Smoker cleaning
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twilliams I clean my smokers when the residue on the top and sides ends up being little black flakes on my food; cheese, fish etc. I usually just scrape it down with an old gift card or plastic scraper and vacuum out. I do have a couple of Traegers so I vacuum out the ash after every 3-4 long smokes.
Bob Stehlik
Yep, exactly my reason for doing this. Those little black flakes are not very appealing on a nice chunk of meat. First time cleaning since getting this unit 2+ years ago. -
twilliams I clean my smokers when the residue on the top and sides ends up being little black flakes on my food; cheese, fish etc. I usually just scrape it down with an old gift card or plastic scraper and vacuum out. I do have a couple of Traegers so I vacuum out the ash after every 3-4 long smokes.
Bob Stehlik PapaSop i dont get dry flakes, mine is all gooey resins that liquify and drip when heated up
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I clean my smoker every spring and the racks every time I use the smoker
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I wipe down mine in the spring, focusing in the temp sensors/probe, seals and glass using some vinegar water. I clean the racks almost after every use. Only shiny metal are the racks and temp sensors/probe.
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Bob Stehlik PapaSop i dont get dry flakes, mine is all gooey resins that liquify and drip when heated up
twilliams
Interesting. Perhaps the heat source? No idea. Need a chemical engineer here. -
PapaSop that would be Chef. He is one. Ask him your question
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Bob Stehlik PapaSop i dont get dry flakes, mine is all gooey resins that liquify and drip when heated up
twilliams What is your fuel source?
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Just guessing here, but I think temperature of the smoke and the smoker has a lot to do with whether you have dry residue or stickier smoke residue. Also how much grease vaporizes out of the product in the smoker during the cooking process.
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Chef heat source is electric. One oven size element for main heat source and 1 stove top coil element for saw dust. Have used mostly hickory with some apple and cherry. Also have an internal fan for even heat and drying in the cabin and a fan in the exhaust vent pipe
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So i have done a little searching not alot, only on my phone and not desktop. I have read, which is what i suspected is a little bit of personal preference and opinions. Some say no need to clean and just brush loose stuff off as they admit will get flakes of creosote on the food. However, majority of articles are saying yes a clean smoker is beneficial in the taste and final look of the product. When talking about seasoning, they say it does two things. #1 It rids of any contamination such as oils from the manufacturing process. And #2 it puts a layer of creosote on the walls to keep it from rusting. If you have a Stainless Steel unit then that is not an issue. Several articles go on to say about drippage from excess creosote material in cabin on food as well as giving too much creosote on food turning it black can actually make your tongue numb as well as have a very bitter taste. So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
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So i have done a little searching not alot, only on my phone and not desktop. I have read, which is what i suspected is a little bit of personal preference and opinions. Some say no need to clean and just brush loose stuff off as they admit will get flakes of creosote on the food. However, majority of articles are saying yes a clean smoker is beneficial in the taste and final look of the product. When talking about seasoning, they say it does two things. #1 It rids of any contamination such as oils from the manufacturing process. And #2 it puts a layer of creosote on the walls to keep it from rusting. If you have a Stainless Steel unit then that is not an issue. Several articles go on to say about drippage from excess creosote material in cabin on food as well as giving too much creosote on food turning it black can actually make your tongue numb as well as have a very bitter taste. So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
twilliams said in Smoker cleaning:
So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
When you say bark, are you still talking about the build up on the interior of the smoker?
Paul
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Toooo much thinking, scientific speculation, hypothesis, and pontification for this old man… Weed burner Sear, add some liquid smoke in the rub, and Sous Vide
Now. . . . It’s 5:00 somewhere. Just my thought: There are times I am too busy counting trees to see the forest. Why was i counting trees anyway?
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twilliams said in Smoker cleaning:
So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
When you say bark, are you still talking about the build up on the interior of the smoker?
processhead no, the reference of “bark” on a piece of meat that people strive to get. I know its kind of confusing when i was talking about cleaning then switch to food finishes. However, some people look for a deep black color on the outer layer of a meat product. Is it not essentially creosote that we are putting on our meat for flavor? The articles are saying if too much or drips from the cabin go on the meat can have an adverse affect in taste and tongue numbing
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twilliams said in Smoker cleaning:
So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
When you say bark, are you still talking about the build up on the interior of the smoker?
This post is deleted! -
twilliams said in Smoker cleaning:
So the question is “bark”, when is enough to achieve what you want. I feel that you dont need to strive for a heavy black “bark” to get a smokey taste, infact i think its too much. I will keep on my search, i really want to find out the scientific evidence supporting clean and maintaining vs leaving the build up. I will also add, creosote is very flammable at a certain point.
When you say bark, are you still talking about the build up on the interior of the smoker?
processhead here is a good article explaining it if you want to check it out
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Toooo much thinking, scientific speculation, hypothesis, and pontification for this old man… Weed burner Sear, add some liquid smoke in the rub, and Sous Vide
Now. . . . It’s 5:00 somewhere. Just my thought: There are times I am too busy counting trees to see the forest. Why was i counting trees anyway?JoeB most of us strive to get a rewarding and perfect cook so that takes alot of research, understanding, and practice. Any knowledge available is worth ten fold. I will never use nasty liquid smoke in my foods, and sous vide talk will take alot of convincing for me to even try it.
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processhead no, the reference of “bark” on a piece of meat that people strive to get. I know its kind of confusing when i was talking about cleaning then switch to food finishes. However, some people look for a deep black color on the outer layer of a meat product. Is it not essentially creosote that we are putting on our meat for flavor? The articles are saying if too much or drips from the cabin go on the meat can have an adverse affect in taste and tongue numbing
twilliams said in Smoker cleaning:
processhead no, the reference of “bark” on a piece of meat that people strive to get. I know its kind of confusing when i was talking about cleaning then switch to food finishes. However, some people look for a deep black color on the outer layer of a meat product. Is it not essentially creosote that we are putting on our meat for flavor? The articles are saying if too much or drips from the cabin go on the meat can have an adverse affect in taste and tongue numbing
If you are smoking correctly, the bark on meat should be a layer of caramelized sugars, fat, protein and smoke residue, but never creosote.
If the smoke residue on the meat includes significant amounts of creosote, then I would suspect the smoker is being operated improperly.
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JoeB most of us strive to get a rewarding and perfect cook so that takes alot of research, understanding, and practice. Any knowledge available is worth ten fold. I will never use nasty liquid smoke in my foods, and sous vide talk will take alot of convincing for me to even try it.
twilliams just being cynical on a Monday morning and i truly understand the value of processing correctly. I do in retrospect ponder as to what smokers did 60-70yrs ago. Oh wait, I was there. Life is good
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twilliams If I see any flakes, that’s when I break down and do it. The PK requires careful hand cleaning though as the heating element is “open” and you don’t want water to get down in there.
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