First smoke in a 22" WSM... newbie cleanup question


 

BeckyS

New member
Hi everyone,

I am new to smoking and new to the Weber Smokey Mountain. I have read so much on the process, but one area I wanted to check in with everyone else is what you do when you're done with the meat? I have a ton of questions...

How do I safely clean up and deal with the charcoal?
How do I not burn the house down?
I pretty much gather that you close all vents to stifle the fire, but then what?
How long do I let the charcoal sit there before it's safe to work with?
I have the Steve Raichlen galvanized trash can... Do I just move it to the trash can with tongs?
How do I clean the WSM when I'm done so that it's prepped and ready for next time? Do I use soap and water? Do I scrub everything? Just hose it down?
Can I reuse the charcoal? If yes, what do I do to prep it now for next use? And where do I store it (in the trash can? In the WSM?)
Either way - how long until I can assume I can move it into the shed without danger of burning the house down?
If I throw out the charcoal, what is the best method to do so?

Basically, I'm wondering what everyone does (step-by-step) with timing once they're done with their smoke. I looked through pages of posts in the newbie section, but didn't see anything about this.

Thank you so much everyone!
 
Hi Becky and welcome!

I also have a 22" and this is how I clean up mine. This info is based on me cooking a pork shoulder with water in the water pan (not aluminum foiled)

After your smoker is done cooking shut down all your vents until you see the temp gauge completely at zero. Touch it to see if it's completely cool. At that point I wait another day or so until I know that all of the charcoal is completely extinguished. The next day I dump the ashes in a heavy duty garbage bag and throw the remaining water and grease in the water pan on top. I then take the water pan and wash it in my utility sink with very hot soapy water.

Most people like to foil the water pan but I haven found a method that worked for me. I think next time I'll try the aluminum pan with water in it on top of the water pan.

Hope this helps.
 
I don't put water in the water pan. Don't find it makes much of a difference. It just collects fat and i will remove and wash in utility sink day after a smoke. I have not found a clean way to do this. Black grease gets everywhere. As for the coal, i pick up the charcoal grate, along with any leftover charcoal and place it to the side. I then dump the bottom bowl in a trash bag and dump any grease on top of it as noted above. This helps absorb some grease. Then put the coal grate and leftover coal back in the smoker along with rinsed out water pan and reassemble ready for the next smoke.
 
I close off my vents at the end of a cook to snuff out the coals. The next day I'll take out the water pan, dump the water in the woods that line my back yard, and give the pan a good squirt with a water hose. If that's not good enough, I'll scrub it with a brillo pad and rinse it out. I usually leave the charcoal in my smoker or grill until I use it again. My smokers and grill are kept and used on my back porch. So, there is no worry of rain getting in there. I use "used" charcoal for grilling, and sometimes if I have to add coals toward the end of a cook in my smoker. If I go to use my smoker and it has charcoal left over from the last cook, I'll put it in a Kingsford bag that only has used coals in it, dump the ashes in the woods, and load the smoker up with new coals.

Don't worry about washing out your smoker after a cook. The crud that builds up in your smoker seasons it. A new smoker will usually run a little hot until it gets all gunked up from cooking on it. Just clean your cooking grates with a wire brush and you're good to go. If they are especially cruddy, you can use some grate cleaner.
 
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I crumple several large pieces of foil and put them in the water pan.
Using several pieces of 18" HD foil I then cover the pan, the crumpled foil helps keep the foil I use to cover the pan up off of the bottom.
To clean up the pan just pull the top two layers of foil off (keeping the grease centered) and throw them away.
I have my charcoal ring attached to the grate with stainless steel zip ties.
I leave the left over charcoal on the grate.
After I am absolutely sure the fire is out I dump the ashes in a large leaf bag and put them in the regular trash.
I used to scrub the grill grate in a hot water heater pan until it looked like new after every cook but it was a lot of work so I gave up on that, now I throw it on the gas grill set to high and just brush it off with the grill brush.
No one has died yet so it must be clean enough.
 
