Does the WSM need seasoning?

[Chris P. Stewart]

Does the WSM need seasoning before the first go?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dave/G]

No, it works right out of the box.

 

[Jerry N.]

Some people believe it's best to season it. If I were a competitive BBQ'er, I'd consider it. Myself, just being a back yard Q'er, I seasoned mine by cooking for me and my family. I don't think I could tell a taste difference over time from seasoning, but seasoning did seem to help stabilize the WSM, making it easier to cook with. My general thought is that it's a waste of time and fuel to season the WSM before the first cook. Just cook something and enjoy the eating. Seasoning will happen over time (a pretty short time).

 

[ChrisInhove]

I didn't, and it worked perfectly (as far as I could tell on my first cook, anyhow!).

 

[Randy Stevens of Michigan]

I filled mine with charcoal and put some wood chunks in just to see how it burned, after it got up to the smok'n temp and stayed there for several hours i wished i would have put some meat it ! put something in it!
it will turn out great!

 

[Gary London]

The theory is that the shiny interior of a new WSM makes it run hotter. Greasy smokey gunk covers the shine and fills the tiny weeny gaps and seals the WSM joints a bit better.
First run will also burn off any manufacturing grease or gunk apparently. Second run use some cheap fatty cuts. I read all this on A Maz ing R ibs . C om.

Of course when you get an exciting new toy all that seasoning malarkey gets in the way of trying to impress the family with food that is usually far better than any other BBQ you have tasted.

 

[Pat G]

I did a dry run with mine just to mess with the vents and get a feel for it. I probably should have just cooked on it.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I did a dry run with mine just to mess with the vents and get a feel for it. I probably should have just cooked on it.

I did a dry run to burn it out. Then I just cooked something I knew would be fatty which was 2 small pork butts which are pretty forgiving if your new WSM runs a little hot.

 

[timothy]

Does the WSM need seasoning before the first go?

Thanks in advance!

Nope.
Its not raw steel, but a enameled coating.
Clean the grates with a mild detergent and start cooking

Tim

 

[Matt H.]

Absolutely not

 

[JBooker]

Nope.
Its not raw steel, but a enameled coating.

Yep and when they bake it on its at a much higher temp than you will ever cook with.

You can do a trial burn but your going to wish you had something to put on it. So at least do your trail burn with a chicken or something in there.

 

[Andrew F]

Does the WSM need seasoning before the first go?

Thanks in advance!

I would suggest at least a little salt and pepper, if not some garlic too.....

 

[Brett Fields]

Do a few cooks with no expectations. To settle out the cooker, you gotta cover the shine and gunk up the joints. Then it's performance becomes steady and predictable.

Enjoy.

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

I did.
Spray peanut oil all over.
Really heavy on smoke.
Dry.
About 250F for hours (1 full bag of briquettes)

 

[Jim Strickland]

I took some day old bacon the butcher gave me and smoked it.