Dan;
I have a big parts washer in my shop,so that's what I use..... You could use a five gallon bucket and some solvent or even gasoline and a soft brush to clean it up......
Another thing I do (told to me by an old airplane mechanic years ago) is once it is cleaned and dry,just before you are ready to install it in the block is give it a good dose of ether (starting fluid) over the entire crank (or any other parts),his reasons are that the starting fluid will disovle any grease and/or finger prints and most anything that could have been missed and then it evaporates leaving the surface nice and clean....
It is just an extra step I do and is pretty cheap..... I shoot some into all the
oil holes in the crank and use it on my rods and pistons also before installing them.....
David