# Smoker Cleaning Question



## cajun smoke (Oct 5, 2012)

I know for the most part people don't clean the insides of their smokers to get all nice and seasoned, but what about the racks? When I finish smoking there is usually residual bits of food and drippings on the racks. I have been cleaning the racks after every smoke (which is a pain in the ass), but is that necessary?


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## rdknb (Oct 5, 2012)

I clean mine also.  I know some say no need, but clean can never be bad.


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## shoneyboy (Oct 5, 2012)

My rack is made of expanded metal and then I have several wooden dowel rods that I use to hang my sausage on..... I usually just heat the expanded metal rack up and hit it with a wire brush. then I'll give it a once over with the hose....The dowel rods, I usually just use a scrubber and dish soap and give them a once over.....As far as the smoker, I have run it through the car wash 1 or 2 times on just high pressure rinse, just to knock off some of the extra build up...... Hope this helps....ShoneyBoy


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## piaconis (Oct 5, 2012)

I clean my grates after each smoke.  I went to Sam's Club and bought a two-pack of restaraunt bus tubs so I can easily wash and rinse without tracking a bunch of dirt into the house.  Just some antibacterial dish soap and one of those plastic grill scrubbers.  If you clean regularly, it's a lot less scrubbing.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


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## cajun smoke (Oct 5, 2012)

piaconis said:


> I clean my grates after each smoke. I went to Sam's Club and bought a two-pack of restaraunt bus tubs so I can easily wash and rinse without tracking a bunch of dirt into the house. Just some antibacterial dish soap and one of those plastic grill scrubbers. If you clean regularly, it's a lot less scrubbing.
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2


yeah thats pretty much exactly what i do now. i guess i should just stop being lazy and keep em reasonably clean lol. thanks guys


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## linguica (Oct 5, 2012)

I clean only the racks and drip pan with HOT water and Dawn. Don't use the dishwasher, afterwards everything sticks.


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## JckDanls 07 (Oct 5, 2012)

I put my racks right on top of what's left of the charcoal and burn all the crud to a crisp...  wire brush em..  then wipe em down with used veggy oil to keep from rusting...


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## dad of four (Oct 8, 2012)

I have a MES 40.  When I am through smoking, I soak an old bath towel(s) in water, fold it to the size of the rack, and and put it on top of the rack(s)

I fire it back up to 275 and let it start steaming for an hour to loosen all the crud


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## scarbelly (Oct 8, 2012)

I wire brush them mostly and then I use the laundry room sink and a sponge with a scrubber about every 3 smokes.


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## jrod62 (Oct 8, 2012)

I use the gas grill to burn it off ( only time the gas grill get used anymore )


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## rodw (Oct 8, 2012)

I do the same as Jrod.   I place all my racks and everything into the gas grill and put it on high.  After everything burns off, the smoke clears, and the fire department leave, I easily brush off the racks with my grill brush. Everything is dust at that point anyway.Can't get much cleaner the 600 degrees ;)


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## pat ferrante (Oct 8, 2012)

i just take a wire brush and scrub it hard..and occasionally i will put it in the dishwasher and stick it on heavy wash pots and pans and that really gets it good!


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## pit 4 brains (Oct 8, 2012)

Linguica said:


> I clean only the racks and drip pan with HOT water and Dawn. Don't use the dishwasher, afterwards everything sticks.


Yup..

I do clean the inside of my GOSM just because it gets some dust, grass, dog hair, etc.. blown into it. For that I have found that oven cleaner works the best. It will remove all the decals off the control panel but it gets all the grime out. A little hosing out and a dry-out burn and its ready to go..


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## chef jimmyj (Oct 8, 2012)

Cleaning the racks is good so you are not putting old Rib schmutz on your newly smoked Cheese. But in terms of safety there is none. The preheat sterilizes the racks and you can put whatever you wish on them...JJ


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## mofo (Oct 8, 2012)

I always scrub mine after each cook, along with the water pan, even though I line it with foil, and the drip pan.


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## bootlegger (Oct 8, 2012)

I clean my racks every time I use them, Easy-off oven cleaner than high pressuure washer works great, no scrubbing


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## zackly (Oct 8, 2012)

I just cleaned mine (GOSM) Saturday after a summer of smoking. Soaked them in the sink in dish detergent, scrubbed with nylon brush then used hottest/longest/toughest cycle of my dishwasher. Got them 90% clean which is fine for me. I wonder, can you put them in an electric oven & use the auto clean cycle while you are also cleaning the oven? I don't remove my oven racks during cleaning but they are much more substantial.


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## amcjeep (Oct 8, 2012)

Bootlegger said:


> I clean my racks every time I use them, Easy-off oven cleaner than high pressuure washer works great, no scrubbing


Daniel?

I scrub mine with a grill wire brush after each use, and once or twice a year I will do a hot fire in mine and burn everything clean.  I have a chargriller smoking pro so the fire under the grates and in the smoke box is pretty easy and efficient.


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## katfacer (Oct 8, 2012)

dad of four said:


> I have a MES 40.  When I am through smoking, I soak an old bath towel(s) in water, fold it to the size of the rack, and and put it on top of the rack(s)
> 
> I fire it back up to 275 and let it start steaming for an hour to loosen all the crud


I think I stole this idea from you, and I have to say it works perfectly. I had tried everything I could think of to clean the window, and this was the best technique I was able to find. Just make sure you have heavy duty gloves to handle the heat!


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## signalguys (Oct 8, 2012)

Cajun Smoke said:


> I know for the most part people don't clean the insides of their smokers to get all nice and seasoned, but what about the racks? When I finish smoking there is usually residual bits of food and drippings on the racks. I have been cleaning the racks after every smoke (which is a pain in the ass), but is that necessary?


