grilling racks have funny metal smell

Jonreo,It sounds like you have broke the plating loose from the grills.Those are a plated grill so if you use any strong chemical or abrasive cleaners you can cause the plating to come off exposing the base metal.

Does that mean I need new grills? Wondering if I should just wipe the grills clean and not brush them to the metal. Should I leave a little black crust on them and just wipe them down?

I certainly wouldn't try to give a correct answer ,like electro tech is able to,but maybe a shortcut is worth trying

How about buying a couple,or three, lbs of some nationally sold pork sausage,like Jimmy Dean's ,hot-or mild.

Spray one rack with some pam/generic,and coat another rack with some Al foil.

Make up a bunch of 2-3 oz patties,add a couple oz of wood of choice.

Divide the patties,so only you know the difference,divide them up between the two surfaces,and cook them to taste.

We use a lot of colored toothpicks for testing.

Ask three,or four, friends to taste/ sample and get opinions.

Maybe,you'll find something/nothing,but it is quick.

Racks are cheap,all of them break down,but maybe you'll know.

Five years are old for any kind of racks,even cleaned in a mild dishwasher.

Soak in simple green,or pass thru the carwash sprayer are solutions that many use.

Leaving your racks slightly black/dirty is probably more aggravation than I'd fool with.

Your cooker is a great one,and could last another half century,I'd consider buying another set of racks,beat them up,replace every 5-7 yrs.

Just my $0.02 from an ol' country cook.

most probably wouldn't notice anything metallic. But if it is enough to be a bother to you, then you should probably consider going with the stainless steel replacement racks.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I need new grills but I'll take your advice Tom and see if anyone else can tell. I can't believe I rubbed the stainless steel off of them with only 10 smokes! Looking at the grills it doesn't look like the stainless steel chipped off the racks. It looks like it just transforms from the silver to a copper color toward the middle of the racks. Like it got really hot. Smells something aweful.

I too have noticed the same with my racks, now I like keeping my racks clean, could be I rubbed too much and took the nickle plating off, might be time to get a set of stainless racks, I believe cook shack sells them, then you can keep them clean without any issues.

"Maybe" that's the reason CS offers the stainless steel racks for sale?

Jon, what you didn't say is if you scrubbed the racks after each of the 10 smokes. I have two 055s and have never cleaned the racks after closer to 100 smokes on each of them.

I take off any hunks of meat that may have adhered, but really that's about it. I've written this before, but: Have you ever seen the racks at any realllly old BBQ pits? They are caked an inch thick with 'history' of each of their smokes. There's no metal even to be seen...it's all Q-goo!

My guess is that you will replace the racks and then next time leave them alone! :0)

Have not seen that on my 55. Clean them before each cook. Had about 30. I use a gentle scour pad and dish soap.

For folks that do not clean them, I have a question. How often do you use the cooker and do you preheat the dirty racks before putting the meat on? Have also seen pits that never clean their racks, but the are used almost daily. I use mine about once a month. Thanks

I too wonder about reusing racks that may have had chicken smoked on it, without proper cleaning?

I can understand if it is in use 24hrs, like most Que shops.

I guess that it has not affected you yet Thousand Oakie...maybe, but please let me know if it kills you.(LOL)

My Amerique came with Nickle shelving and I brush it with my grill brush after cooking, then it gets a final scrub in the sink. Putting it in the dishwasher really does not get off the goo.

My nickle shelves are now more of a dull finish, but I am not getting off flavors. I recently bought two new Stainless shelves and I am curious to see how they wear vs. the Nickle.

You're right Thousand Oakie! The caked on gunk is what gives the meat character. Tried to tell my wife that but she won't eat it if I don't clean the grills. I bought some simple green cleaner and cleaned the grills and smoking a pork butt to see if it helped. Also, before putting the butt in the CS I let the wood burn a little before putting in the butt to see if it is the creosote that I smell. I noticed when the wood started to smoke it was flaming in the box and putting off a sort of black soot. Maybe that's the smell. We'll see. Thanks everyone. Appreciate the help!

Thanks for all your concern...but, I ain't dead, yet! :0)

If you've got black stuff dripping down from the top vent hole on your food, that's not good tasting. I "do" clean that each smoke.

