SMOKER CLEANING

[hopdad36]

I agree with most of you folks. I most certainly clean the racks and other parts that come into contact with food. The other build up I do not clean unless build up requires me to do so. Just a light scraping at that point.  

 

[fender bender]

I steam clean mine, crank up the heat and fill the water pan, throw the racks in the dish washer. It might not really DO anything but it makes me feel better.

 

[rtbbq2]

Clean the racks and drip pan and leave the inside alone. I spray my grates with Pam just before I put the meat on the wire racks and they clean up very easy. On my gaser I just heat it up and scrape the cast grates tops with wire brush and aluminum foil works good too. The inside of the grill should stay seasoned with each smoke.....Smoke it like it's the last time....

 

[shorty68]

I just clean the grates and the  drip pan. I spray the grates with Pam for

grilling and let it go at that.  I have a old Coleman propane smoker.

 

[scarbelly]

In an electric, foil is your friend. I foil the bottom and the chip tray. Racks get hand washed along with the drip pan which is also in foil. I knock down the big chunks once in a while and that is it.  

 

[westgateblvd]

Any trick to cleaning the glass door insert??

 

[swampfox13]

Just clean out the burn box, the racks and grease trap.

 

[westgateblvd]

That's cleaned after every use. I have a glass door on a MES. i would like to know how to clean that glass on the inside..

 

[thoseguys26]

I put my racks in the dishwasher, cleaned easy! I use some ash and water with paper towels to clean my MES window.

That's cleaned after every use. I have a glass door on a MES. i would like to know how to clean that glass on the inside..

I just quoted myself. @westgateblvd - if you have a fireplace, grab some ash, dunk a paper towel in some water, half squeeze it out and dip it in the ash. Rub the window with that and it'll come off in no time. It's amazing. There was another thread that I got the idea from but I can't remember where/who said it. After a couple times you'll get the method down but it really works amazing! 

 

[michael ark]

That was a bearcarver tip!

 

[thoseguys26]

That was a bearcarver tip!

I should've guessed! I wish I could make it to some of the gatherings, I'd love to meet some of the people here. 

 

[ak1]

What was said. Grates, racks, pans should be cleaned. The walls are left alone unless it is really bad. What I typically do is just use a hose with a jet nozzle to clean off loose gunk. It gets rid of loose stuff but leaves the majority of the seasoning on.

 

[fredaevans]

Same unit as that started this thread. For 'normal' cleaning of removables .... dishwasher works just fine. For the inside of the 'box' just did a hard core press with Wally's World "Great Value heavy duty FUME FREE oven cleaner. Give it the 6'ish hours (per the can, I did longer as I took a longer than expected nap

) and just hosed out the inside. Squeekie Clean! Zero creasote (sp?) left.

Plugged in the unit and gave it 3+ hours on high to 're-season' and good to go.

What really screws up these things (over time) is the creasote (back to sp?) on the walls/door. If you like licking a bridge pier that stuff will give you that .... YUCK!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Weed Bruner works great , remove the grates and lean them against a rock or something and blast with fire - I Kill bugs .

 

[austin]

I wash the grates and water pan after every smoke.  I do not wash the walls.  Sometimes the build up does get flaky- at that point I scrape them down.

 

[s2k9k]

I clean the grates in the sink very well. I have sand in the water pan but use a disposable foil pan lined with foil extending way over the edges filled with water sitting right on top of the sand.to try and catch as much drippings as I can. A lot still gets by it so I wipe out the bottom with paper towels after every long smoke. I smoked a lot yesterday so it was really dirty so I wiped it out, threw away the sand then fired it up with empty pans and let it burn for about an hour around 400* and it cleaned it up pretty good.

 

[doogie jax]

I generally crank mine up before I load meat, get it real hot, then use water to hose it down, open the drain cock and out it goes.  But that's with an offset firebox type of smoker "Lang 36" patio.

 

[bruno994]

Steam cleaning is what Lang recommends on their website for his pits.  Crank the temp up after a cook, spray it with some water and let the steam clean your pit, then wire brush off any debris left on the racks.  Tried it on my new RF trailer rig this past Saturday night, don't know if it worked, but gonna keep trying it though.  I like the sizzle. 

 

[deersmoker58]

 The racks i throw in the gas grill and on high and burn it off.  then just use the grill brush on them. I clean the window of the MES every few smokes and around the door seal.  When the walls get too much build will knock it down some but never fully clean it. 

 

[rabbithutch]

Use Dawn on the MES door window inside.  I spray it on, let it sit, then wipe with newspaper.  I usually do it again and wipe it down with a wet towel.  I wipe down the gasket on the door with the wet towel with just a little Dawn in it.