Curious what most people do. I've had 2 WSM's (14 and 22) for over a decade. I use them on and off, but overall fairly regularly. To be honest, I have never cleaned the inside of either. Recently saw a video of Harry Soo in which he said he cleaned his regularly. First, I can see no way to do with without making a god awful mess (especially the 22). Second, I've eaten at many many famous pits and I can say that they do not seem to clean grease off theirs, and I equally well would have no idea how you clean a 1000 gallon offset inside. Finally the reasons given for cleaning (heat reflection seems to my scientist ears to be, ..., questionable.
I of course clean the grates and charcoal ash after each use.
When I had my WSM I never cleaned the inside of it, never saw a need or reason to. I also had a OKJ Bronco and never cleaned inside of it either. But…..I would occasionally clean the underside of the lid with a scraper if I noticed the residue flaking to where it could possibly fall onto my food, I do the same with my kettle lid. Maybe Harry Soo is just a clean freak. 🤓
+1 here.
Once (or depending on the drippings inside the bowl) a year I use a plastic scraper to clean the bowl. That's about it other than the grates/ash catcher.
Referring to the kettles.
If you just have to clean it build a hot fire in it then get back and watch the darndest grease fire you’ve seen in a while. When one of my kamados get so grungy that I have to do something it gets a good burn out. I have to do it with the lid down so I can keep it below 800 F. Bad things happen to Kamado Joes at 900 F. Trust me I know this well. With a steel cooker you should be able to get it pretty hot. I’ve given bad advice before so be careful.
That's how I clean my much smaller stick burner sometimes. Let it burn out and then scrape up the leftover ash. Mine was also a grill in the main chamber and if you try to do charcoal with grease in there you have a problem
Weber Smoky Mountain 18” and 22”
Weber Smoque XL w/ front and side folding tables
Weber Genesis E-430 (came with the frame kit).
DigiQ fan controller (WSM 22” has the attachment)
Nexgrill 6 burner gas grill (replaced original grates with GrillGrate grates)
Turkey fryer (2)
Maverick ET-732 (2)
Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-less Turkey Fryer, Bunk Basket (2)
SouthwestDisc 18" Cooking Disc
I saw a Dirty Jobs where they were cleaning the inside of a giant smoker. That's about the only time I've seen someone clean a smoker to the point where it was mostly stainless steel again.
Like Panhead John said, I've cleaned the underside of the lid of my 22" WSM when the black flakey stuff starting coming off, but just enough to stop the flaking. I've done a quick scrub on the sides a few times on both the 18" and 22" over the several years, but not to where I'd call them clean. It was just to bring down a bit of the residue buildup.
I always brushed the inside with a wire brush. And I did not do that very often. But be sure to get the inside of the lid dome, creosote can start flaking and fall down on the meats.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ", Raichlen’s “Brisket Chronicles”
Current MCBS - Momofuku
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
I actually just open the vents wide at the end of the cook and let the last charcoal burn out as hot as I can. I want the water pan and interior of the WSM to be dry before I put a cover on it. But, I live in a very wet climate (Western Washington) and moisture underneath the cover leads to mold.
Pit Barrel Cooker
Weber Master-Touch
Blackstone Omnivore 4 Burner Griddle
Thermoworks: Signals, Billows, Thermopens, Thermopops, Nodes, bunch of silicone stuff, and more!
OnlyFire Rotisserie w/ Basket attachment for the Weber
Vortex for the Weber
Both of Meathead's books!
Way too many BBQ related accessories, tools, and doo-dads!
I've power washed my Pit Barrel. Wasn't pretty, was messy and wet, but I did manage to knock some carbon off the interior. Did it make a difference? I really can't say. I never got down to the original finish, and wasn't intending to do so. Just knock some buildup off.
I guess if I was a true pit master, I'd leave all the creosote on there and wear it like a badge of honor.
FYI, I ended up cleaning off the patio waaaay more. SWMBO was not pleased, and the dog licked the yard for weeks.
I had that grease and dog issue when I used to hose out my offset after long cooks, letting it drain into the yard... in later years I would line the bottom with foil and poke a hole at the grease drain, and it would help, as I could toss the foil.
I am the opposite. Right now my WSM is on the RV, but when I left it on the deck it would develop mold regularly, even covered. So I would scrub it with brillo pads, rinse it well and burn a small amount of charcoal with the vents wide open.
..., ..., ...!
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