Smoker Cleaning regimen

[LLcoolbean]

Smoker Cleaning regimen :

How often and to what degree do I clean interior and grates?

I just completed my first smoke
As directed I use foil in base
(noticed foil sticks bad though... )
I wipe down with paper towel inside to reduce grease build up.
And soaked the grates in hot water with dish soap.

 

[old sarge]

I clean the grates/racks  by hand after each smoke to remove any stuck food.  The interior gets a brushing when the surface coating starts flaking/alligatoring; I brush off all the loose stuff.  That is all except for pulling the foil from the bottom to dispose of all the drippings it collects after each smoke unless it is minimal.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

I do the same as David except I put mine in the dishwasher with some added citric acid powder to help cleaning as I have really hard water. Pulling foil off the bottom is easiest when smoker is still hot after a smoke too.
I also have found that the one time I didn't use heavy duty foil, the regular foil stuck quite badly. So I only use heavy duty foil. I even double layer the smoke box lid.

 

[Stevegardner]

I do very little cleaning, aside from grates. I never clean the inside, just change the foil.

 

[barelfly]

I have had mine for two years. I have only wiped down the bottom after pulling foil and then burn off the grates on my grill and scrape them. Once cooled, back into smoker, and it gets covered back up.

 

[Stevegardner]

That sounds perfect to me Barelfly. I wonder what these commercial establishments with the big smokers do....

 

[Pork Belly]

I never clean the racks but aggressively scrub them with a stiff brill brush. I change the foil every four to six smokes.

One bad winter I did nothing but empty the drip pan for 4.5 months it needed a bit of attention after that.

 

[Norwester]

I wipe it out and clean the racks every smoke. Putting them in a sink with hot soapy water for a 1/2 hr makes it pretty easy, no scrubbing necessary. I also wipe the smoker down with white vinegar to inhibit mold.

 

[Hank R]

I wipe it out and clean the racks every smoke. Putting them in a sink with hot soapy water for a 1/2 hr makes it pretty easy, no scrubbing necessary. I also wipe the smoker down with white vinegar to inhibit mold.

Same for me but never did the white vinegar trick. but I also soak my side racks and clean every time.

 

[azbohunter]

I have a #3 and the racks won't fit it any sink that we have nor the dish washer. I put them in a large black contractors bag from Home Depot. I open the bag completely and slide the racks to the bottom, add enough hot water to cover the racks,with the racks laying flat, so only a inch or two of water, put in one of the dish washer pods (Finish I believe) then I pull the bag up around with the racks flat on a patio table, I put a small bungy around bag and let them lay in the sun till I get back to them, a few hours or a day or two. Living in Arizona, even in the winter, the solar effect on the black bag heats the water through the day. Everything comes off real easy, even smoke stains.  Easiest way I have found for the larger racks.

 

[NDKoze]

My #3 racks technically do not fit in my dishwasher, but I put them in the bottom rack tilted up toward the opening of the dishwasher. Then when I close the door, it slides the racks up and I am able to close the door.

I have been doing this for years and never had a problem.

 

[azbohunter]

My #3 racks technically do not fit in my dishwasher, but I put them in the bottom rack tilted up toward the opening of the dishwasher. Then when I close the door, it slides the racks up and I am able to close the door.

I have been doing this for years and never had a problem.

I have tried to figure out a way, must be our dishwasher design. But I wish. Do you have to hand clean them at all?

 

[NDKoze]

My #3 racks technically do not fit in my dishwasher, but I put them in the bottom rack tilted up toward the opening of the dishwasher. Then when I close the door, it slides the racks up and I am able to close the door.

I have been doing this for years and never had a problem.

I have tried to figure out a way, must be our dishwasher design. But I wish. Do you have to hand clean them at all?

I will occasionally try to a little bit of hand-cleaning just to get the larger chunks off. But, don't do this all the time.

I use the High Temp wash cycle on my dishwasher and that seems to work pretty well. Lots of times, I will use the overnight cycle that allows for more soak time which I think helps get some of the gunk off as well.

 

[alanfred]

The racks clean up very easy after I spray with Pam. Both the racks and rack sides come clean as new out of the dish washer. Be sure and use heavy duty foil (get the wide stuff). I probably spend way too much time lining the bottom and firebox lid. I use a very small knife and cut an X in the foil over the drip hole, then fold the tiny flaps to secure the foil to the bottom. My last smoke was actually a dry/smoke/cook of cured dried beef. The amount of liquid that came out of two(2) 3lb sirloin tip roasts filled the drip pan halfway. Even with the lid of the firebox covered, the liquid found its way to the bottom of the firebox. Its really hard to clean the charred remains of the juice. I thought about just letting it burn off but worried about bad flavor from burnt beef juice cure. Next time I'll extend the foil pas the lid so it won't drip into the firebox. Never had an issue with ribs, meatloaf, pork butt. Just the dry process of the dried beef. I think a fan might have helped my cause as it took almost 3 hours @ 140 until the meat felt dry to the touch. The takeaway would be, depends on what your smokin as to the required clean up. 

 

[tomd8]

I do the same as some of the above, spray pam prior to smoke and line with foil.  After the smoke I spray and brush the grate(s) and side slides with hot water in my sink.  I wipe the interior of the smoker removing the grease that gets under the foil and also use a rag with hot water to remove any grease that splatters onto the sides, back, etc.  All foil is thrown away after each smoke.