I'm sorry Cajun Smoke, I really wanted to say something helpful but I simply cannot stop staring at your Avitar. LOL

Yummmmmmmmm I love me some bacon too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## mikeh (Oct 8, 2012)

A guy at work told me about this the other day and I gave it a try.  I took the racks out of my MES40 and put them in the oven and turned it to the auto clean cycle.  It did smoke up the kitchen some, but the open windows took care of that.  When the clean cycle was done, all the stuff on the racks had been burned off.  I wiped them down and put them back in the smoker.  pretty easy and worked great.   

Mike


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## cnsfarms (Oct 8, 2012)

We have a outside fire pit, after a weekend of smoking and the pit fired for marshmellows I lay them on the grate over the pit after were done, Next morning put them back in smoker.


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## carrol rhodes (Oct 8, 2012)

_An easy way to clean grill grates or oven racks is to line your bathtub with four used dryer sheets, set the grill or oven racks on top and fill the tub with warm water. Let sit overnight and then wipe clean . The power of the antistatic in dryer sheets helps to separate the food from the grates._

_Go to this web site for more on this.  _

_I bought a plastic tub with lid and soaked racks overnight and rubbed them off the next morning they looked like new._

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/04/almost-effortless-way-to-clean-your.html


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## smoking544 (Oct 8, 2012)

I  have had my smoker for 3 years and have never washed them.   The cast iron grate are well seasoned and I would hate to start over.  First of all I smoke and do not put sauce on my grill NEVER.  I burn off the excess if there is any and a good wire brush top and bottom and a good oil rub down to keep from rusting.  My meat never stick.   From time to time I will build a big fire to clean the inside and watch the Greece run.  Other than that that is all I do


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## doug r (Oct 9, 2012)

I always clean my racks, but before using them, I spray them with a bit of PAM or some kind of cooking spray. When done smoking, I put them in the sink with hot water and dish soap. I can usually just wipe them off and they come out very clean with little effort.


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## ice daddy (Oct 9, 2012)

I have a 60 Lang and I use to use wire brush after smoking,  soapy water and just about everything mentioned above.  What a pain.  Now I use a pressure washer (3300 psi).  Quick easy lemon peazy.  I let them dry and spray some Pam or similar veggie spray.  On the next cook I heat the grill to 250/300 while prepping everything and I'm ready to go.


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## bllroche (Oct 9, 2012)

Spray the grate with Pam before smoking and everything comes off easy.  Use a wire brush and a hose, takes a minute and done.


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## big andy a (Oct 9, 2012)

I just followed the link and read the article that Carrol posted where dryer sheets are used to loosen the crud.  I think I'm going to give that a try this weekend.

Andy.


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## big casino (Oct 9, 2012)

I knock of the heavy stuff in the sink and then run them thru the dishwasher, don't find mine to ever stick much, a little bit if butt or brisket now and then but nothing bad


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## ski-freak (Oct 9, 2012)

Only thing I really have to clean is the indirect side of my horizontal smoker/grill due to long cooking at low temperatures, and I have a small power washer and just blast it out with water the day after a smoke. I swap out the small drip can for a large plastic bucket to catch the schmooze so it doesn't stain the patio. After I'm done power washing the whole inside of the indirect heat food chamber, I then use a weed burner on a 20 pound propane tank to briefly blast those cooking grates and sterilize them without removing them (learned that on this site). This whole operation doesn't take very long, and I don't have to remove anything.The direct side (side firebox), and my other direct grilling units (Weber Kettle, etc.) never get any more than the ash cleaned out and an occasional cooking grate wire-brushing because they have stronger direct charcoal heat.


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## cajun smoke (Oct 9, 2012)

holy crap, i didn't check this thread for a couple days and you guys have dropped some serious knowledge since the last time i checked it lol! definitely some good ideas in here. I have a MES 40 and i particularly like the idea of putting the racks on the grill and just burning them off. i'll have to try that.


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## wes w (Oct 30, 2012)

Alot of good info here. I only have is a wood fired  brick smoker.  If I'm doing pork butts I clean it while the meat is resting.  If I do ribs I just stoke the fire up  to keep it hot till dinner is over.   I usually scrub them down good with a wire brush.  Top and bottom.   I use foil roasting pans as my water pan.  When done just throw it away.   When I fire it up next time, while its warming up I use a weed burning to clean  and sanitize  the racks.  I have never cleaned the walls of the smoker. 

View media item 165648


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## hotnspicy (Oct 30, 2012)

Dude that looks sweet!  Wes only in my dreams.  I think you are not trying to show off & have a second one built to the left of this one :)


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## ice daddy (Oct 30, 2012)

Nice lookin smoker Wes.


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## wes w (Nov 15, 2012)

Thanks You!   No show off here.  Here is the complete project. 













IMG_9684-1.jpg



__ wes w
__ Nov 14, 2012






If interested in a brick smoker here is the link to my build.  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/126307/brick-smokers


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## phillip p smith (Dec 15, 2013)

KaTFacer said:


> I think I stole this idea from you, and I have to say it works perfectly. I had tried everything I could think of to clean the window, and this was the best technique I was able to find. Just make sure you have heavy duty gloves to handle the heat!


Someone on one of the threads used ash from fireplace and damp paper towel to clean the glass. I tried that today and it worked.  Next time I will put a piece of newspaper on the flooring before scrubbing. Get the paper towel wet, dip it in the ashes, rub some all over the glass, then go back and rub all over.  Rinse with clean water.  Viola!!  Job done with no hassle or chemicals! It works!!


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