Cleaning Your Smoker

[Gonna Smoke]

So the thread by JBinGB , https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/always-check-your-grease-drains.307551/, got me to thinking and I didn't want to derail his thread. How often and how thoroughly do most here clean your smokers/grills?

For me, I remove all the ashes from mine as soon as they are cool enough to do so. For my offset, I then remove all the grates, plates, etc. and clean them as well as cleaning all of the grease out after every cook. For my grills, I scrub the grates with the wire brush while they're still hot.

I understand the importance of removing the ashes, but what is the collective thought on the cleaning after every use?

 

[JC in GB]

I scrape the racks and bottom of the smoker every time I use it. I also dispose of any ash.

Once to twice a year, I run my smoker at 375 F for an hour to burn off any residue then I scrape the entire inner surface.

JC

 

[normanaj]

Depends on the what type of smoker.

With my MES the racks,bottom of water pan get soaked in the sink with Dawn and the door(because its glass and easy) gets cleaned with a mixture of equal parts denatured alcohol/vinegar/water.I do all this after every smoke.

The chamber itself gets scraped/brush down with a plastic spatula/stiff nylon brush about every 8-10 smokes depending what was smoked.Nothing crazy just to enough to remove the loose/gross build-up.

And much like JC said I do high temp burn-off on occasion.

 

[civilsmoker]

I empty the ash pan in the fire box each time and then brush the grates clean while hot. Once cool, I scrape any remaining grease and other stuff from the cook (I do this every cook). Prior to a cook, I will get the chamber hot ie above 300 degres then I will pour some water on the RF plate and close it up to steam clean it. After that I wipe down the grates and such and then I pour some more water on the plate and run it through the drain valve.....Bingo clean and all ready to go.

 

[sawhorseray]

With my offset I take a wire brush to the grills grates and scrape any loose stuff on the inside of the CC with a putty knife every time along with emptying the firebox ashes and any grease anywhere. My Pro 100 I clean the SS racks with a SOS pad and scrape the bottom where the heating element is with the putty knife. I've never touched the inside of it other than that, after 15 years it smells delicious. The Weber? Wire brush the grill, empty the ashes. RAY

 

[GaryHibbert]

After every cook in my MES 30, I brush anything that will come off the cooking grates, and then the grates go in the dishwasher. They come out shiny and like new. Once a year I scrape down the walls and ceiling of the MES with a putty knife and vacuum out the interior. Otherwise, unless black particles start landing on the food, I just leave it alone. My big drip tray and water bowl ( full of sand) are covered with tinfoil, When they start looking too bad, I change the foil.
Gary

 

[daspyknows]

I clean the firebox and grates after every use. After 5 or 6 smokes I clean the junk out of the cooking chamber and off the deflector plate.