Clean up driving me nuts!!


 
Originally posted by Tim L.:
Hmmm, maybe I'm missing something or just too new to this all. I've used my WSM 4 times now (2xs Salmon, meatloaf, and pulled chicken). I have the water pan foiled and have only used water once. Yeah, theres some oily residue, but that' s just normal smoke buildup. I don't have any intention of ever removing that. It adds flavor.

For the grates, I just wipe them off and everything comes right off. If you need high temps, remove the middle section, put the grate right over the coals after the food is done and voila.

Am I missing something here?
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Nope seems you got a plan
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I would burn mine off with the coal BUT I always shut mine down asap to save coal and reuse for the next time .

But The gunk on my grates from a load a pork butts and a brisket does take a little heat to remove not gona wipe that off atleast I can't not after a 16 hr cook
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THANK YOU ALL. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
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I don't have a weed burner thing, but maybe I could get a soldering torch. I like to save my charcoal too after a smoke, so I always shut right down. Like I said before, my romantic interest uses a gas grill, but I don't even know how to turn it on and refuse to learn, LOL! So the torch thing just might work for me.... The neighborhood will never be the same with a madwoman like me running around with a lit torch, LOL!
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Here's what I'm going to do: I'll double-foil the pan (outside and inside) and I do like to use water, so I'll just dump it afterward and remove the foil and put new foil on. I tried that once before but I had regular-sized foil and it still just made a mess because the stuff got all under the edges. For the grates, I'll try to remember to brush them with my grill brush as soon as they come off the smoker. If there's anything left later, I'll try the torch and a quick scrape again.

Woo hoo!!!! I think my clean up woes are a thing of the past! This means more BBQ!!! Thank you one and all again for the great explanations!!
 
All i do is , when im done cooking (not b4..lol), remove the middle section (i added handles)and put your grate right on the hot charcoal ring! After a minute or two, then still wearing my welding mits brush them w a wide gill brush! Easy n fast!! Brush both sides too..
 
Spray grate with Pam. Sometime between cooks, soak grate in sink and brush briefly. Adios
 
Like my late mom, bless her heart, used to say when we were camping:
"A little clean dirt ain't gonna hurt you!"

Brush the grates, throw on the meat, then eat.
 
Originally posted by Mel:
Gerry D., I bought the double wide foil yesterday. What do you mean by "air space"?
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When I cover the top with foil I don't press it so its tight with the bottom of the water pan. I leave some space between the foil and the water pan itself. That way the drippings are being caught by the foil and not in direct contact with the water pan and are less likely to burn. You actually can save some of the drippings for sauce this way depending on your cooking temperature.
 
I kind of found all this funny after I noticed folks started posting and bumping this up so much....guess I'll take any kind of comic relief I can get.
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Well, if I'm going to be silly, I guess I should as least give a serious answer in common courtesy.
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What I do isn't really that relevant since I don't save charcoal from wsm cooks (I only totally fill to max for butt and brisket cooks.)....BUT, here's what I do:

I take the door off and let the coals get lots of air to heat the grate up and scrape with a wire brush. I don't wipe grease off till after starting up next time. (This helps protect the grate against rust.) I also use the wire brush on the charcoal grate later after dumping the ash.

I use a brass brush for the cooker insides if anything looks grubby or flaky, like the inside of the dome. Before the pan cools off, I also use a brass brush and spray out with the hose. It doesn't have to be perfectly clean. Nobody's eating out of it. (I'll occasionally do a "deep cleaning" to get any build-up off and I'm all ears as to what's best to spray on before scrubbing.) Like most, I use foil for dry pan cooks, and maybe will foil when using water just to keep stuff from burning on the rim. (I now use the Brinkman pan, not the over-sized new Weber pan.)

Cooking temps will kill bacteria, and the enamel coating will protect from rust, so everything doesn't really have to squeeky clean.
 
Originally posted by Dave Russell:
I kind of found all this funny after I noticed folks started posting and bumping this up so much....guess I'll take any kind of comic relief I can get.
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Well I guess that we are all trying to be helpful. How you see it, is entirely up to you...

Tim
 
Originally posted by timothy:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:
I kind of found all this funny after I noticed folks started posting and bumping this up so much....guess I'll take any kind of comic relief I can get.
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Well I guess that we are all trying to be helpful. How you see it, is entirely up to you...

Tim </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, I guess "We all" killed two birds with one stone, then. It's entirely ok to find humor in stuff, and I'm certainly glad someone found out how to take care of their smoker.
 
