I just used my WSM for the first time yesterday and everything came out great. But I have one question what do I need to do now to keep the WSM looking new? Is it normal for the inside to have a brown residue? Should I be worried about that? I thought I read somewhere that it was normal, but I couldn't find it in my search. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Clean Up
- Thread starter Chris B
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Bruce Bissonnette
TVWBB Guru
The brown residue on the inside is normal, don't worry about it. You can try to keep your grates looking new if you want and if you have the time, but a good brushing with a wire brush and a couple of sprays with with Greased Lightning, or some other degreaser, will work just fine.
It's a smoker it's going to get a little discolored. Good Luck
It's a smoker it's going to get a little discolored. Good Luck
Doug D
TVWBB Hall of Fame
The brown residue is a combination of smoke and water vapor. Eventually-- more like shortly-- it will start to flake off. You can keep it at bay by brushing it off with about anything-- paper towel, a bristle brush, or crumpled foil. Steam cleaning the interior to like-new condition isn't really necessary. Dump the ash after each cook-- you should probably give the charcoal bowl a thorough cleaning. The soot that build up on the inside of the center section I leave alone until it gets really bad. Depending on if you believe the soot layer helps retain heat better than a spanking new interior, you can feel free to be as much or as little concerned about it as you wish.
Wow, talk about service around here. Three responses in two minutes! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Regards,
Chris
Regards,
Chris
Bruce Bissonnette
TVWBB Guru
Ask and ye shall receive. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Doug Walker
TVWBB Member
I Should have read this about an hour ago. I just went over my Smoker and cleaned it top to bottom. I sprayed a little Grill Cleaner on the inside and with a little water, it wiped clean to the black finish it came with. Worked on the grates with a scrub sponge and they came out looking pretty good as well. Now I find out all I needed was to scrape the grates? Oh well. It looks great. And after making food that good for me, it deserved a little attention.
Chris,
I have one smoker (another, no longer made brand) that I've been using for over 20 years. The secret is to use Pam spray on the grates, top and bottom, and especially on the outer edges, before you place the meat on them. Then as soon as you finish, and the sooner the better, place them in hot soapy water. After a few minutes of soaking, what little residue there is will come off with a sponge or one of those Dobey pads that isn't very abrasive. As for the water pan, always line it with heavy duty, wide Aluminum foil before each use. Then all you have to do is dump the water and toss the foil. The water pan in that smoker has never been washed in all these years.
I have one smoker (another, no longer made brand) that I've been using for over 20 years. The secret is to use Pam spray on the grates, top and bottom, and especially on the outer edges, before you place the meat on them. Then as soon as you finish, and the sooner the better, place them in hot soapy water. After a few minutes of soaking, what little residue there is will come off with a sponge or one of those Dobey pads that isn't very abrasive. As for the water pan, always line it with heavy duty, wide Aluminum foil before each use. Then all you have to do is dump the water and toss the foil. The water pan in that smoker has never been washed in all these years.
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