If this is covered in a FAQ somewhere, please just point me in the right direction and mumble something about folks too dumb to search.
Well, the smoke is over, the food is resting, waiting for it's moments of glory, and now what. The fire is probably still too hot to start leaning the smoker, but that's the topic.
When do you clean your smoker, and how?
And if you forget and discover that you haven't cleaned it since Thanksgiving, how do you dislodge the crud from your grills and smoker body?
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
To make sure the coals are completely dead, I wait at least 24 hours before cleaning my PBC and 48 hours before cleaning my WSCGC, since it keeps coals going for such a long time. My gasser gets cleaned right after the meal.
PBC cleaning is so simple. Scrape and wash the grate if used, toss the hooks in the dishwasher, dump the coal basket contents into a garbage bag and fold up and toss the doubled aluminum foil placed under the coal basket to catch the ash. Takes 5 minutes or less if I haven't used the grate.
WSCGC cleaning each time takes about 45 minutes or more, depending on how messy I was during the cook. I scrape the grates and then put them on my gasser to burn off any residual residue, then scrub them down while sizzling hot with a wad of aluminum foil until they're nice and clean. Then I scrape the insides of the smoker with a plastic scraper used for cleaning pots and pans, empty the ash, wipe the outside surfaces down with a damp cloth, followed by a smooth polishing cloth to keep it nice and shiny.
Gasser gets 10 minutes of full bore all-six-burners heat, then the hot grates or Grill Grates are scrubbed down well with a wad of aluminum foil. Then I wipe down the outside of the grill and give it a rubdown with a clean cloth to make it shine. The whole thing gets cleaned, top to bottom, inside and out, every Spring. I use it year-round.
Comment