Do you season WSM prior to use?

[Tom Snively]

Have seen some conflicting information about seasoning WSM. Is it necessary and if so how should I do it? Thanks for your help, Tom

 

[K Kruger]

Being porcelain coated the WSM does not require seasoning.

That said, some build-up from cooking does occur and this does seem to make the cooker a bit more sealed and less heat reflective, especially the lid and the center section.

Simply cook on the cooker. No need to do anything else. After a few cooks you might find that your lower vent positions might change a bit due to the residue that has formed inside the cooker.

 

[Alan F]

I wanted to with my new wsm but ran out of time.

 

[E Sassak]

I let her fly right out of the box and had no issues.

 

[Steven P (Tupelo)]

I broke mine in with an overnight butt smoke.

 

[Robin C]

Just use it to cook something. I found it burned a little hotter until it gunked up.

 

[Ron Grey]

After I purchased a used WSM off CL I washed and cleaned the lid and center piece. I also high heat painted all the previous rusted areas. Most of the build up was pretty much gone after the clean. I was cooking up a brisket on another WSM and did a burn thru with all the fat cap trimmings. Created enough gunk to make my first real cook on it pretty nice and easy.

 

[Bob LeFever]

I had intended to season mine, but found out here that it is not necessary. So I omitted that step and have not had any reason to believe that it should be done. Bottom line, saved some charcoal for the next smoke.

 

[James Harvey]

I didn't season mine prior to using. I did get smoke leakage from the lid, door and therm but the door and therm sealed by the 3rd cook. The lid still needs to be set on right to minimize leakage. I didn't notice heat issues but it was my first few cooks so I didn't know what was normal or not.
Flip side, once it does get seasoned, watch for flaking on the lid or cylinder. I quick blast with the hose or wire brush if you're more thorough works fine.