Cleaning the smoker

[Shasta bob]

All, how well do you clean the smoker? I wash my racks, frog-mats, v tray, bowl, tray under the bowl, every time spotless. is my OCD getting the best of me. I also spray the items with pam before all smokes. is this over the top what do you think? Shasta Bob

[beefmann]

Bob.

your on the right track, cleaning the trays, v tray... drip tray after each smoke is always good, cuts down on the chance of fire... spraying the trays with food grade release agent like Pam helps with  cleaning.. all good so far.

on another note, do clean the tower as needed, remove any smoke flakes from the inside as we dont want the flakes to fall onto the food. How often this should be done varies due to the fact of how often you  smoke, for how long , amount of smoke applied,, moisture in the meat, moisture in the air... etc ... if you  see a little bit of  flakes inside the tower, clean before usage.

[Shasta bob]

sounds good I never thought about the flakes, I do clean the door seal area also, when I have cleaned the racks I noticed the chrome finish is going away to a copper color is this bad or normal?

[TedEbear]

Zep Purple Degreaser also works wonders for cleaning the Bradley.

[Shasta bob]

Explain on how you use it please?

[Habanero Smoker]

The copper color metal beneath the chrome plating of the rack is not harmful, but I find if you do not dry the racks completely after washing rust will begin to form. Hand drying doesn't work well, I have to toss them in an oven set for 200°F for a few minutes.

[TedEbear]

Explain on how you use it please?

There was a post a while back about different things people used to clean their racks, v-trays, bottom liner etc and someone, I don't remember who, said they used ZEP purple cleaner so I went and got some at Menards. I bought a gallon of purple industrial cleaner and degreaser, I mix it with water in a spray bottle and use it to clean my racks, etc. The stuff works like a miracle, I use an old meat tub and lay the pieces in the bottom and spray them with that stuff and it dissolves all the grease, smoke residue, etc. Unless something is REALLY burned on you don't even have to scrub, just spray and and let it soak for a few minutes, rinse off and done. I mix it about 25/75 cleaner to water. Even then you want to have some ventilation or be outside when you spray it, at least I do. It really keeps everything shining though. Just dont use it in the smoker itself.

I use Zep Purple Degreaser to clean my puck bowl, drip tray and drip pan. This stuff just melts the smoke and grease away. No scrubbing at all. Put them in the sink spray them down then rinse them off. They look like new. Just wipe down the door gasket when you are done. You can get it at Home Depot.

http://www.zepcommercial.com/product/Industrial-Purple-Cleaner-Degreaser-Concentrate#BVRRWidgetID

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.

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.

[Roget]

I pretty much do just what you say you do. (well, my wife does)
I have yet to clean the walls of the smoker, or the top. Maybe time to do that.
One other thing I always do is check the puck chute and clear it of any debris and scrape off any gunk.