More great ideas! And I also found this out by searching a bit on the internet: Fill the water pan with sand and then foil over. Then supposedly I won't have to use water at all, just change the foil. They say the sand helps with regulating the heat. And another thing I found was to foil the pan, then foil a 14-inch terra cotta saucer and put that in, again with no water.

No water means no mess means less to clean up!!
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Originally posted by Mel:
No water means no mess means less to clean up!!
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Mel, that's correct, but, FYI, (and to beat a long since dead horse)....if cooking "dry" at traditional smoking temps, temps will continue to rise for quite a while as the meat loses it's chill and starts getting hot. Of course the fix is to adjust the vents as needed to keep the temp under control, BUT I can't do that without getting out of bed if doing a bbq cook for lunch the next day. With a water pan, I find that temps will stabilize considerably quicker, and stay pretty stabilized. You just need to use good charcoal and take care in how it's packed, lit, and I suggest tapping the ash off the coals (tap the cooker legs) before hitting the sack if using Kingsford or any similiar briquette.

Cooking for supper, and starting the same day, you can cook with a dry pan and a little or lot faster like so many here speak of. You just start closing the vents accordingly to keep the temp under, say 300, or whatever you want. That's what I'm doing today with a brisket flat and pork butt, and while I normally cook brisket like this, it's a change from my usual "235 desired temp low, slow and LONG" overnight pork butt cook. We'll see how it goes.

Oh yeah...I wouldn't use sand for a couple of reasons. If it gets real hot because of a temp spike, it will stay that way for quite a while. On the other hand, if your charcoal starts dying, your temp gauge will be slow to let you know. Also, if you like to be able to lift the whole unit off the base, a pan full of sand will be even heavier than a pan full of water...a lot heavier. I really have no idea why folks use sand. I'll probably eventually try a clay saucer, but I just put a couple layers of foil over the top of the pan if wanting to cook 275+. It's a little clean up, but not a big deal using the water pan as intended for lower cooking temps.

Have fun,
Dave
wsm, otg, ots, smoky joe, uds, char-griller w/sfb
 
Originally posted by Dave Russell:


Well, I guess "We all" killed two birds with one stone, then. It's entirely ok to find humor in stuff, and I'm certainly glad someone found out how to take care of their smoker.
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Okay... I took your post the wrong way, and I apologize. I thought you were takin a shot at all the folks who replied to this thread, but now I see that is not the case.
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Tim
 
Originally posted by timothy:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave Russell:


Well, I guess "We all" killed two birds with one stone, then. It's entirely ok to find humor in stuff, and I'm certainly glad someone found out how to take care of their smoker.
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Okay... I took your post the wrong way, and I apologize. I thought you were takin a shot at all the folks who replied to this thread, but now I see that is not the case.
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Tim </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No apology needed, Timothy. I do have a weird sense of humor sometimes.

I guess the same old topics are always gonna come up, and it's understandable since there's always newbies. However, I wish there was a little bit more comic relief here from time to time. It seems most here are completely serious ALL the time....or a little afraid to ruffle feathers?... I don't know, but folks could lighten up some, know what I mean? I mean, it seems there are literally NO wisecracks made at all, not even in good fun. I guess that means no wiseguys, too though.
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I guess my point is that this is a social media, and we've all learned you've got to really sort through all the stuff you read here...it's not like it's a free bbq cooking school or something where everything read should be taken so seriously.....so there ought to be some entertainment value somewhere.
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Regards,
Dave
 
Clean up? Never heard of it...lol. Just dump the ash, clean the cooking grate(s) on the chimney when lighting for the next cook. Make sure water pan doesn't run dry during the cook and cleaning it is easy.
 
Originally posted by Bill S.:
Clean up? Never heard of it...lol. Just dump the ash, clean the cooking grate(s) on the chimney when lighting for the next cook. Make sure water pan doesn't run dry during the cook and cleaning it is easy.
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Good idea, Bill.

If folks gross out at cleaning the stuff out of their water bowl, they can start cooking their butts and briskets in a pan the whole time like some folks do.
 
Well, I'm happy to report that I used my WSM yesterday on a chuck steak, sausages, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts. The potatoes and brussels sprouts were in foil pans on the top rack, so I didn't bother with cleaning that rack. The lower rack had the meat on it. As soon as I got the meat off I yanked the rack out, put it on newspaper, and brushed it down on both sides. I foiled the water pan and will empty that today now that the water and drippings are cool. All I have to do is throw the foil out!!

So I'm happy to report that my cook yesterday was a complete success due to this thread!! Thank you one and all!! Now.....what else can I BBQ.......
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