Does anyone actually clean the inside of their smoker?

[husker3in4]

Just thumbing thru the manual, it has a youtube link for a video on cleaning the inside. I always left the inside as it is, good seasoning. What do you guys do?

 

[BandCollector]

There is a big difference between seasoning and crud from food remains and grease drippings.

I eliminate all crud when I discover any.

John

 

[GATOR240]

X2

 

[a7las]

Same, I clean the grates and the bottom out after every cook. Seasoning comes from the oil bonding with the metal crud is everything else on top.

 

[GATOR240]

X2

I also use disposable aluminium pans to cut down on the mess.

 

[Steve H]

X3 Though I clean the racks after each use.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I clean my racks and anything that might have a greasy mess on it but like others mentioned above I use foil pans to reduce the mess. In my MES40 I wrap the water pan and bottom pan in foil to help out as well.

 

[HalfSmoked]

All I can say is ditto ditto to other guys replies.

Warren

 

[Alphonse]

Just spent an hour cleaning my offset up. I use a pan to catch as much as I can but it is still a mess after an 8 hour cook with ribs and a butt. I also clean the firebox and spray it with canola oil to keep down the corrosion and prolong the life (as recommended by the manufacturer).

 

[normanaj]

I clean the racks and the glass on the door.Water pan gets foiled.

Outside of that nothing more than blasting it at a high temp to kill off any bacteria.

Every once in awhile I use a plastic spatula and ultra stiff nylon brush on the rest when the "crud" begins to build up.

 

[smokerjim]

yeah like the other said, I clean my racks and grease from the bottom, other than that I just scrape the walls with a puddy knife now and the to knock off the loose stuff

 

[indaswamp]

FWIW, I clean my grates with a weed burner torch. Simple, easy, and fast. It also sanitizes them. Burns all the crud off in minutes to a white hot ash. I let them cool while I prep the smokehouse, then put them in to heat up with the smokehouse.

 

[indaswamp]

I just scrape the walls with a puddy knife now and the to knock off the loose stuff

Right on Jim.... I do the same thing. I have a 3/4" hole in the center of the floor on my smokehouse. I spray hot water on the pan and along the sides at the bottom, and it all goes down the hole out the bottom.

 

[texomakid]

Got to scrape it down every once in a while. If you're cooking with wood of any type (sticks, charcoal, or pellets) it's inevitable that at some point it's going to build up and a lot of that goes far beyond "seasoning". I'll probably take a power washer to mine once it warms up. I scraped on it just last week.

 

[GATOR240]

X3 Though

X3 Though I clean the racks after each use.

Absolutely, every time.

 

[SmokyMose]

I keep a foil pan under the cook as much as possible now so I don't have to clean the grease/oil out of the bottom so often. It doesn't have a drain hole and I don't really want one.
I knock the smoke flakes off the inside and the door so they don't fall on the food and brush off the grates a little with a wire brush. That's about it.
All I do with the firebox is clean out the last cook's ashes. It's rusty but the splits don't care and the seal between the firebox and chamber is good....
It's a nasty old fire breathing stick burner and I love it ;-)

 

[Bearcarver]

First of all there's a big difference in maintaining a Wood burner compared to an electric Smoker.
With a Wood burner you might Clean it with a weed burner or scrape & hose it off.

However as for my MES 40 Electric Smoker, the Glass in the door gets cleaned before every smoke, and the Racks get washed before any meat touches them.
Then I cover the water pan, and cover the bottom Drip Pan with foil if I'm using it. If I'm not using it I just cover the floor with foil.
I check the walls & ceiling every time, and wipe it down with a rag, if there are any things hanging loose that could fall on my food.
I also clean the sensors on the back wall to make sure they continue to work properly.

Bear

 

[Winterrider]

This ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

 

[BaxtersBBQ]

Never used to. But after one winter I opened My smoker and the mold looked like a science experiment. Seriously looked like spiderwebs from a sci-fi movie. Now I clean after every use.

 

[HalfSmoked]

Thanks for the like Will Squared it is appreciated.

Warren