Just How Clean ?

I have 2 CS smokers and just remove the used foil after the smoking is over. Empty the ashes out. IF the meat touched the wall or door, I will wipe that area down. Maybe 2-3 times a year I will lightly remove any excess (flaking) off the sides and back/door (using an old credit card), but I dont remove the well seasoned color. I do clean the grills after each smoke... but its just a basic BBQ style wire brush and a paper towel wipedown. So after each smoke, my cleanup takes about 5-7 minutes and a few paper towels.

bob

What Bob said

I have an AQ. I remove the foil each time, put the racks in the dishwasher, put new foil on the floor, punch a hole, foil the smoke box. Shut the door and I'm done. I have been doing this for over a year now and have yet to remove and wash the rack supports or scrape it down. I have a wonderful seasoned unit. It never smells, even in the summer.

You can't get any easier than that.

Yep! No need to sanitize after each use. Change foil after each use and gently wipe down a couple of times a year. This is supposed to be fun, not work.

Have fun!

Thanks for the info! Looks like I have been using too much elbow grease on it. Time to lighten-up & smell the smoke!

I spray the racks with Pam before each use. I throw the racks and the rack supports in the dishwasher after each BBQ. The supports clean up better than the racks, which normally need just a bit of hand cleaning after the dishwasher.

Ok, Nodrog, for an opposing, and maybe more realistic perspective. I am....seemingly... a pig!

I don't scrape the insides. I don't wash the interior, ever. I have ONCE washed the grates and decided THAT was a total waste of time! I barely change the foil...ok, sometimes I'll even go a few smokes without changing the foil! ...or several Yes, when I DO change it, I need to take a big ole pancake turner to get it off the bottom of the smoker...but I figure that's a small price for otherwise not having to mess with it!

If you've ever seen the grates and insides of an old timey barbecue joint's smoker, you'll realize there's nothing you can do to your CS that will come anywhere near to the blackened, inch-deep, 'smoke/food-garf' that accumulates on those. And they turn out great Q!

One caveat. I don't smoke fish in mine, and maybe if I did I'd be more careful about mingling odors and such. But the pork, beef, fowl, sausage, vege's, everything makes for one beautiful smelling and tasting 'concerto!'

I do keep the outside cleaned up. I want it to look pretty. But a scrubbed interior makes no sense whatsoever to me!

Oink!

Thousand Oakie, I'm glad to hear your reply. That is precisely how I feel about clean-up. It sucks.

TO,

I understand your position on cleanup. I personally will clean the grates with wire brush after each long cook, soak and wash them ever 2-4 months depending on usage. Foil gets changed each time. The inside walls are scraped down ever 4-6 months based on usage.

Now if I am going to a competition, I clean the grates with a soak and wash. This is to avoid anything dripping on the ribs or chicken when it cooked.

Point is, there is no one right way. Whatever works for you is fine.

Hey RibDog, what you using for the "soak"? I normally take my racks out and spray them down with HD Easy Off then scrub them after each use. I change the foil on the grease diverter each time and the floor foil about every other cook. The dishwasher does a pretty good job on them but I have to remove the top shelf in the washer to get them in.

I went to Home Depot and pruchased a heavy plastic mixing tub. Here is a link to a picture of one:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Prod...&productId=100578128

One note, make sure the tub is wide enough for the grates to sit down flat in the tub. HD has gotten some smaller ones sometimes where the grates don't lay flat. Those are no good.

I mix hot water and simple green in the tub and then drop the grates in. I leave them for in there for an hour or two. Then I lay the grates on the driveway and brush them off with an old floor scrubbing brush that has a handle on it. Rinse them off well, stand them in the sun with the crossrods vertical so the water will run off. And you are done.

Ribdog and I bought the grey plastic tubs from Home Depot, that are about 3 X 4 ft and are maybe? concrete mixing tubs,around $8.

Your FEC side rails,racks,etc all fit.

Some water and Greased Lightning,or Simple Green overnight, and they can all be pretty much hosed clean.A light brush handles the rest.

Two Cascade dishwasher "action pacs" and a little Joy dishwashing liquid in hot water left to soak for about an hour with a light brushing is all I need to clean my racks & grills. The hotter the water the better as it helps disolve the smoke & food residue.

Great info guys. Seems a lot easier than what I've been doing so off to Home Depot.
Thanks

I can see Emeril's chicken POlice coming looking for you boys.

Bring him on!!!

Just as long as it's not Bobby F

I can sell you boys a coupla those Home Depot tubs if ya want 'em....I bought them; used them once; have no further use for them.

Yikes, here we go off on Bobby Flake again. I know it's off topic, but it's sure fun.

One caution to the piggies ...

Just make sure that you don't let the gunk get on your heating element because it will shorten the life of the element. I can't imagine how you could get grease and drippings on the element if you are using the wood box, but we have seen people do even more amazing things to smokers in the past.

quote:

Originally posted by ezgoin:
Just as long as it's not Bobby F

I'm not in love with this guy, guess mainly because he seems too cocky.. but, I'm wondering why folks are bashing him.. He is quite successful and wouldn't be successful in his own resturants if he wasn't good at what he does. People would quit patronizing his resturants.

Guess it's easy to toss bombs.. but, until I get to be as successful as he is.. I'll reserve these type of comments.

BTW, I think the HD tubs are great for keeping the grates clean.. and not messing up the insides of the wife's dishwasher..

Not to editorialize,but many personalities may be good at some things,but not all others,i.e. their views on politics.

Maybe bbq has been sort of a southern,southwestern sport/institution,and maybe folks in the South/SW are a little laid back?

Bobbie has somewhat of the personality thought of with the NE/big city persona?

Like many chefs that have to cover all cuisines, 1/2 hr at a time,may not do as well as with their own specialty.

He had a cooking show with Jack McDavid,a fine American traditional chef and multiple restaurant owner.

Jack is also a top comp cookoff pitmaster.

They had the same difference of personalities.

When Flay has presented traditional bbq items on his shows,they are touched upon lightly and quickly,possibly without the reverence some of the slow and low bbq cooks might attach to them.

As to the success of his restaurants, a fine original California restaurant may be the world's busiest-MacDonald's?

You might laugh to compare their cooking to what you serve.

Now I'll get off of here,before Smokin' rightfully tells us to stick to the thread.

Just a thought.