cleaning

[swthorpe]

Thanks, Ben.  I think I am due to run the side racks through the dishwasher, but I wasn't sure if there might be an advantage to leaving them seasoned over time. 

[DivotMaker]

I dishwash or hand-wash my shelves, but I just leave the side racks in.  I've never taken them out, or washed them, and haven't had any problems getting the shelves in and out - it's a pretty big slot.  Just me, though; I clean as little as possible.

[pigsmoke]

I think the "seasoning" is a good thing in general, you want it on the inside walls and door of the smoker but not really on the bottom, or on the racks and rack rails, chip box, etc. A good degreaser or oven cleaner should take care of this. I really think he should update his seasoning instructions to warn owners not to season the entire insides of the smoker. It's not really obvious to new users.

An alternative to using foil to line the bottom might be using one of those Kevlar oven liners. They're cheap and you can cut one down to size to fit the bottom of your smoker perfectly. Grease and crap doesn't stick to them so they wipe clean with a damp cloth and last a lifetime. You'd still need a small piece of foil to cover the top of the chip box.

I think the smoker should be cleaned regularly. I scrub mine out with hot soap and water after each use, it removes the grease and food scraps but leaves the seasoning intact.

mike...

[DivotMaker]

Good info, Mike - thanks!

[Smokster]

DM: I have experience the same where the top of the smoke box and the bottom of the smoker had a black char on it after a long smoke. The smoker box was stuck to the bottom foil and the char even plugged the bottom drip hole.  It took a good cleaning, but I eventually got it clean.

[DivotMaker]

I've only experienced the big chunk of black char once, after a long smoke on a pork butt.  Lots of fat rendered on that one, but boy was it good!  I can put up with a little extra cleaning for some really good pulled pork! 

[benjammn]

I did a smoke on a butt awhile back and it created that same black junk, I just used a bigger drip pan inside to deal with that situation. I have not put any foil inside my smoker at all. I just scrape up the excess and move on, making sure to clean the hole in the bottom. Only one time did I super clean my box since I had a bad smoke that left a bad creosote smell in it. My fault using too much wood. But now it is fine

[DivotMaker]

OK, the buildup in the #1 was getting out of control.  Today, I cleaned the racks and inside with EZ Off oven cleaner.  It took the creosote buildup off, but also stripped the seasoning.  My thermostat probe is nice and shiny, like new!  No worries; I re-seasoned for 3 hours, and the inside looks like new again!  I'll give it a test run with some baby backs tomorrow! 

[benjammn]

I had to EZ Off my #2 once when I did way too much smoke, the whole thing reeked and just wouldn't go away.  Just reseasoned and everything is great now. I don't think I would use EZ Off again though, seemed rather harsh. Should look for something more enviro.

[DivotMaker]

I'm going to try to make myself scrub the inside down with hot water & dish soap after each use (or 2).  That way, I won't have to go the EZ Off route.  This time, however, called for drastic measures - had to bring the heavy artillery in.