Easier Way

[Murrietan]

I had to cut a path through my ignorance; after a few tries this forum helped me greatly. I'll post pics later. My first use of my Pit Boss 800 series turned out well BUT, it took 2 hours plus to clean my grill to my standards. So, I was at Walmart looking at BBQ "stuff" and I found these trays; they're about 13" x 18" and 2 fit side by side, long end in. I bought some foil,; heavy Duty, but the heftiness is'nt needed; a roll is much wider. So I lined the inner tray. You must be careful in the corners or the foil will tear. So I tear the length so it is 6-8" longer than the length of the pan; 3-4" on each end. After the foil is good with care in the corners, I put the grated grill carefully in place so as not to tear the foil. Then you can use non-stick spray for the grated grill. This 5-10 minutes saves big time. I've never cleaned my grill Plates on the BBQ since!!. They're covered with smoke deposits but no germ carrying food debris. As I said earlier, 2 of these trays with grates fit side by side, with about 1 1/2" which I split equally on the sides and in the middle to allow free movement of smoke. These pans are usually at all home improvement store, Wallys, Lowes. H.D. Mine have lasted 3 years; they'll rust more if you soap up and wash each time. I was in such despair my first attempt after the 2 hour + that I thought of selling my Pit Boss which I now love. The hopper will hold 17 lbs; enough to smoke up to 10 hours as I putz around pretending to be productive. You obviously can't leave your smoke station all the time but it's nice to know you can. Pics to follow from my phone. Clouds of smoke to all. Here is a link to a similar product. Similar, but Walmart, Lowes and H.D. have better. On Amazon, called the

"Checkered Chef Baking Sheet with Wire Rack Set 13" x 18" I recommend against buying this one on Amazon. Maybe SMF can link to a different product. I've not cleaned, nor pre-heated my Pit Boss in 3 years. Only smoke gets on the inside of the pellet grill. Mess is confined to the tray. After smoking, I lift the rack, throw away the foil (about 15 cents), quick soap and rinse, dry the tray; Scrub the rack a bit and Send it through dishwasher. I'm done. I use my Pit Boss a lot in the spring summer and fall. Ocassionally in winter. But, all the smoke goes on the meat as I never have to pre-heat, using up pellets. 2 trays fit side by side, with about 1 1/2 inches left. So 1/2 " gap in the middle and either side. The smoke is not blocked. It moves freely inside.​

Bill

 

[one eyed jack]

Hi Bill, Welcome aboard from NC.

Are you using the trays to put your meat on? Sorry for my confusion.

I just put food on my smoker grates and let the mess happen. After smoking I use a weed burning propane torch to clean the grates. Ain't no nasty going to survive that inferno and my meat doesn't suffer from blocked smoke during the cook.

Pictures are a good visual aid.

 

[rc4u]

hold on.. those arn't germ army's... heck my Genisus is only cleaned twice a yr. it gets preheated to 550 every time i use it.. a guy needs those good bacteria. drop a pc of meat rinse it and put e'r on.

 

[one eyed jack]

hold on.. those arn't germ army's... heck my Genisus is only cleaned twice a yr. it gets preheated to 550 every time i use it.. a guy needs those good bacteria. drop a pc of meat rinse it and put e'r on.

Rinsing meat, especially chicken, is a good way to spread germs all over your sink, if not the whole kitchen. Then you have to dry it, at least to some extent, risking further spreading of bacteria.

I figure hours in the smoker is going to kill the bad stuff. No rinse for me.

 

[rc4u]

you can cook ur fecal rinsed chicken any way ya want. i will put my pcs in a bowl of cold water n trim excess skin n fat, or get crap out of ribs ect.. let it sit{dont have to dry} and season or inject or brine the way i want. not knocking ur way, just not for me.. i ve been sanitary for 65 yrs never a problem.

 

[chopsaw]

I stopped rinsing chicken . It's not the grill or the cook , it's what's left behind in the kitchen . The places that don't get heated up . Like the faucet and fridge handles .

 

[rc4u]

well i dont leave it behind. i clean it and disinfect. but thats just me. doesnt matter what meat . same process. again just my way. not dissing just different way. its all good. only takes a minute to spray a rag n wipe

 

[one eyed jack]

I stopped rinsing chicken . It's not the grill or the cook , it's what's left behind in the kitchen . The places that don't get heated up . Like the faucet and fridge handles .

I read an article, probably 10 years ago, that claimed to have done an in depth study which proved that rinsing chicken does spread bacteria, (As Chop mentions), and presents a greater health risk than not rinsing at all. I've cooked a lot of un-rinsed chicken, as well as ribs, steaks, butts, etc. without a problem in those 10 years.

 

[rc4u]

its all good. it used to be free country but now people try to convince one way and if not ur wrong. still good here, heck my grama still canned with with chicken fat top in the '60's like when she was in russia and learned from her mom. its not readily accepted but still used by many

 

[DougE]

The only time I have ever rinsed any meat off before prepping/cooking, would be if there were something that actually needed rinsed off it, like dry brined fish or something like that. I don't hardly ever wash smoker/grill grates, either. That's what heat is for.

 

[one eyed jack]

I don't wash grill / smoker grates, either. Way too big a mess.

If they get too grunked up I use my propane weed burner on them.

For the most part I consider it seasoning, like a good CI pan and figure the heat from the next smoke will purify.

 

[chopsaw]

I just heated up my MES 30 today with nothing in it . 250 for 2 hours , because I haven't used it for a couple weeks . I do rinse off the beef subprimals I buy , because they can have a nasty slim on them .
I said I stopped doing poultry , but if I soak a whole bird I rinse it then dry in the fridge . I just try to keep it under control .

 

[chopsaw]

All this being said , I use a briner bucket to do poultry . It has the lock ring to keep stuff from floating . When I'm ready to take the bird out , I slowly drain the bucket , but leave the lock ring in . That way I can turn it upside down in the sink to drain . The mouth of the bucket is down tight to the sink . No splashing or over handling / touching . The ring holds the bird in the bucket .

 

[one eyed jack]

Thanks Chop. I didn't know there was such a thing as a dedicated brining bucket.

 

[chopsaw]

didn't know there was such a thing as a dedicated brining bucket.

I Have the room in a dedicated fridge for this stuff . I use the small one all the time . Really works great if you have the room .

 

[one eyed jack]

Thanks Rich. I did a google and found them. Probably need the bigger one for a turkey?

Looks like they would work better than the 5 gallon bucket, plate and rock, that I've been using.

 

[chopsaw]

The small one will hold an 8 lb. chicken . Whole turkey you would need the big one .

 

[one eyed jack]

The small one will hold an 8 lb. chicken . Whole turkey you would need the big one .

That's what I suspected. Thanks Rich.