How Much Crud is Too Much Crud?


 
E

Eugene A

TVWBB Fan
Hello, Everyone:

Shown below are photos of my WSM. The crud build-up is what it is. I generally wipe down the insides with a few paper towels, as I do the inside of the lid. I don't touch the rim of the lid or the lip of the middle section.

In his interview of Harry Soo, Meathead implied a concern about not cleaning the smoker, while Harry dismissed it saying that he (Harry) does a cursory cleaning of the inside with a wire brush and does not wash out his smokers.

So, I ask the question -- how much crud is too much crud? I'll be wiping down my smoker as I said, and I'll do a burn off of the stuff on the cooking grates. The water pan was foiled; so, all I do with that is to wipe it with a paper towel.

Once again, thank you all for your insight and your recommendations.





 
That's a good amount of crud. I only worry about scale which is the flaky stuff that can fall into my food. I generally just wipe it off with a paper towel.
 
Eugene,

You said your pan is foiled yet I see a water line in the pan and the coloration inside the WSM is indicative of someone running water in their pan.
Do you run water in the pan ?

The buildup 'normally' seen in a waterless WSM has a dark, black coating that can flake off. It is this coating that we hit with a wire brush (or equiv).

Bob
 
Bob Bass said:
Eugene,

You said your pan is foiled yet I see a water line in the pan and the coloration inside the WSM is indicative of someone running water in their pan.
Do you run water in the pan ?

The buildup 'normally' seen in a waterless WSM has a dark, black coating that can flake off. It is this coating that we hit with a wire brush (or equiv).

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob: yes, I do use water in the pan. I foil inside and outside, foiling inside first so that the inside folds under the outside. That way, if any water leaks past the inside foil, I figure that it'll bubble its way to the foil on the bottom, staying inside the foil. It hasn't presented a problem so far. I use two gallons of hot water, and that's probably where the water mark shows.
 
Hi Eugene,

Curious... After a cook, when you close the vents, do the coal go out within an hour or do they continue to burn ?
Reason for asking... If your WSM is able to close down completely, you might want to look at cooking without water. Then you'll start building that nice dark seasoning that we speak about.
 
Bob Bass said:
Hi Eugene,

Curious... After a cook, when you close the vents, do the coal go out within an hour or do they continue to burn ?
Reason for asking... If your WSM is able to close down completely, you might want to look at cooking without water. Then you'll start building that nice dark seasoning that we speak about.
Click to expand...

Bob: the coals do go out; but, I never timed it. I know that the lid thermometer is way down from when I was actively running the cook; but, like I said, I never time it to see whether or not the coals were completely out.

I did a test burn a long time ago to see how the smoker reacted when I wasn't using water. I don't recall how the temps ran; but, I do recall thinking that it didn't make a significant difference. Maybe, when I do my next rack o' ribs, for The Boss and me, I'll try it without water in the pan.

Thanks for your input.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top