As much as I've tried, I still get grease and stuff on the ground under my 08. Does anyone know of a BBQ / grill mat that can be placed under the smoker? I'd much rather scrub a mat than my patio.
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Hi OakHill,
Two suggestions:
First. Go to your local restaurant supply store and buy a full size sheet pan. Your 08 should fit nicely on one with plenty sticking out in front to catch drippings. The pans are really cheap and are easy to wipe clean without moving the smoker.
Second. Try a Home Depot's carpet section. They usually have lots of outdoor carpet or vinyl runners you can get cut to your specs or pre-cut floor mats that should do the job for you. I put one on the floor below my AmeriQue (which by the way also sits on a sheet pan.)
Between them both, I don't have leavings on the floor to clean up when I drip goo, which as you said is almost inevitable.
Hope it works for you.
Hook
Two suggestions:
First. Go to your local restaurant supply store and buy a full size sheet pan. Your 08 should fit nicely on one with plenty sticking out in front to catch drippings. The pans are really cheap and are easy to wipe clean without moving the smoker.
Second. Try a Home Depot's carpet section. They usually have lots of outdoor carpet or vinyl runners you can get cut to your specs or pre-cut floor mats that should do the job for you. I put one on the floor below my AmeriQue (which by the way also sits on a sheet pan.)
Between them both, I don't have leavings on the floor to clean up when I drip goo, which as you said is almost inevitable.
Hope it works for you.
Hook
Home Depot has a hard surface grill mat, works great! I have my AmeriQue on it and it works like a charm! I found it in the BBQ section!
I have a full sheet pan under my 55, got it for $7 at the local GFS. Works great, and if (when) I ever forget the drip pan, it'll hold a lot...
Try the wood working online stores. They have these any fatigue mats. Fairly reasonable. Different colors too. here's one 
I go with the sheet pan, it's something I can clean. Most of the mats I've seen and try just collect the grease and aren't real easy to clean up. Just depends on where, how you need to use it as to which one you chose.
I am not sure what they mean by a full sheet pan but a standard 2" restuarant pan works great. I use it on my 008 and it just rests on the top of the casters. Slides in and out, holds a lot of grease. When I open the door, I just pull it out and then slide it back in. The stainless steel pans clean really easily or you could line it with foil.
All great ideas, thanks.
I am a bit confused. A couple of suggestions have the smoker sitting on top of a sheet pan. But it sounds like some suggest a sheet pan inside of the smoker? That would be instead of lining it with foil and letting it drain out?
Would there be a downside to that?
I am a bit confused. A couple of suggestions have the smoker sitting on top of a sheet pan. But it sounds like some suggest a sheet pan inside of the smoker? That would be instead of lining it with foil and letting it drain out?
Would there be a downside to that?
You put the smoker in the sheet pan, not on top of it. Push it to the back of the pan and that will leave several inches sticking out in front to catch drippings from mopping or moving meat in and out. It will also keep junk off the floor and table when, not if, as Gil said, you forget to use the drip pan that comes with your smoker.
I think what Dale is saying is, that he uses a pan with two inch sides that rests underneath his smoker on top of the casters so it acts as the outside catch pan instead of the one he was sent. He slides it in when cooking and out a bit to catch drippings when he opens the door. He says you could put foil in it too, if you wanted. Am I right Dale?
The outside pan doesn't preclude foiling the inside bottom of the unit(remember to poke the drain hole open.) It makes cleaning it a breeze.
Never heard of using a pan inside. Depending on your load, there might be more drainage than a pan inside could hold. Anyone else have a comment on that one?
Make more sense?
Hook
I think what Dale is saying is, that he uses a pan with two inch sides that rests underneath his smoker on top of the casters so it acts as the outside catch pan instead of the one he was sent. He slides it in when cooking and out a bit to catch drippings when he opens the door. He says you could put foil in it too, if you wanted. Am I right Dale?
The outside pan doesn't preclude foiling the inside bottom of the unit(remember to poke the drain hole open.) It makes cleaning it a breeze.
Never heard of using a pan inside. Depending on your load, there might be more drainage than a pan inside could hold. Anyone else have a comment on that one?
Make more sense?
Hook
quote:Originally posted by OakHillSmoke:
...Would there be a downside to that?
Yup, you'd be blocking the airflow. That's why you have to be carefully really loading up the smoker.
I just put a pan underneat the front two legs to catch dripping as I open the door and pull stuff out of the smoker. There's a regular pan to catch the drippings from the drainhole.
Here's a link to the rubber mat that I use. It fits perfectly under my 08. I set the smoker as far to the rear of the mat as possible with the beveled part sticking out in front. It catches drips when the racks are pulled out. It's also a breeze to clean up. I just spray any greasy places with Simple Green then hose it off. Grease gone. I do, of course set a small drip pan directly under the drain hole. I can just pour out the excess grease then chuck into the dish washer.
You guys may laugh at this one but I work for a trucking company and I took a mudflap that goes on the back of the big rigs and place that in front of my Smokette when I smoke. The mud flap is about 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick black rubber and it catches everything when I open the door and pull the items out. It also easily washes off and cleans really well.
Again, thanks for the great ideas.
TaktEZ, I liked you idea and it looks perfect. I liked the $6.00 price tag but don't like the $12.00 shipping. I'm going to check the local automotive parts stores here to see if they have something similar.
George
TaktEZ, I liked you idea and it looks perfect. I liked the $6.00 price tag but don't like the $12.00 shipping. I'm going to check the local automotive parts stores here to see if they have something similar.
George
I use cardboard boxes that are flattened to catch the grease and bits of food that always seem to hit the ground.
After a few uses the cardboard goes straight to the recycling container.
After a few uses the cardboard goes straight to the recycling container.
I like bbqbull's idea of cardboard.. cheap, easy, recyclable.. however, if that's not "fancy" enough.. you might check Lowe's. I was there yesterday and they had about 5 or 6 different kinds. All nice. However if the $12 shipping cost mentioned above is too steep.. the price of these mats might turn you off. They aren't bad, IMO, for a one time purchase.. but YMMV.