learned the hard way that if you use that weed burner too much you will warp your racks. Brand new fatboy, my upper rack is a wee bit warped bc of that dang weed burner. I won’t do that again.

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

Thanks people and I watched a Lang bbq video on how he "steam cleans it" with bringing it up to temp then spraying a bit of water on the grates and shut the lid to steam clean the grates. I try and keep the bottom as clean as possible with spraying the gunk out and wiping down. I also used that half onion method to clean the grates too very good idea. Thanks everyone and if you have any more methods I'll def try them too. I guess doing something is better than nothing so your food isn't rancid.

 

[leepgm]

I add a few more sticks to in, then clean racks, and bottom of smoker with a wire brush, and use my water hose to clean out all the gunk, spray everything down with hose, and let the temp stay around 250 for about a hour and everything is clean, if you seasoned your smoker right. It will still be black in there but that’s the seasoning part of it, hope that helps.
dannylang

Quick question. Doesn't spraying out the inside of the smoker cause it to rust? I read where you should never put water inside. Also how do you drain the water out? I don't have any kind of drain inside mine.

 

[73saint]

My Lang has a grease valve. And since I am coating with cooking oil and seasoning, as well as reheating the cooker, there is no chance of rust.
I also wouldn’t recommend that method if you didn’t have some sort of a drain valve. Also, I steam clean (heat and water mist) at the advice of the fabricator that built my rig. So I would adjust my cleaning method accordingly. Simply put Id just avoid the water part if I didn’t have a good drain valve.

 

[Paulie Walnuts 440]

My smoker has a drain so I can actually lower the smoker since its on a trailer with those two front jacks and lower it to angle to drain the water and contents out