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I close off my vents at the end of a cook to snuff out the coals. The next day I'll take out the water pan, dump the water in the woods that line my back yard, and give the pan a good squirt with a water hose. If that's not good enough, I'll scrub it with a brillo pad and rinse it out. I usually leave the charcoal in my smoker or grill until I use it again. My smokers and grill are kept and used on my back porch. So, there is no worry of rain getting in there. I use "used" charcoal for grilling, and sometimes if I have to add coals toward the end of a cook in my smoker. If I go to use my smoker and it has charcoal left over from the last cook, I'll put it in a Kingsford bag that only has used coals in it, dump the ashes in the woods, and load the smoker up with new coals.

Don't worry about washing out your smoker after a cook. The crud that builds up in your smoker seasons it. A new smoker will usually run a little hot until it gets all gunked up from cooking on it. Just clean your cooking grates with a wire brush and you're good to go. If they are especially cruddy, you can use some grate cleaner.

Exactly what I do as well. I was just saying this weekend that I'm lucky to have the woods behind my house, as I don't have to worry about emptying ashes in a trash bin or whatever. And, since mine also stays on my covered patio, and I normally smoke something every weekend, most of the time I just close the vents and leave it until I get ready to smoke something next weekend. Then, I'll use the water hose on the water pan, and dump the ashes. Any charcoal left, stays there for the next cook...no problem.
 
Thanks, everyone!

Can I dump the water from the pan down the sink or just in the manicured grass backyard without any problems?
 
Becky, I don't think I'd dump it in a back yard with good grass, as where I usually dump mine (beside an old tree stump in the edge of the woods) keeps a good dead patch there. I'd be afraid I'd kill a spot of grass, from what I've seen. Unless you have one little area you wouldn't mind killing the grass. But, I don't see a big problem running it down the sink...especially while running a disposer.
 
When I used water, I would dump the cold ashes into a 13 gal. trash bag, then pour the water over the ashes.
 
Thanks, everyone!

Can I dump the water from the pan down the sink or just in the manicured grass backyard without any problems?
I would not dump in the sink you can cause a clog. I have a very small yard and the smell brings the animals. The cold coals and grease (wipe off the water pan as much as you can) in the trash bag is the best way to avoid other problems.
 
Becky
At the end of the cook, just close all the vents up and down and FORGET the WSM. Leave it alone till it become cold and then cover with the cover.
Next cook, remove the old charcoal and dust it to remove white ash. Put it in a canand complete the cleaning.
Remove charcoal grate and the below ash.
Rebuilt and refill the WSM and start next cook
Remember, use first the old charcoal.
 
I go the safe route and close all the vents and and let it set till the next day. Then l dump the ashes out in a metal ash can l bought at our local Do it Best. It came with a sturdy lid and locking handle. Good luck!
 
HI All How long does it take for your 22 WSM to cool off. Only got 2 cooks on my well used one, and takes forever to cool down.Might have some leaks causing the fire to continue to burn?
THanks Dan
 
I let mine sit overnight. I guess l don't know what you mean by forever to cool but usually after three hrs l can put the cover on mine. That definitely cuts the air flow down. Hopefully someone else will reply with their thoughts.
 
Becky
At the end of the cook, just close all the vents up and down and FORGET the WSM. Leave it alone till it become cold and then cover with the cover.
Next cook, remove the old charcoal and dust it to remove white ash. Put it in a canand complete the cleaning.
Remove charcoal grate and the below ash.
Rebuilt and refill the WSM and start next cook
Remember, use first the old charcoal.

This is what I do. Given that it's unusual for me to cook more than once in a week, the ashes sit for a good long time. Then, when I do start a new cook and dump the ashes, I dump them into a metal trash can. I let a couple cooks accumulate before I throw it out on trash day. At no time is the ash in my garage (where I store my WSM) without being in the WSM or the metal can.

The only problem is that the original poster uses water. You do not want to leave water in the WSM until the next cook. I would get the water pan out of the WSM after it cools down. Going forward, I would think about not using water because, as is mentioned, it's somewhat difficult to deal with (disposal). If you want to use water, I did the following once and it worked quite well. I took a pan and stuck it on the bottom grate (between the top grate and the water pan). This keeps the water from getting greasy and can easily be disposed of down the kitchen sink. Of course, this will not work well if you're doing a large cook and using the lower grate, but I hardly use the bottom grate - therefore, it was an option.
 
Put grates right on top of HOT coal and ring and wire brush them,, then I dump my still hot coal in my fire pit.
Let it all cool off completely ,,,then store in garage w water pan and grates removed so no mold forms..
I also wash grates after brushing them if needed.
 

 

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