And just checking with you Jon, you are NOT wetting the CHUNK wood that you are putting into the smoke box, right? And you are using seasoned wood, not freshly cut wood?

I buy chunk wood from a local Barbecues Galore. Some of the chunks are too big to go into the box, and they are too hard to easily split so they get thrown into the fireplace. But at $6 to 8 for a whole bag I don't mind the waste, as most of the chunks will fit.

I use apple mostly. Cherry pretty often. Hickory if I just want the flavor, and then I play with flavored pellets for fun (sassafras, orange, etc.)

There have been times that the smokers haven't been used for maybe a month, and other times two or three times per week. I changed the foil on the bottom and covering the smoke box this last smoke just because I felt embarrassed that it had been so long, but it really wasn't necessary.

I do clean the outside a lot, though! :0)

quote:

Originally posted by Bacchus2b:
My Amerique came with Nickle shelving and I brush it with my grill brush after cooking, then it gets a final scrub in the sink. Putting it in the dishwasher really does not get off the goo.

My nickle shelves are now more of a dull finish, but I am not getting off flavors. I recently bought two new Stainless shelves and I am curious to see how they wear vs. the Nickle.

The stainless racks are solid stainless, not plated so they should be fine. They can't wear off but they can wear but it will always be stainless, should do the job nicely.

Yep, only thinking of you.

What I have noticed on my grills is that if I wash them and don't dry them they will turn this rusty orange look where the water has set on the used area. But no smell.

I'm with TO on maybe focusing on the wood as the problem. It is cheap, so try some other. If the wood has or had molded on it, it will put off a odor.

Keep us updated on what you find out.

I'm using the cookshack wood that came with my 55. Doesn't look wet or moldy and I keep it in the patio. After cleaning them with simple green cleaner the smell is less but still there. Can live with it as long as it doesn't get on the meat. I might buy one grill to test. Economy is hitting my pocketbook and can't afford 5 grills. Hey Cal, sounds like the same orange/copper look on the grills but mine smells a little like rust or metallic. I'm trying to not clean the grills after smoking and cake on some good ole gunk. I'll keep you posted.

Do you spray your racks with Pam before use?

Hey Cal. Nope I don't spray Pam. Should I? I talked to Cookshack and they said the nickel plating is wearing off and they need to be replaced. I can replace with the all stainless steel racks and it should solve the problem. Why are the nickel plated racks so cheap. I only used the smoker about 10 times. I think there's a defect. It shouldn't wear after so little use.

Have you ever seen stainless steel rust? The metal will not rust, but the particles of meat will oxidize and form a solid on the SS and that part with water will actually rust the particles.At least thats what I think.

The old timers would never take all the seasoning(lard) off of a cast iron skillet, for some reason. Think about that part.

I would guess that the few times I forgot to put Pam on my racks has caused this, oh well! Before you go and buy new racks, I would consider using a SOS pad,or steel wool with soap, to try and get off as much of the rust as possible and coat with Pam or some type of oil.

This should stop the rust from building more and maybe take some off. The biggest thing is trying to stop the rust smell,right?

Yep, you should have used Pam from the start,IMO

Good luck and keep us updated!

hey jonreo -- What method have you used to clean the grills since you bought it? I have wondered how much scrubbing the nickel plating will tolerate.

My grates have never seen water for cleaning and I've had an 008 for about 5 years now. When they start looking crusty I put them on the Weber gasser, turn the heat up and let them cook for a bit. The crud just brushes off after that treatment. I have the chrome racks and there are a few spots that the chrome has worn off, but I haven't noticed any weird taste in the food that comes off them.

This entire thread signals the feminization and ultimate demise of men in our society.

I fill up the sink with really hot water just enough to cover the racks. I then add a tablespoon or two of powder dishwasher detergent. Make sure you get all the detergent to dissolve. Let it soak for 10-15 and then take a sponge with green scrubber on it and rub down. Everything comes off easy.

Your racks sound jacked up. I would just get some new ones.

Hey Todd, I use no gloves in this process, because I am a manly man.
.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd G.:
This entire thread signals the feminization and ultimate demise of men in our society.

Don't think that is the kind of 'rack' they're talking about Todd.

