Dan H.
TVWBB Pro
THE ASH BATH
Step 1. Find or buy a square, handled, scrubbing brush (the ones that are not very abrasive, im not sure what there called but there pretty gentle. Dont use copper etc). Also have a large crappy fine brisled paint brush for bbq only.
2. Every time after your cook start with the lid placed inside charcoal bowl of dis-assembled wsm, and keep used ashes inside of bowl and run the scrubber through the ashes, then rub onto lid. This will safely remove any fresh buildup of grease etc. Use small circular strokes. Do small sections at a time repeating the dip and rub method. The ash is also mildly abrasive and also prevents the greasyness from destroying the cheap brush. It dries up the grease while it scrubs and as its absorbed (into the ash) it kind of rolls off the brush and lid and into the bowl without a mess (except for ash on your hands, no big deal to me). Do lid rim outside and in if nessacary. Use crappy paint brush w/ fine bristles as a final "dust off" and you'll see how nicely 90% of the ash comes off. Your left w/ a nice smokey, used look patina, but with no real buildup. Keep in mind that this will keep that "once a year flaking" down easily w/ out ever having to do a high heat burnoff (my second fav. cleaning idea i seen on this site by the way).
3. set lid aside and do both grates, this works esp. well and keeps the handles clean and sanitary for next time your handling them for the next cook. reapeat step 2 pretty much. Top and bottom will be sparkly (if your grates aren't completely filthy im assuming) this will make them dry, shiny, and I think will help keep rust from even forming in the first place, all grease & moisture will be absorbed. Keep in mind this will prevent the nickel pre mature ware down that hight heat burn off can cause.
4. assemble mid-section and reach down into the bottom (this is the worst part, but not to bad). Start at the top, work down, small circular strokes, dip and rub.. I focuse mostly on the section between both grates and the water pan/grate holders. They get a good brunt of the cook it seems. again follow step 2. Final dust off when finished ,w/ nice clean paint brush.
5. Water pan. we all know how sometimes we get a leak in the foil and that strange yellowish grease finds its way in. No problem, use extra ash and it all just goes away after a while of working it. It all falls into the ash pan and leaves a nice dry, clean water pan. I esp. like cleaning the terra cotta that I sometimes use as a heat sink in it. I used to never think that a grease leak on those would ever come off, but it leaves a nice and dry terra cotta base (stained but sanitary dry, and clean).
6. discard ashes....hehehehe, done and like new with only a nice used patina look left...and the brush will still be in good shap instead of all clogged up like our (my) grill brushes can sometimes get.. which is also a little nasty to me.
I like to think the dryness also keeps mold down as well while stored. If you wanted to (i dont cause im storing mine well out of the weather) you could leave most ash coated inside possibly, and do the dust off before the next cook. All I do is veg. oil the grates before next cook to ensure theres no ash left to get onto the food and thats all. The interior of both my cookers look great w/ heavy use. I cant say that if your cookers trashed now that this will be easy the first time but I can say that its super easy if you do it once per cook. It won't even begin to get nasty this way.
I just like knowing no big chunks are going to fall into my food and its nice never having sections stuck together. If I have company (often do) I can feel good about them "checking it out". I can handle w/ bare hands every part of the cooker next cook w/ out getting nasty at all. I would recommend this after each cook depending how "clean" of a dude you are. I didn't see this covered but havn't been on for a while so dis-regard if this has been covered. But to me this is the way to go! hope it helps.
Step 1. Find or buy a square, handled, scrubbing brush (the ones that are not very abrasive, im not sure what there called but there pretty gentle. Dont use copper etc). Also have a large crappy fine brisled paint brush for bbq only.
2. Every time after your cook start with the lid placed inside charcoal bowl of dis-assembled wsm, and keep used ashes inside of bowl and run the scrubber through the ashes, then rub onto lid. This will safely remove any fresh buildup of grease etc. Use small circular strokes. Do small sections at a time repeating the dip and rub method. The ash is also mildly abrasive and also prevents the greasyness from destroying the cheap brush. It dries up the grease while it scrubs and as its absorbed (into the ash) it kind of rolls off the brush and lid and into the bowl without a mess (except for ash on your hands, no big deal to me). Do lid rim outside and in if nessacary. Use crappy paint brush w/ fine bristles as a final "dust off" and you'll see how nicely 90% of the ash comes off. Your left w/ a nice smokey, used look patina, but with no real buildup. Keep in mind that this will keep that "once a year flaking" down easily w/ out ever having to do a high heat burnoff (my second fav. cleaning idea i seen on this site by the way).
3. set lid aside and do both grates, this works esp. well and keeps the handles clean and sanitary for next time your handling them for the next cook. reapeat step 2 pretty much. Top and bottom will be sparkly (if your grates aren't completely filthy im assuming) this will make them dry, shiny, and I think will help keep rust from even forming in the first place, all grease & moisture will be absorbed. Keep in mind this will prevent the nickel pre mature ware down that hight heat burn off can cause.
4. assemble mid-section and reach down into the bottom (this is the worst part, but not to bad). Start at the top, work down, small circular strokes, dip and rub.. I focuse mostly on the section between both grates and the water pan/grate holders. They get a good brunt of the cook it seems. again follow step 2. Final dust off when finished ,w/ nice clean paint brush.
5. Water pan. we all know how sometimes we get a leak in the foil and that strange yellowish grease finds its way in. No problem, use extra ash and it all just goes away after a while of working it. It all falls into the ash pan and leaves a nice dry, clean water pan. I esp. like cleaning the terra cotta that I sometimes use as a heat sink in it. I used to never think that a grease leak on those would ever come off, but it leaves a nice and dry terra cotta base (stained but sanitary dry, and clean).
6. discard ashes....hehehehe, done and like new with only a nice used patina look left...and the brush will still be in good shap instead of all clogged up like our (my) grill brushes can sometimes get.. which is also a little nasty to me.
I like to think the dryness also keeps mold down as well while stored. If you wanted to (i dont cause im storing mine well out of the weather) you could leave most ash coated inside possibly, and do the dust off before the next cook. All I do is veg. oil the grates before next cook to ensure theres no ash left to get onto the food and thats all. The interior of both my cookers look great w/ heavy use. I cant say that if your cookers trashed now that this will be easy the first time but I can say that its super easy if you do it once per cook. It won't even begin to get nasty this way.
I just like knowing no big chunks are going to fall into my food and its nice never having sections stuck together. If I have company (often do) I can feel good about them "checking it out". I can handle w/ bare hands every part of the cooker next cook w/ out getting nasty at all. I would recommend this after each cook depending how "clean" of a dude you are. I didn't see this covered but havn't been on for a while so dis-regard if this has been covered. But to me this is the way to go! hope it helps.