If you’re throwing a get-together with friends and family, you may want to serve the most delicious steaks possible. You’d like to earn appreciation from your guests for being the pitmaster of the evening. Once the food is finished and the party’s over, you find yourself with a dirty, greasy food smoker. This situation probably sounds familiar to anyone who has used a food smoker before.
The ordeal that follows is tedious and can ruin the after-party mood altogether. Well, not anymore! We’re here with an easy step-by-step cleaning guide for your Bradley Smoker that can save your day making the cumbersome task a simple one.
Benefits of Cleaning the Food Smoker
Consider this a little boost for the lazy barbeque lovers who keep avoiding the cleaning process after smoking. Yes, a food smoker is meant to cook intensely smoky flavored food and will eventually get dirty. This doesn’t mean it should be left that way. Having a squeaky clean food smoker has several benefits.
Prevent Food Poisoning
Residue accumulated in the food smoker over time can be an ideal spot for bacteria to breed. This will eventually spread the food that will be smoked inside it. This can lead to serious problems like food contamination and food poisoning. A clean food smoker is the best way to enjoy smoked food the healthy way.
Increase the Life of the Food Smoker
A clean food smoker performs more efficiently than a dirty one. It requires less maintenance in the long run and lasts longer than a dirty greasy smoker.
Get the Flavor You Desire
Sometimes parts of smoked food can stick to the inner walls of the smoker. This will hold the residual flavor of the earlier smoked food and transfer it to the food that will be smoked next. To avoid your hickory-flavored sausages turning to oak flavored, clean the food smoker after use.
Makes a Visual Appeal
You can impress your guests with a clean food smoker that is also visually appealing. They’ll know they’re about to enjoy a meal from a top-of-the-line smoker, and that you take your cooking seriously.
Steps to Clean Your Bradley Smoker
There are three basic categories of the process, each of which has steps within them: detaching the parts, cleaning the interiors, and then cleaning the bisquette burner.
#1. Remove and clean the detachable parts
Bradley Smoker comes with detachable food racks and a side panel. The water pan is also provided separately for the ease of cleaning. You can detach each part to scrub off all the dirt and clean it in soapy water. If you prefer, you can place those parts in the dishwasher to clean them right up.
#2. Clean the bisquette burner
Our Bradley Bisquettes are composed of wood sawdust in uniform thickness and burn for a precise time to dissipate clean smoke. The best part of using Bradley Bisquettes is they douse before turning to ashes, making cleaning a lot easier.
#3. Clean the inner walls
The inner walls of the food smoker are often darkened with smoke, dirt, and grease. It may also have parts of smoked food. The best time to begin this step is when the smoker is still warm. Just after you finish smoking, let the smoker rest for some time, but don’t let it cool off completely. Dirt and grease loosen up more easily when the smoker is warm, thus making it easier to be scraped off.
#4. Move to the bottom
All the grease from the dripping food will accumulate at the bottom of the food smoker. Even though it can have a lot of junk built up after just one smoke, it is actually quite easy to clean. Just use a grill scraper and a scrub brush with soapy water.
#5. Clean the seals of the door
The Bradley Smoker has magnetic doors to ensure faster cooking and user safety. The seals of the door and its inner part can accumulate a thick coat of grease. The smoke dries it out, making it more stubborn to be removed. Cleaning these spots will keep the door opening and closing smoothly.
#6. Disinfect the food smoker
Sometimes, molds or maggots can grow inside the food smoker if it’s left dirty and unused for a long time. This is something that soapy water or a scouring pad can’t handle completely. Consider this a warning! Disinfecting the smoker is the best way to take care of this serious issue.
To handle this, place a microwave-safe bowl of water inside the food smoker and turn it on to the maximum temperature for an hour. This will burn the mold and kill the maggots. You can then wipe it out with soapy water.
#7. Reassemble and fire it up
Finally, your food smoker is ready for some gourmet smoking. assemble all the parts that were detached earlier and fire it up.
Food smokers will start losing their sheen with every smoke, which is normal. Even after a thorough cleaning, you will still have signs of use. This just goes to show what an expert smoker you’re becoming. Make sure your every use of your Bradley Smoker provides a clean and healthy smoking experience!
For more great ideas on how to get the most of your Bradley Smoker, check out the awesome articles on our Bradley Smoker Food Smoking Blog for more tips & tricks.
