Barbecue Smoker Basic Maintenance

Basic maintenance for your barbecue smoker or pit is not as hard as some people make out, infact there is not that much to worry about other than initially finding our whether your pit or smoker has been cured before use. If you are unsure as to what this means, read this useful article on barbecue pit curing written by David Klose.

If your pit or smoker doesn’t need curing we recommend that you light her up and let it run on a highish heat, say 260 degs or so for about an hour. This "burning-in" process helps to reduce the effects of contamination that may be present within the smoker before you start cooking with it.

The smoking process is very important as it effectively provides a protective barrier and will help to keep your barbecue pit or smoker well treated and ready for proper use.

Always ensure that you have adequate ventilation around your smoker, this is vital for a number of reasons. Firstly safety, you don't particularly want to choke on the fumes from your pit! - and secondly it will help to reduce the chance of a harmful toxic build-up caused by too much smoking.

Keeping your smoker or pit clean is not neccessarily a tough task but it does pay to ensure that you keep the grey residue ash out of your smoker. If the ask is allowed to remain in the smoker for prolonged periods it can start to absorb all manner of things including fats from your food and of course water.

If you take a few minutes at the end of the day to just give the barbecue a good scraping (being careful not to scratch your smoker down to the bare metal), you will be helping to prevent any nasty greasy buildups that can lead to hygiene problems and rusting in your smoker.

This is certainly something you don't want! You may like to read our section on barbecue hygiene, it is well worth a read and contains useful advice.

Rust, how to prevent it ? Keeping your pit or smoker clean using the tips above will help to keep the rust levels down in your smoker but regular checks are also a very good idea so you can take action as soon as it starts to appear.

Like on a car, rust can spread very quickly if left untreated, and exposed flaking paint being burned on top of your food can be a very bad thing indeed!

When you first spot rust in your pit, it's time to take action and you can follow the tips and guidelines in this article about barbecue pit painting to help you get started. It is also a good idea to drop your pit manufacturer a quick call or mail to find out if they have any preferred products that they use as it may have better results than the products that you could by at your local hardware store.

Taking care of your pit or smoker is very important and these basic guidelines will help you on your way to making better food, improving barbecue hygiene, and of course extend the life of your prized barbecue pit.

Barbecue pits and smokers can cost a lot of money, so like any large investment in something we care so much about (our barbecues!), it makes sense to take that little bit of extra time and do the job properly. The results are well worth it!

If you have any ideas or suggestions for us, please contact us and make a suggestion. We love hearing from our readers and will be happy to consider all submissions for inclusion on Barbecue Party.

Barbecue Smoker Related Articles

Barbecue Hygiene - Read this article to find out how you can improve your barbecue hygiene and what steps you can take to ensure that your meal is safe for both your family and guests.

Barbecue Safety - This interesting article explains how you can improve your barbecue safety which is one of the most important aspects of any barbecue and is well worth reading.