Do you guys clean your smoker?

I've had my WSM less than a year and less than 10 smokes on it. The first time I cleaned the grates and the water bowl spotless. It has been less frequent than that.

Do you clean yours? What parts and how often? Do I need to?

Thanks!

I will clean the grates and water bowl occasionally but not often, every 5-10 smokes. Usually the only time I sweat it is if I will be cooking while a large group is around that aren't good friends so I don't have to hear comments about it being dirty.

I inherited one of my smokers from my grandpa, I'm not sure how long he had it but it looked like he had never cleaned it. I gave it a good scrub with a wire brush and water and have been using it myself for about 4 years now. I usually clean both mine really good about once a year usually the same way with nothing more than water and a wire brush. I don't want to risk using any kind of soap or other chemicals on them. Aside from a good scrub down once a year, I'll brush down the grates and the water bowl on the one that has it each time before I use them.

I try to make sure the grates are as clean as I can get them, same as on my grill. I guess, in my mind, that's just a part of trying to take care of things. Same goes for the water bowl. I haven't tried to clean anything else on the smoker, though. My father-in-law said that not cleaning it will just adds flavor to whatever your smoking in the future.

The only time I clean mine is when wood ash sticks to the smoke resin coating on the inside, then i just hose it off. The resin is naturally antimicrobial, so you are not going to get sick from it. I just don't like ash on my meat, that is why I hose it off.

as an aside, the smoke resin will pretect from rust, a bonus for you poor bastards living in a rusty enviroment....

clean??? what is clean???
i only do the grills and water tray

I clean the grates and water bowl after each use, only because drippings collect in the bowl and it gets putrid if you don't clean it.. The rest of the smoker has a nice crust to it that I don't want to disturb.

brussum said:

I clean the grates and water bowl after each use, only because drippings collect in the bowl and it gets putrid if you don't clean it.. The rest of the smoker has a nice crust to it that I don't want to disturb.

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Ditto

I never clean my grill.. maybe the grate, depends how it tastes.

grills and water tray after each use.

barls80 said:

clean??? what is clean???
i only do the grills and water tray

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Yep. Same here.

Grills and water tray. Otherwise they get gross.

I do the grills and water tray like everyone else but once a year I "clean" the inside.
I remove the grates and water pan then start a good sized hot charcoal fire and let it go until it burns out. After it cools I smack the sides of the smoker and get all the ash and crud off the sides.

Perfect. Lazier the better-I like it!

I usually just clean the water bowl and grates, but lately I've stopped cleaning the grates. I'll probably get the ambition to clean them again at some point. I also clean the thermometer that sticks out so I can read it from the house.

Dump the ash, pass a rock over the grate and clean the water bowl/drip pan.

At present I use disposable foil lasagne pans from the dollar store for water pans, and if I think I need to clean the racks, I throw them in the gas BBQ and burn the junk off. As far as the inside of my smoker, I can't see ever needing to scrub it, as I don't really get the kind of build up some people mention.

Mine doesn't usually build up thick creosote-like gunk. Usually, it's a paper thin film of residue that eventually peels off like paint. I just break off any loose pieces before using the smoker.

I clean the grate everytime. Usually by firing up the grill and putting the grate inside my grill and getting it hot enough to just off whatever was stuck from the last time.

I clean it out my UDS every few months by burning it out with a propane weed burner. It usually burns out some random bits, but leaves the well earned black oily resin everywhere.

jiggs_casey said:

I clean the grate everytime. Usually by firing up the grill and putting the grate inside my grill and getting it hot enough to just off whatever was stuck from the last time.

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This! And we clean the water pan.

I clean the pan and grates before use. I also rinse the base (has electric element and lava rocks) every 10 smokes or so and let dry before use.

Grates only. You don't want to remove that wonderful seasoning on the smoker.

I clean mine every time. Wipe down the edges of the rim so the pieces don't stick. Brush out the charcoal grate and charcoal ring. Scrape down the sides and inside of the dome - it's not going to remove the petina. Refoil my water pan so it's ready for the next cook. Store your grates inside if your smoker is left outdoors.

Pretty much never...



BTW "never" isn't really true. My Kamados get a high heat burn every once in a while so they're self-cleaning, and I have to shop vac ash and stuff out of the Traeger about once a month or so and replace the foil on the drip pan.

I clean my grates a few times a year. Water bowl every time. I have a pellet smoker so I vacuum out ash area after every 3 cooks

I might brush off the gates or not. Have never hosed it out. Its a trailer smoker that runs on oak. Black as midnight on the grates. Just adds flavor. No complaints yet.

You don't want to see how the sausage is made .but its good.

I actually just took my smoker down to bare metal this spring. Stripped everything, inside and out. Wire wheel on your angle grinder, and hitting your grates/shelves, well lets just say I did that to one (of six), and did the rest while wearing a tyvek paint suit. It had been a while, but everything needed it.

I clean mine... with more hot smoke

After years, you'll end up with a layer of black stuff on the lid that can fall off in sheets. When i see that happening, I pull it off. I do keep the outside clean because I don't want diners to see a dirty cooker.

I have a BGE (large) that's my smoker, bbq and grill. At most I knock off anything that's pulling away from the ceramic liner of the lid from time to time. Or clean out the chimney cap to make it move easier. For the cooking grate, simply use a grill brush on that before putting food on it to remove anything from an earlier cook that I don't want. So not much on that aspect. I do get rid of the charcoal ash from the previous use each time. But with the KickAsh Can (and basket) that's easy to do.

Apendecto said:

I've had my WSM less than a year and less than 10 smokes on it. The first time I cleaned the grates and the water bowl spotless. It has been less frequent than that.

Do you clean yours? What parts and how often? Do I need to?

Thanks!

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I have had a WSM for over a decade. I never clean the seasoning off it.

I have used my pellet cooker/smoker for the past 5+ years. I do very little cleaning. Will scrape down the grates after each use and put them in my gasser over real high heat to get a good scraping a couple times a year. I also have to vacuum Out the barrel every 5-6 cooks and scrape the drip pan every few cooks. All process takes about 5 minutes.

With the mess my stainless drip pan was picking up soon after I started using it, and how tired I was of cleaning it, I simply line it with heavy duty aluminum foil now before it goes on the stone. Makes cleanup a snap (seconds now) plus it's easier to get rid of what it catches.

I smoke at least one whole turkey breast section a week (depending on size) for sammich meat. This weekend I'll be doing a brisket overnight (starting it Saturday) for a gathering on Sunday. Just hope I can get a good sized brisket to cook. Plan to have more than enough so that I can make chili with some of it, and give mom some too. Plus whatever people will want to take home with them (along with cans of homebrew).

Like others, I clean the grates, firebox, and water pan after each use, along with the glass. I found that soaking in PBW makes quick work of it!

I do a take it apart twice a year and do a full scrub and burn dry run. During the season I clean after every cook, as others do.