Keeping a Clean Bullet


 
T

T Ring

New member
I've been smoking on my bullet for about 2 years now, and find it is impossible to keep clean. By the time it has cooled from a cook, I forget to clean the drip pan and grate and when I go out a few days later the whole inside gets coated with a funky mold. That means every cook is preceded by a high-pressure wash and an hour or two at 500+ degrees. So, it now takes me about 3 or 4 hours to clean and burn the WSM and get it back down to temp. Any suggestions on avoiding a toxic mess in my WSM?
 
Can't really imagine what kind of mold would grow in a few days!

About all I ever do with mine (I have 4 bullets in all) is toss the foil in the water pan after each cook. I do the terra cotta pan mod rather than water.

Other than putting a new foil wrap on the saucer and bowl, I just heat mine up to scrape off the grills and start cooking!
 
Foil the pan and/or foil a clay saucer for the top. Regarding the grate, not sure why, but I've never noticed mine molding up even if I don't cook on it for a few weeks and forgot to scrape it. Guess the answer would be to scrape it right when you're done or throw it on a gasser (if it'll fit) or a kettle next time you're letting you fire it up.
 
It's not just the pan and grate... the sides and lid get caked, too. I'm guessing it's a combination of organic matter (fat drippings), rain/humidity and lack of circulation due to closed vents. It's totally bizarre, frustrating and a royal pain in the rump.
 
Try leaving the bottom vents open after the coals have gone out. This solved my issue when I am unable to cook for a few weeks.
 
How about loading it up with charcoal and running it wide open to burn off anythin unpleasant? Then just bring the temp down and cook on it. I have never had any problem like yours. Do live in a damp area?
 
T, I know exactly the mold you're talking about. It's a fuzzy greyish-bluish thing. When I finish a smoke I leave my WSM door open with the lid off to heat the sides really hot. I also have removed the graets and put them on my gasser where I will burn them clean. The next day - and I know that's not always easy - I dump the charcoal, and stack everything with the bottom part on top so no water can get in. I have good luck with this.

Cheers,
Michael
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Can't really imagine what kind of mold would grow in a few days! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
At my Fla place it grows in less than two.

I rinse the inside of the cooker before use with a garden hose. The grates I clean with a brush and the hose. Takes less than 10 minutes. I see no need to pressure clean, 'cook' the inside of the cooker and grates, or any of that. Toxic mess? No.
 
Mold obviously needs moisture to grow so the answer is to keep a dry WSM. If you're using a water pan, you have to get that out of the WSM. I don't use water so I'm not sure exactly what to do, but the water has to go. Try cooking without water and see how you like it.

Then you need to store it so it's dry and not accumulating outside water (rain). I've always stored my WSM inside my garage. Mine is dry on both counts and I've never had mold.

If I had to store my WSM outside, I think I would go with the large contractor's garbage bag method. Seems like one of those would keep it dry.

Ultimately, you have to put some time in either by cleaning it out soon after cooking or cleaning it out later.
 
Leave the vents open. Air circulating through will surely help. As far as cleaning the grates, most of the time when I am done I will immediately disassemble the cooker and put the cooking grates right over the hot coals. Any fat and grease will burn pretty quick and then you just take them off and scrape. Very simple to do!

As far as the water pan goes, whether I don't use water or do use water, I have it completely foiled. 95% of the time nothing goes through the foil but sometimes it does and then it's just a quick hit with the garden hose, quick splash of dish soap and some paper towels.
 
As already mentioned, there's no need to pressure washer or high temp burn out.

Since I no longer use water, cleanup is no problem. Hit the grates with a brush as soon as possible after taking off the meat. Wad up the foil later that day or the next day.

I only rinse mine out once a year, just before Spring. And then I run a chimney of coals through it just to dry it out.
 
Thanks for the input. I long ago abandoned water in the pan, so the moisture is coming from rain and/or humidity (we get ample doses of both here in St. Louis). Sounds like I need to quit trying to salvage the lump that remains after a cook and let it burn off and store it in the garage (handles would be nice).
 
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