Fishy smoker

Ashey · April 09, 2012, 05:15:32 PM

Hello, I've been searching quite a bit today as to clean the bradley smoker. I've used my digital bradley solely for smoking fish for the last year or so and decided to do up some jerky and also a roast or two. All attempts to do a proper meat smoke has failed. All meat used in the smoker now leaves a "fishy" taste to it, regardless of how clean all the racks are. Is oven cleaner acceptable in cleaning the interior? After this I will not smoke any seafood in this smoker and use it strickley for meat or sausage. Any cleaning tips would be helpful and thanks.

pikeman_95 · April 09, 2012, 05:29:24 PM

Try this stuff.

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/cleaning/cleaners/zep/128-oz-industrial-purple-cleaner-and-degreaser-concentrate-62011.html

I have used it all the time a work and this is what I clean all my stuffer trays and my stainless sheets with. I have tried other cleaners and had to work to get them clean. This stuff causes the grease and smoke tar to just slide off. Wear some kind of eye protection and gloves and a respirator if you have one. The material has a lot of caustic in it and is not good to breath the spray mist. It leaves no taste and Just washes off with hot water. We use it to clean all of our equipment at work. We put in a small weed sprayer and hit it quick and then let it sit. It can be sprayed on most surfaces except aluminum which it will eat.

Keymaster · April 09, 2012, 05:44:31 PM

Thats sounds like good stuff Kirby, I would give it a whirl and then after cleaned and all rinsed out I would get the smoker as hot as it will get and vents wide open for a hour or so then give it two hours of your favorite smoke.

JZ · April 09, 2012, 08:58:19 PM

QuoteIt can be sprayed on most surfaces except aluminum which it will eat.

Make sure your smoker does not have an aluminum interior lining.

Ashey · April 09, 2012, 10:15:37 PM

Thanks Pikeman for the link, i'll pick some up tomorrow and give it a shot. I did a quick check on the Bradley smoker site to find out what the interior lining was and it was stainless, I couldn't tell on my own, shouldn't have a problem.

fong0041 · April 10, 2012, 09:17:13 AM

Quote from: JZ on April 09, 2012, 08:58:19 PM
QuoteIt can be sprayed on most surfaces except aluminum which it will eat.

Make sure your smoker does not have an aluminum interior lining.

Does my digital bradley have an aluminum interior lining?

pensrock · April 10, 2012, 11:37:15 AM

if you clean it you will need to reseason it before use. I have done fish in mine and never had a fishy taste on other things. But I did not use it for only fish like you did so I can't say if that would cause the taste. Did you try to run it as hot as you could get it for an hour or so to cook out any leftover drippings and stuff?

JZ · April 10, 2012, 08:21:17 PM

QuoteDoes my digital bradley have an aluminum interior lining?

Not according to the Bradley website. They note that the new OBS has aluminum lining. I am not sure if the older OBS also has aluminum or not.

Tater · April 10, 2012, 08:44:23 PM

Quote from: JZ on April 10, 2012, 08:21:17 PM
QuoteDoes my digital bradley have an aluminum interior lining?

Not according to the Bradley website. They note that the new OBS has aluminum lining. I am not sure if the older OBS also has aluminum or not.

My OBS that I purchased in October of last year has a very soft aluminum interior.

pikeman_95 · April 10, 2012, 09:10:49 PM

For you with aluminum interiors or if you are not sure. This cleaner will eat the aluminum if it is left on for quite a while. It only takes a few seconds for this cleaner to loosen the smoke material. You will be very surprised how fast it slips off. If it does start to bubble and attack the aluminum just wash it all off and do not leave any on the aluminum. You would want to make sure that you wash all the surfaces well. I have cleaned aluminum sheets with this material and I just leave it on for a short while then rinse it very well. You can tell it is aluminum by scraping it with a sharp object. stainless will scratch some what, but aluminum is very soft and is very easy to put a rather deep scratch.

Salmonsmoker · April 10, 2012, 10:08:56 PM

My local Home Depot told me it only comes in a 5 gal container today. Holy crap, that's a lot of cleaner. was she serious?

mikecorn.1 · April 11, 2012, 05:44:26 AM

Have you thought about something else that you could get in a see spray bottle. Some type of degreaser for the home oven or BBQ grill. How about easy off? Would that work?

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pikeman_95 · April 11, 2012, 06:13:48 AM

Easy off is caustic based also. That is the secret in both of these products. Caustic dissolves the proteins and carbons from the smoke. I have tried using other products with limited success. I know that this stuff works very fast. When I spray my stainless sheets and screens the material just slides off with out any scrubbing. You can also look at auto parts stores as it is sold as a engine and parts de-greaser. I also believe that they have it at Walmart. I have purchased it in 1 gallon containers at Home Depot.

Smokeville · April 11, 2012, 06:35:14 AM

I've used Zep Fast505 Industrial Cleaner and Degreaser which is also at HomeDepot. It comes in spray bottle or 1 gallon sizes.

Same warnings about aluminum, I think, but it works great on the racks and V-trays and bowls.

I do wonder about the fish taste, though. I have 2 smokers and smoke fish in both almost daily for 6 months of the year. The only parts I clean (or I should say my wife cleans) are the removables. I never touch the interior. On occasion I smoke chickens and turkeys, like for Easter, and I have never had a fish taste in them. Strange!

Rich

Salmonsmoker · April 11, 2012, 06:57:56 AM

I have to agree with smokeville. I've mainly smoked salmon since my bradley was new,(over 6 years),never washed the interior and it doesn't have a fish smell.

Fishy smoker

Keymaster