Cleaning your Electric Smoker the Right Way to Avoid Damage

Wondering about the most effective way to clean your smoker without causing damage? When it comes to electric appliances, you can never be too careful when it comes to making sure you do it properly to avoid damage.

The process of cleaning an electric smoker is a fairly simple and straightforward process. Simply remove the inside contents of the smoker that are unclean, and then use a clean cloth and some soap to scrub the inside and outside of the smoker.

Here is a step-by-step process on how to clean your electric smoker, and avoid damaging it while you do it.

Steps Prior to Cleaning the Smoker

• Gather the materials

Necessary materials needed to clean your smoker include a grill scraper, cloths and sponges, warm water, and soap.

• Preparing the Grill

Prior to cleaning out your grill, you need to ensure that everything is turned off before you remove the interior contents and begin the cleaning process. This can be done by pressing the power button on the outside of the grill, followed by making sure to unplug the electric cord from the wall. It is crucial to complete both steps, as failure to do so can result in serious injury or damage to the smoker. For example, even if the smoker is turned off, if it is still plugged into the outlet, you can still get burned or shocked.

Cleaning the Interior of the Smoker

It is much easier to clean the interior of your smoker when the temperature is warmer, as it can make the stains and food residue easier to remove. With this in mind, it is a good idea to begin cleaning your smoker sooner after using it, as the temperature of the fixtures you’ll be cleaning will still be relatively warm. Make sure that it is warm, but not warm enough to burn you, similar to the ideal heat when you enter a hot tub. If the smoker has already cooled down, soaking the non-electric components in warm water can have the same effect, and may be safer.

• Remove the interior contents of the Smoker

Now that you have all the necessary tools and the smoker is ready, you can now begin the process of clearing out the interior contents of the smoker. First, begin with the smoker box, which is where all the wood chips that you feed into the smoker are burnt, producing a lot of ash and grease. Begin by removing this box from the inside of the smoker, and dumping all of the excess ash into the trash can. If there is additional grease, grab a scraper and begin scrubbing it off.

If it is resistant, slowly pour some warm, soapy water onto it, which should loosen it up. Now that this is clean, you can then proceed to the removal of the water pan, drip pan, and other interior shelves. If there is a mild amount of grease on them, it should be scraped off before you place it in your dishwasher or attempt to clean it in your sink. The grease may warm up enough to run off, but it will clog up your pipes down the line, leaving you with a blockage you have to deal with later. If this happens to be the case, follow the same step as was mentioned earlier, and scrub the grease off with some soap and warm water.

Now that these important interior components are clean, we can focus on the smoking chamber itself. Keep in mind, this process will likely take the longest, as grease and stains built up pretty much all along the inside of the chamber, making the cleaning process a little bit more of a chore. Similar to what you did for the other interior content, again grab your grill scraper, a bowl of hot water, plenty of dish soap. Proceed to use this as you remove all of the grease that has built up along the inside of the smoker. Make sure to wash out the scraper every minute or so in order to make sure that you aren’t just spreading around the loose grease, as opposed to actually cleaning it out.

Once you have removed all of the grease buildup to a satisfactory level, you can use either a cloth or a sponge and clean the stains that have been leftover. While a rag may initially seem preferable, a sponge will hold more soap, making it more useful for removing grease stains. Now that this process is complete, we are now on to the final and perhaps easiest step of cleaning the interior: cleaning the glass door. Unlike the rest of the stove, you cannot use a metal grill scraper for this, as it will likely scratch and damage the glass.

With this in mind, your options would be a wooden or plastic brush, as these are more appropriate for glass and reduce the risk of damaging it. Once you have your scraper in hand, begin removing any of the accumulated greases that have built up along the glass door of your smoker. If there is any excess, a sponge and warm, soapy water will suffice in removing it. Not that this is complete, congratulations! You have finally completed the process of cleaning out the interior of your electric smoker. Simply give your smoker an hour or so to dry afterward, and you are all set to go!

Cleaning the Outside of Your Smoker

This process is a fairly simple and quick one. All you really need to clean the outside is a clean rag, a bucket of warm water, and some soap. Firstly, identify all the areas on the outside of your smoker that are unclean, get your rag wet, put some soap on it, and begin scrubbing. Once you have effectively scrubbed the exterior of your smoker, you should be in good shape until the next time you use your electric smoker, whenever that may be.