To clean or not to clean

[pasmoker73]

I am pretty new to smoking and just got a MES 40" electric smoker. With my old offset stick smoker I just brushed off the grates and vacuumed out the dust and I was ready to go for the next smoke. The instructions with MES say that I should pull all the racks out and basically scrub it clean after each use. It's obvious from some of the pictures that a lot of people don't and let the residue build up to season their smoker. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the pros and cons of cleaning it regularly. It won;t be real hard to convince me that I don't need to 

Thanks,

Christy

 

[chef jimmyj]

6 year old MES 40. I clean racks, any grease on the horizontal surfaces and around sensors on the back wall...That is it.. I never touched the walls and some time ago the ceiling was flaking a bit. A scraping with a metal spatula fixed that removing any loose stuff. Smokers, unlike Ovens, don't use infrared heat to help the cook. Other than aesthetics, there is no benefit to cleaning and any old school Pitmaster will tell you half the flavor in IN the the pit...JJ

 

[pasmoker73]

Thanks Jimmy that's what I was thinking but didn't want to take a chance on messing up my smoker.

 

[bbqwillie]

Other than the sensors, racks and the bits that come out (grease pan and the like) I've never cleaned the walls or top (unless it's flaking). That's the GOOD stuff. People that try to clean their cookers back to the metal have OCD or something.

 

[uncle eddie]

I also have an MES40 (about 3 years old now) and I agree with Jimmy as well.  However, I do clean my glass about twice per year depending on the company that will be on our deck.  Some clean their glass every use too.  

 

[maineac]

The biggest thing to me is keeping grease in check. I saw some pics of a Bradley grease fire and that is something you definately don't want. So if you smoke nothing but butts you're going to need to do some cleaning.

 

[ngiovas]

Same/similar to others.  My smoker is over 10 years old and I clean the removable parts (racks, water pan, drip tray) each use and have never touched anything else.

As far as cleaning, I rinse everything with hot water, run a scrubber over it to knock off all of the "chunks" that may have stuck to them and then I throw them in the dishwasher.  They come out super clean and looking great.  Just pull the top rack out of the dishwasher and everything should fit.

 

[pasmoker73]

I am pretty new to smoking and just got a MES 40" electric smoker. With my old offset stick smoker I just brushed off the grates and vacuumed out the dust and I was ready to go for the next smoke. The instructions with MES say that I should pull all the racks out and basically scrub it clean after each use. It's obvious from some of the pictures that a lot of people don't and let the residue build up to season their smoker. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the pros and cons of cleaning it regularly. It won;t be real hard to convince me that I don't need to 

Thanks,
Christy

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll be sure to follow suit.

 

[redoctobyr]

 
Same/similar to others.  My smoker is over 10 years old and I clean the removable parts (racks, water pan, drip tray) each use and have never touched anything else.

As far as cleaning, I rinse everything with hot water, run a scrubber over it to knock off all of the "chunks" that may have stuck to them and then I throw them in the dishwasher.  They come out super clean and looking great.  Just pull the top rack out of the dishwasher and everything should fit.

Have you had any issues with corrosion or damage, with putting the racks in the dishwasher? That would be a convenient way to clean them, but I thought I'd seen some people talk about possibly damaging the chrome plating, by running them through the dishwasher.

I've only used mine a few times so far, but have only cleaned the racks, nothing else. The other pans are covered in foil. And I have been putting a disposable foil pan on a rack under the meat, to try and catch drippings, to help reduce the mess in the smoker.

 

[ngiovas]

 
Have you had any issues with corrosion or damage, with putting the racks in the dishwasher? That would be a convenient way to clean them, but I thought I'd seen some people talk about possibly damaging the chrome plating, by running them through the dishwasher.

I've only used mine a few times so far, but have only cleaned the racks, nothing else. The other pans are covered in foil. And I have been putting a disposable foil pan on a rack under the meat, to try and catch drippings, to help reduce the mess in the smoker.

I just went and looked at mine closely since you mentioned it.  Nope,  No corrosion at all.  It is amazing, but they have held up very well.  I do dry them immediately and store them in the smoker to keep them dry and clean.

The main reason I started cleaning them in the dishwasher is because I found the fine mesh to be harder to clean when meat gets stuck to it.  They are like 1/4" squares and it is really hard to get down into the corners of the mesh.  The dishwasher does a great job.

With that said, I think they may have changed the design of the racks since I got mine, so I don't know if the quality has changed or how the new ones would hold up in the dishwasher.  Mine are made of a thick outer frame with a fine mesh covering it.  I think the new ones are parallel chrome bars on the rack like many grills rather than the mesh.

I just got a new smoker this week.  It has grill type racks with the chromed parallel bars.  I will probably try scrubbing them rather than putting them in the dishwasher to see how that works.