Cleaning up


 
M

Michael Nessing

New member
OK, so although I know not to clean the inside of the smoker, I definitely make it a practice to wash the racks, grill tops and bowl after every cook. Any tips towards making that easier? Ive considered spraying them with PAM or something similar, but wonder if that has any adverse affects. I also made a mental note after my last cook that if I coat ribs before foiling them with stuff like brown sugar and agave nectar, i need to put them back in the smoker flat and remove the rack to try and prevent any inadvertent leakage. Talk about a difficult and sticky clean up.
 
I line my bowl with foil and leave the grates as is until the next cook. Before firing up the smoker on the next cook I take a metal brush to the grates. The residue left on the grates keeps them from rusting.

Paul
 
I would pull the racks, scrape or brush off anything that stuck to them, use a little steel wool or scotch brite to get anything stubborn, then put the racks in the dishwasher. If they are very badly mucked, I spray them with oven cleaner and let them set outside for a hour or two before putting them in the dishwasher.

My theory is that a smoker doesn't normally get hot enough to kill bacteria that might be hanging onto the grill. I have a slightly compromised immune system due to a nasty encounter with a common bacterium last summer. I can't take the chance that 'all will be OK'.

This probably sounds compulsive and obsessive, but I dang near died and don't want to go down that road again for not having cleaned a grill rack.
 
i don't mess with the charcoal bowl until i go to dump the ash after a cook. as far as the grates go i usually leave the lid and door off after a cook and let the wsm get up to a higher temp. if i used water in the water pan during the cook i simply leave as is. if i didn't, then i yank the pan out to allow the temp to get even hotter. i then take a grill brush and give them a very light brushing. i also throw the wsm's grates onto my 22" OTG and do a burn off after a cook on the kettle. i try to keep it simple.
 
When I have my head screwed on straight, I remember to spray the cooking grates with Pam before adding the meat. It does make cleanup a lot easier. If you're not averse to toxic stuff like oven cleaner, it also make cleaning the grates that much easier afterwards. My take on all things cleaning for the WSM can be found here...maybe a few things you can leverage: Cleanup, Maintenance & Storage

Regards,
Chris
 
I think a good nylon brush is your friend. I dump and brush out the charcoal bowl. I also use it on the top to ensure that not flakes make it onto my food. I do spray the grates with Pam and to clean them I soak in my utility sink (hot soap and water) and scrub with a scotch bright pad. Pretty simple. I foil the pan (don't use water) and just gather up the foil and throw the drippings away. All in all, I don't spend much time cleaning but I do make sure anything the food touches is clean - really clean.
 
if you have a gasser fire it up full blast and throw the grates on for 5 to 10 minutes and polish up with your wire brush.
Comes out shiny and the heat sterilizes them.
 
I like Canola oil better than Pam. Just put on rag and wipe grates. I spray the grates with Simple Green, use power washer on them, and then wipe with oil. They have already been brushed with a wire brush after I'm done cooking. I foil the pan, when I use water and when I don't.
 
After a cook I remove the middle section (watch out for spilling grease) and place the grates on top of the charcoal ring. I let it burn for about 5-10 minutes then shut the bottom vents and place the middle section & lid back on, with the top vent close. Once the smoker is cool, hit the grates will a grill brush, some pan then back in the middle section for storage. If you want to save the leftover charcoal place the lid on top of the charcoal bowl instead of the middle section and it will give you a better seal to extinguish the lit charcoal.

The bowl I just foil it a couple times and remove/add layers as it gets nasty.
 
In 5 years, I've never done anything other than to wash the cooking grate (I've never used the bottom grate) within a couple of days of each cook and brush out any flaking stuff on the walls. Like Chris, I spray pam before adding meat. Has worked well so far. I've been using foiled water pan (no water) and foiled clay pot base for low/slow and just the water pan for high heat cooks. If the lid shows signs of flaking, that stuff gets a brushing, but that hasn't happened often
 
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