Mold Problem with Kamado Style Smoker

[The Critic]

Due to wet weather and my schedule, my Kamado Joe smoker (similar to big green egg) has been used for almost 2 months. I opened the smoker tonight and found it completely full of mold. Apparently, you are supposed to keep the vent slightly open (when storing it) in order to prevent this issue.

So, I lit up the Kamado Joe and allowed it to burn for 2 hr at 400F, and for another 2 hr at 600F. All of the mold appears to be gone, but I am not 100% sure. I am a little concerned about food safety. Does anyone have any other recommendations on removing the mold and/or preventing this from happening?

(Before and after pictures below)

 

[CleverUserName]

Not all mold is pathogenic. All harmful bacteria will not survive in any high temp environment > 200F. You should be fine assuming the heat penetrated everywhere there could be potential contamination.

You can clean up all the ash and then scrub the whole unit with bleach solution to be 200% sure.

I would just burn it off and then use it normally but that's just me...

 

[billt460]

I cook on a conventional charcoal Weber kettle. After we're finished the grill itself if covered in fat and pieces of charred food. I leave it that way until the next use. Then after filling it with charcoal and lighting it, I place the grill on and everything gets burned off down to bare metal. After a wire brushing to remove any ash, it's good to go again. A similar process to what you did. The heat kills and cleans everything, much like a self cleaning oven. You're good to go after your burn down.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

You're fine.

 

[Imp4]

Contact BGE or Kamodo Joe.
I'm sure they've had customers deal with this in the past.
Follow their recommendation.

Report back and let us know.

 

[JHZR2]

What you don't show are the "after" pics. I'd assume all the mold and spores burned off, but could still leave residues, so I'd probably consider wiping everything down and burning again.

Primarily for peace of mind - there's no evidence currently that the mold is bad or harmful.

I'm kind of surprised this happened, though we know it just takes some organic source, dark, and moisture. Still, for spores to get in and grow, seems a bit odd, unless it took a prolonged cool down where the coals were smoldering and water in the smoke was condensing, and air was readily passing through. I agree that calling or emailing the vendor is a good idea. You're surely not the first perso. To have done this...

 

[danez_yoda]

mold flavored smoke.

I would have taken the charcoal out and washed it out before using it. You don't know what was crowing in there. Just water no bleach.

 

[Gimpy1]

Considering that medical auto claves reach 249F (121) for 15 minutes to sterilize medical instruments according to guidelines. I don't think anything survived being at 400 degrees for 2 hours then 600 degrees for 2 hours. The only thing left would be carbon. I think you're ok. I've had similar issues in the past with a small portable weber gas grill. The only thing that I did was heat up the grill for 30 minutes to about 450.

 

[StevieC]

I get that sort of mold in the BBQ by the time the wet-spring is over and the nicer weather shows up. I just fire up the BBQ and let it burn on high for an hour, brush it clean and it's good to go.
I know it's not a smoker but the mold looks similar.

 

[double vanos]

Indeed! After that burn down just brush her out and put the ‘ol girl to work! Summer's just around the corner.....

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by Gimpy1
Considering that medical auto claves reach 249F (121) for 15 minutes to sterilize medical instruments according to guidelines. I don't think anything survived being at 400 degrees for 2 hours then 600 degrees for 2 hours. The only thing left would be carbon. I think you're ok. I've had similar issues in the past with a small portable weber gas grill. only thing that I did was heat up the grill for 30 minutes to about 450.


I agree with your conclusion. Just to clarify. Autoclave uses saturated steam and pressure. 121F for 15 minutes with probably suffice. But using dry heat and no pressure as in the kamado will require much higher temperatures. 340F for an hour is the minimum.

 

[Shannow]

Have seen similar and done similar.

As you come into the warmer months and want to cook over coals, having cleaned it now, give it a bit of a decent warmup each time that you cook.

 

[Food Scientist]

What do you do with a piece of mold on bread or cheese? I remove the mold and eat the rest. Never been sick, and as already mentioned most mold is non-pathogenic. I wouldn't even have wasted the charcoal to kill off some mold, just wiped it down next time I cooked with it.

 

[Food Scientist]

Originally Posted by Leo99
Originally Posted by Gimpy1
Considering that medical auto claves reach 249F (121) for 15 minutes to sterilize medical instruments according to guidelines. I don't think anything survived being at 400 degrees for 2 hours then 600 degrees for 2 hours. The only thing left would be carbon. I think you're ok. I've had similar issues in the past with a small portable weber gas grill. only thing that I did was heat up the grill for 30 minutes to about 450.


I agree with your conclusion. Just to clarify. Autoclave uses saturated steam and pressure. 121F for 15 minutes with probably suffice. But using dry heat and no pressure as in the kamado will require much higher temperatures. 340F for an hour is the minimum.


The high amount of water when sterilizing is really important. It's a lot harder to kill bacteria if no water is present during the heat treatment. The heat from the coals isn't dry, should be water vapor present as a by-product of combustion.

 

[Shannow]

Agreed, plus there's a lot of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides...it's pretty hostile.