To clean the grills I used dish soap and a brite scrub pad. It has sponge on one side and a green scouring pad on the other side. Nothing harsh and just scrubbed to get the grease and food off of the grills. I wasn't anal and got every black char off of the grill. Yes, I agree. This tread is getting a little like good housekeeping magazine but I appreciate all the help. I don't like metallic smelling meat! Thanks everyone.

Racks and feminization. Must be some correlation.

I also use an easy scotchbrite scrub with soap. Dont know much about plating, but sounds like the racks were not plated properly?

Serious question about cleaning tho. When I use the grill, I get it hot and use a wire brush before cooking(never have oiled the grates tho). When I cook in the house, I clean the pots and pans. If I smoke chicken and come back 3 weeks later to smoke a brisket, dont I need to take some water and soap to the grates? Food poisoning is nasty and dont even want to take a chance.

O.k., I cleaned the grills and put Pam on them and had a Boston roast, Maple pork ribs, Chashu pork ribs and a tri tip in my CS 55 today. Everything came out fantastic and the meat didn't smell like metal. I'll never clean my grills again and just cake on whatever I'm cooking on them. I also let the wood burn a little before putting in the meat to reduce the creosote smell. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice! I think I'm good now.

I guess we all do it differently but I for one clean my racks after I use it. It's not a grill where you can burn it off and I can't imagine putting a $40.00 packer on a grill that had a $8.00 Boston Butt on it 10 days ago. Just doesn't seem right to me.

If you have a metallic taste, get rid of the racks.

Metallic taste means you're putting metal in minute particles in your mouth.

To each his own, but we didn't have the cleanliness obsession for years and we all survived.

ALL I do is use a brash brush to scrub off the big chunks and off I go.

I will run it on the highest temp sometime to allow everything to crust up (maybe once every few months).

If you're going to clean like that, and it's your choice, get the stainless racks and scrub away.

FYI, if you go that route, either use the dishwasher or soak them in a tub of water overnight and they're melt off.

Scrubbing is too much work.

Scrubbing is too much work.

Amen to that

Knock off chunks. Overnight in Dawn and water in plastic cement bin. Dishwasher. Spotless. No metal taste.

Sometimes just Dawn and sponge scour pad lightly. Rinse.

I’ve had a Smokette for years and just got an AmeriQue 4 months ago. I always soak the racks overnight in a tub of water with a little liquid dish soap. In the morning I hit them real quick with a scotch-bright to knock off the chunks and throw them in the dishwasher. No need to spend too much time on them.

I'm confused now. Should I clean them, toss them and get stainless steel grills or just throw the meat on the grill and don't worry about cleaning them. It seems like everyone has there own way of doing it. My philosophy is K.I.S.S.. Just slap it on the grill, close the door and wait 4 hours then eat.

Welcome to the world of Queing... so many options!(LOL)

People can only tell you what they do and why. And they have. Now you have to decide for yourself how you want to handle your grills.

I've always taken a casual approach toward cleaning the grills on my outdoor cooking gear. I knock off the big and loose crud with a brass bristle brush. I only wash my grills if they have an exceptional amount of greasy buildup. And even when I do that, I just spray them with the garden hose and scrape with the brush some more. The hard-cooked black stuff I just leave alone. I don't think it hurts anything.

Now when my AmeriQue gets here, I'm sure I'll foil the bottom and the wood box cover and clean out all the grease from the bottom each time I use it. But I imagine I'll treat the racks like I do all my others.

I thought I was clear.

If you're getting a funny taste, Toss Them Now.

You shouldn't get any taste from the metal, so get rid of them, look at how you clean them and get the stainless ones if you're going to be scrubbing that often, that hard.

Russ

Ditto.

Sounds pretty clear to me!!
Why all the fuss over cleaning, to each his own.
Soinds like a lot of trouble for nothing to me.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbasz1:
I too have noticed the same with my racks, now I like keeping my racks clean, could be I rubbed too much and took the nickle plating off, might be time to get a set of stainless racks, I believe cook shack sells them, then you can keep them clean without any issues.

I clean my grills each time I smoke. I used a wire brush and wore the plating off, big time.

Just got my stainless steel grills today (SM025). Very spendy. Will be more careful in the future, but these grills should last a lifetime (more than a lifetime at my age )

SmokinMAINEiac

Time to buy some new racks.