Creosote?

[SmokinSpartan]

I posted some photos month ago about flaking black on inside of the smoker.
I scraped most of it off, but some still remained. Did not power wash it or anything.
Just smoked a bunch of drumsticks, nothing sticking to it, but had a bit of a bitter aftertaste.
This mean I need a new smoker entirely?
power wash it then res-eason?
safe to eat the drumsticks?

any advice would help

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I do as Holly does when my smoker needs cleaning. Purple Power diluted 3 parts water to 1 part solvent and a plastic scraper and 0000 steel wool. Afterwards I'll do a quick "burn in" to bake away any left over solvents.

If you are getting a funky aftertaste, I would look at the smokewood you are using.

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

I wonder how open your vents are. Is there good airflow so the meat is continuously getting new smoke or is the old smoke hanging around in there getting nasty?

 

[chopsaw]

Did I miss what smoker you are using ? I scrape off the flake / loose stuff , but no way would I remove what took me years to season the smoker . I use a MES 30 .

 

[indaswamp]

X2 chopsaw...

 

[GATOR240]

X3

 

[SmokinSpartan]

Masterbuilt Pro - electric.
vent has been fully open for entirety of the 3 years I have had smoker.
used mesquite wood shavings.
From what I have researched, I just utilized too many shavings.
Used to use the smaller pieces, but got these for first time.

as for cleaning, I have yet to clean the smoker.
All I have done is scrape off what is flaking on the inside of the smoker, wipe down with wet paper towel, then keep smoking.

 

[SmokinSpartan]

You don't need a new smoker and yes the drummies are safe to eat. if they were handled properly throughout the smoking process.

Walk us through you process from unwrapping the chicken to putting on a plate to serve. Times temperatures, spices etc.

Where are you generating smoke from and want are you using for smoke. Wood pellets, wood chunks, wood chips, wood dust? What type of wood? This is most likely the culprit of the acrid taste.

Purple Power cleaner available in every WalMart in he automotive section id $5 a gallon and diluted makes a lot more. It makes short work of fats, grease, creosote etc. Sprat it on 50/50 let It dwell for a few minutes and rinse. The black ooze will flow. Reapply as needed until cleaned to your satisfied.

power washer or just a hose?

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

I would be very cautious washing an electric smoker. It's very hard to make sure all of those connections stay dry and don't rust. I've also found Mesquite to be rather acrid when it comes to smokewood. Try some applewood next time for drummies.

 

[johnmeyer]

I too agree with chopsaw, but only if the seasoning on the inside of your smoker is "good stuff." In my case, during the first six months I owned my MES, I did a lot of things wrong: I soaked the chips; used the MES chip burner rather than AMNPS; and then used the AMNPS inside the smoker rather than in a mailbox mod. The result was that I built up a LOT of shiny black creosote, and the bitter, numbing taste from this gunk continued to "infect" my subsequent smokes.

I finally decided to clean off all that gunk. That work made a huge difference in the quality of my smoking after that point. Everything tasted much better. The seasoning I built up after that point is good stuff, and I have no need or desire to remove it.

I wrote about all of this in the following thread:

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness ... But Does It Taste Good?

 

[chopsaw]

but only if the seasoning on the inside of your smoker is "good stuff."

True statement . I agree . Early on I had a " stale smoke " smell to the smoker not running . So I did do a good clean on the inside .

 

[Bearcarver]

I wouldn't eat the black stuff from the inside of any of my 3 well used MES units, but I never got any bitter flavors from any Meat, even though my AMNPS is always burning right inside my smokers.

And I would never use a hose in any electric smoker, or any of my other electrical appliance!

Bear

 

[Pilot Bird]

Humbly the smoke gets out. The creosote stays in the smoke generator.