Best Way to Clean Electric Smokers

Smoked foods are the stars of the table. But only a few love the perks of smoking the food. In an electric smoker, meat is cooked at a low temperature. This gives the meat a smoky aroma. You can use either charcoal or electric smokers. Charcoal smokers are conventional smoking devices. You have to keep an eye on the charcoal supply for even cooking of the meat.

Charcoal smokers are tricky in handling. In order to avoid the charcoal mess, you can use an electric smoker. Using an electric smoker is the easiest way to smoke delicacies. But they need a good amount of maintenance. Electric smokers can build mold and maggots.

But don’t worry, you can use the following tips and tricks to clean your electric smoker.

Mold loves to grow in moist and greasy places. This makes the electric smoker the best place for its growth. This doesn’t allow the moisture to escape. Electric smokers can also develop mold over the passage of time. Here are some steps to clean the grill mold.

1. Discard any of the residual food from the electric smoker.

2. Make sure to cover your mouth with a face mask. This will prevent you from inhaling the spores of the mold. These measures will save you from an allergic reaction.

3. Heat up your electric smoker at the highest temperature. It will burn off all the mold and grease. Now, you will see black-brown debris on the grill.

4. Let the temperature get down and scrape off the burnt grease and mold.

5. Wash the electric smoker and grill inside with a mild scrubber and soap.

5. Lit up your electric grill one more time. This is a precautionary step. It will burn the residual grease and mold.

Note: Do not try to use a de-greaser on the ceramic-grill electric smoker. Plastic scrubber and high temperature will do the work.

An electric smoker is a hassle-free way to smoke the meat. But cleaning the smoker after a barbecue party is a hard nut to crack. Marinate juices, meat and oils create a foul smell in the electric smoker. Smoking the food with chars at a constant temperature – this leaves tough stains and residue on the grill. These residual materials can serve as the home for germs. This paints a horrible picture. But don’t worry; there are some great ways to clean the electric smoker.

Apple cider vinegar is a natural cleaner and disinfectant. Here is the simple guide to clean your electric smoker by apple cider vinegar.

1. Take a spray bottle and fill it with water. Mix equal amount of apple cider vinegar. Use hot water to increase the cleaning action of apple cider vinegar.

2. Spray the apple cider vinegar and water mixture inside the electric smoker. Spray it liberally onto the grill. This mixture will break down the grease and debris. Leave the mixture for 5-10 minutes.

3. Use a mild scrubber to lose the dirt and grease. Wipe off the grill with a clean damp cloth. This will also eliminate the foul smell from the smoker. Leave the smoker panel open for some while. This will dry up the grill.

You might consider cleaning your electric smoker with oven cleaner. After all, both have a lot of common. Oven cleaners are designed specifically to clean and disinfect the ovens. These cleaners contain caustic soda that is hazardous to health. Oven cleaners need thorough rinsing and they leave a residual chemical that is harmful to your health. Caustic soda in the oven cleaner can also give an unpleasant and bitter taste to the food. In electric smokers, food makes direct contact with the grill. This will incorporate chemicals from the oven cleaner in the food.

Follow these steps if you want to try the oven cleaner for your smoker.

1. Spray the oven cleaner in the inner compartment of the smoker. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes.

2. Use a cleaning brush or scrubber to remove the dirt. Don’t be too harsh while scrubbing. This will erode the protective coating of the grill.

3. Clean the inner compartment with water. It’s best to remove the grids and rinse them under running water.

Electric smokers use moisture to give you juicy and tender meat. It has a drip pan, which collects the excess marinate juices and moisture. This moisture can also work as a breeding den for maggots. This sounds disgusting but maggots can make their way to your unclean smoker.

Use the following steps to get rid of the maggots from your electric smoker:

1. Wear safety gloves and put on a face mask. This will reduce your chances of direct contact with maggots.

2. Remove any of the residual food from the smoker. Heat up the smoker to its highest temperature. This will burn off all the maggots, their eggs, and germs.

3. Mix liquid soap and bleach with warm water in a spray bottle. Spray it on the inside compartment of the electric smoker. Leave it for 10 minutes.

4. Use a scrubber to remove the maggot debris. Use damp wipe sheets or cloth to clean off the burnt maggots.

5. Now once again heat your electric smoker to the highest temperature. This is the best way to disinfect your electric smoker from the maggots.

Smoked food is the culinary blessing for every food lover. From smoked stakes to grilled salmon, smoked food is everyone’s pleasure. Many of us own electric smokers to enjoy the customized versions of smoked food. But you might get confused about the cleaning of your electric smoker. Electric smokers are different in cleaning than charcoal smokers.

You might ask, “How often I should clean my electric smoker”. The answer is very simple. Clean it thoroughly after every single usage. Food makes direct contact with the grill. The unclean and dirty grill will be the den of harmful germs. Let your electric smoker cool down completely and then start your cleaning action.

Last night, at your friend’s place you loved the tender and juicy turkey. You decided to buy an electric smoker straight away. The electric smoker will save you the labor of charcoal management. You were excited to try your brand new electric smoker. But wait, you have to season it first. Seasoning casts a thick protective coating on the inner compartment of the smoker.

Seasoning is a simple pre-usage procedure. Plug your electric smoker to the power supply. Fire up your electric smoker empty at the highest temperature! Smoke will create a black film of soot over the grill. This layer will protect the smoker from any wear and tear. Seasoning cleanses the manufacturing debris from the grill of the smoker.

We discussed some useful methods to clean and maintain our electric smokers. But what is the best way to clean an electric smoker is yet to be decided. Every cleaning method has its pros and cons. Maybe the apple cider vinegar cleaning is the best way to clean your electric smoker. Apple cider vinegar is an organic cleaner. It doesn’t leave any residual chemical so that is the plus point of using apple cider vinegar as a cleaner.