Keeping your smoker clean is the biggest thing you can do to ensure it will last a long time. These things aren’t cheap and if you want to get the most out of your smoker season it when you first get it and follow these tips to keep it running like new for years to come.
If you are maintaining your electric smoker cleaning, then it may result into great return on investment because the life of the machine would increase with proper care. Some of the electric smokers demands seasoning whereas some require to be repaired periodically for seamless performance. Also there are some electric smokers which can be maintained in good state only by cleaning at regular intervals preferably after every use.
Seasoning an electric smoker
There are several models of electric smokers which requires seasoning from time to time in order to be maintained in the right condition. Majority of the smoker brands have certain instructions in their manual. They are to be read in order to clean electric smoker in the best possible manner.
Seasoning of your electric smoker is not at all a rocket science. It is just very similar to oiling your iron pan. It absolutely doesn’t matter which kind of oil you should specifically apply on the smoker. You may preferably use a cheap oil or even bacon grease which is even cheaper to clean electric smoker.
After the oil is spread over the entire surface of the smoker, it is good to heat it so that the oil reaches out to all the imperfections that are present in the smoker. The applying of the oil prevents the metal from rusting. The heat applied after spreading the oil should be as high as 250-275 degree Fahrenheit in order to get effective outcome. If the heat enhances beyond this point, then there is a risk of the paint coming out.
How to maintain electric smokers which do not requires seasoning?
There are several models of electric smokers which absolutely do not require any seasoning. That somewhat do not mean that those models of electric smokers do not require any cleaning or maintenance.
For the models of the smokers which absolutely do not require any seasoning, those can be heated to 250 degree Fahrenheit. It is always advisable to use smoke no matter whether a particular smoker requires seasoning or not. When a smoker is smoked, it will facilitate in the formation of a protective layer on the entire unit. That will in turn prevent the smoker from rusting. Also the ventilation is to be looked upon as the fire will keep going with the help of proper ventilation.
Maintaining the protective coating
It is highly crucial to clean the smoker from time to time and then maintain the protective coating on it. Also it is to be taken care that the surface of the smoker unit is always kept oily and smoky in order to protect it from rusting easily.
Proper protection of an electric smoker from rusting
It is often noticed that rust pops up in our electric smokers which is indeed very irritating, A regular care of your smoker may keep it rust-free for years. However, if it is already rusted, then there are certain steps which can be executed in order to get rid of the rust.
First of all you need to scrub off the rust with a help of a sandpaper or with a wire brush. Then, you may wipe the excess rust if there is something remaining. After that you may paint it with a superior quality paint in order to prevent rusting further. Finally, do not forget to oil all the hinges and door handles in order to prevent from any further rusting.
Cleaning of the grates
It is advisable to clean any grates by placing the smoker in an oven in your kitchen. It also puts the smoker in a self-cleaning mechanism. The oven’s heat is to be raised up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. In such a high temperature, all the grease is burnt off within a very short span of time. After this heating process is over, the grates look as shiny as new.