Cleaning Question


 
J

John G.

TVWBB Member
Last time I smoked I got lazy and didn't clean my cooker. Two weeks later I opened the lid and found that a mold colony had decided to call my cooker home. Word to the wise... clean your cookers.

I spent the last day cleaning the entire cooker. Soaked the grates and water pan in grease remover and cleaned everything else with grease remover and dish soap.

My question relates to cooking again. Should I fire up the smoker one time to burn off the chemicals before I cook again? Evem though I rinsed everything off, I'm a little worried that some type of residue may burn of and get on the meat.

Thanks for any advice.
 
If you're concerned do it. It'd be easy, quick, and there's no point driving yourself nuts wondering if you should have.
 
Good point Kevin. I'd say that response could be appropriate for any number of questions. Go with the gut...
 
that's a good reminder, especially for those new to bbq. Having different kinds of cooking equipment, I have learned how important it is to deal with a good clean up within a day or two of use.

It is always a great feeling to prep an already clean cooker. Makes it possible for impulse cooking.
 
Wow. I figured the smokey residue on the inside of the cooker was desirable - I thought I read somewhere about achieving this coating? I clean my grates but not the sides.

Does everybody clean after every cook like this? That gunk did not seem to want to come off my lid very easily.
 
The impression I got was that the water pan wasn't dumped after the last cook and all the food remnants were left on the grills. If the vents were closed to smother the coals, I'm assuming the mold was from the humidity in the cooker caused by the remaining water.

I just had my fist cook this past weekend and did my best to bring the grill and water pan to like new condition the next day. I stored it with the vents closed to prevent critters from getting into it (it's up north at the cottage). Hopefully it'll stay mold free stored like this.
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If I happen to procrastinate (who, me?), and put off cleaning my WSM long enough for mold to start to grow on the inside walls-- and it doesn't take very long if there's water left in the pan, or it rains and the cooker gets wet-- I find that a load of lit Kingsford on the next cook gets rid of it pretty quick.
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I haven't cleaned my WSM EVER!
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(had it for about 18 months now). I used to clean the grates and the water pan, but lately I have gotten even lazier (I didn't think it was possible). I collect the grease from the water pan and dump out the water (sometimes a week or two after I smoke). Every couple of weeks I clean out the ashes. I use my WSM about 4 or 5 times a month. Never seen any mold inside, and I live in the very wet seattle area...
 
I got mold after a few months of use. Since then i degrease the inside of the lid once every 2-3 months, and burn off all residue on the grates on a gas grill before each smoke.

With the water pan lined with foil, she is clean as a whistle.

Go Gators
 
I always rub wadded up kitchen foil over the grills whilst they are still hot and anything sticking is still relatively loose. Anything else can be brushed out when I remove the coals. The next batch of heat sterilises everything nicely.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I used to clean the grates and the water pan, but lately I have gotten even lazier (I didn't think it was possible). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sand in pan is soooo much easier cleanup. Foil the pan, sand, foil over the sand. Cook throw away the foil. You just have to adjust the way you control the temps.
 
The only "cleanup" I do is rub down the grate with
the brush, dump the ashes out and remove the foil
from the water pan. Total cleanup time is maybe
17 seconds. I've never cleaned anything else nor
do I think it would be necessary or even good to do, but that's just me.
 
As for water in the pan, there really wasn't any left. I let it all evaporate during the cook.

I think what really did it was the combination of pouring rain which filled the bottom of the smoker, very high humidy and finally high tempatures. It is clean as new now though and I look forward to smoking for the 4th!

I am thinking about switching to sand instead of water. Cleanup sounds like it would be much easier.
 
I shifted to sand and then the Guru. Cleanup consists of throwing the grates on the gasser, burning them off, dumping the ashes and, when loaded with grease, taking a layer or three of aluminum foil off of the "water" pan. I do manage to get the cover on the WSM before it rains, so far.
 
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