Keeping the area clean


 
S

Steve Tiilikainen

TVWBB Member
Folks,

I never claimed to be smart. In fact, when I talk to people about where I work, I often say that I’m “the dumbest smart person in the room”.

So. One thing I’ve learned in my sum total of three cooks is this: charcoal is filthy and causes a huge mess.

How do you keep your grill area (and house) clean? How do you keep soot from getting everywhere and being tracked inside your house? Have you picked up any habits that you find to be effective in keeping down the mess?

So far I’ve got the following:

Place your WSM on a (fire-safe) grill mat and do all your work over that.

Wear a specific pair of shoes for BBQing. Put a doormat outside the door to your smoker and wipe your feet whenever coming in. Take off your shoes whenever you come in.

That’s it. Assume I have absolutely no common sense in your replies. There is no way you could insult my intelligence more than I insult it daily.
 
I wear a slip on/off sandal or similar when charcoaling. I slip them on/off at the door, where this is indeed a mat.

Great minds!
 
I use lots of charcoal and have never tracked anything in unless I’ve knocked over something. It’s not filthy, what the heck are you doing to make it such a problem? One thing I’ve found handy is a pair of cheap jersey gloves, not the least bit heat resistant but, when cleaning up they really help.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I use lots of charcoal and have never tracked anything in unless I’ve knocked over something. It’s not filthy, what the heck are you doing to make it such a problem? One thing I’ve found handy is a pair of cheap jersey gloves, not the least bit heat resistant but, when cleaning up they really help.
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Hah. This morning I got some ash on the deck from dumping the old coals out of the base into a bag.

I’m thinking of getting a wide-mouth oblong plastic or metal bin to dump charcoal into to prevent this from happening.
 
I'm in good company, because I'm as sharp as a marble.

I focus on similar actions that you, Darren, and TFL noted; when I cook with charcoal I work with a pair of shoes that don't make it into the house (my clean house shoes are inside the doorway).

I wear gloves and scoop charcoal from the bag into the chimney (or into the grill/smoker). In my earlier days I inverted the charcoal bag into the chimney, which poured "dust" or "crumbs" all over the floor.
 
Steve Tiilikainen said:
Hah. This morning I got some ash on the deck from dumping the old coals out of the base into a bag.
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I recommend using extreme caution when removing spent coals, or ash. I searched but cannot find a recent thread where a couple folks commented on how long ash can maintain unsafe temps. I know @Chris Allingham commented on that thread but don't recall whom was the OP.
 
I use a Kingsford charcoal bin and when I get to the bottom the dust just goes in the chimney and through down into the bottom of the kettle, no mess that goes anywhere other than the ash catcher. Cleanup is a different story, with the WSM I just take the bottom to the dumpster (when I know it’s cold) and dump it in, the catchers on the kettles fit in a plain paper grocery bag so, that’s no big deal either.
 
BFletcher said:
I recommend using extreme caution when removing spent coals, or ash. I searched but cannot find a recent thread where a couple folks commented on how long ash can maintain unsafe temps. I know @Chris Allingham commented on that thread but don't recall whom was the OP.
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Thanks for the reminder. This was stone cold ash from my last cook which was before Thanksgiving.

I'm really curious about how people handle their used coals.
 
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The one area that I had trouble with was my hands or fingers, so I put a bowl of water out by my grilling area to wash up during my cooks or a hose. Keeps the doors ,and jams cleaner.
 
Used coal that is still of a size that can be re used I use in the kettle, put about half a chimney of fresh on the bottom and fill up with the used goods and light as normal.
 
Never had a problem with tracking ash and other residue into the house. If I spill any in my grilling area, I get out the shop vac and take care of it. We've got mats inside and outside of the back door, so seldom track anything into the house.
 
1. Kingsford charcoal caddy.
2. 2-4 stainless oil drip pans. 2x3 feet. Cheap, heat proof, they nest into each other, easy to clean up with a hose. Great way to keep all the hot grilling and charcoal schmutz off your deck and out of the house.
3. Leave all the unburned coals in the WSM. A great mod is the criss cross charcoal grate plus handles plus attaching the charcoal ring. Mine is pictured below. I used square U-bolts and fender washers to hold the grates together; then the ring is wired onto the criss cross grates. Gives you a charcoal basket that you can shake the ash out of, leaving the use-able coals behind for the next cook.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Charcoal Grate Modifications - The Virtual Weber Bullet

A few charcoal grate modifications that will improve the performance and ease of use of your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

4. Make an ash scoop out of an empty clorox bottle. The flexible non-scratching plastic is perfect for scooping ash out of the rounded bottom bowl. Chris shows how below.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Make Your Own Ash Shovel - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Make your own ash shovel for use with the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. All you need is a large bleach bottle. Includes video demonstration of the process.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 

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