Dome is Brown


 
It's just carbonized grease. You can wipe it out or hose it out with a garden hose to keep the flakies from getting on the food.
 
Kenny, I got my smoker not long ago and seasoned it with some bacon and smoke a couple of times before using it. The first time I used water in the pan I got a thick brown coating in the dome that was easily flaking off. I brushed it and cleaned it. I have not noticed any of that when I use the clay saucer so maybe what that is what you are talking about. If you havent tried the clay saucer in the water pan with foil, give it a try. I am a convert for sure....
 
That could happen a lot if you choke off your dome vent also. Use a ball of aluminum foil to scrape it off. It won't kill you but it'll make your food look and taste bad if it gets on it.
 
If it's flaking enough to cause problems with the food usually you can just give it a wipe with a paper towel and see if it comes off or not. Mine did that for a while but I don't think it has for a long time - probably because I don't use water anymore.
 
Chris' answer of "smoke-laden moisture" is spot on, no surprise, and anyone and everyone ought to check out all the info he has here on his site.

Only thing I'd add though is that rusty residue can happen without water in the pan as well, if you cook a lot of meat at once. I often load up my cooker with poultry using a dry pan and get the rusty residue just as if I was doing a low-n-slow with water. Of course, it depends on how moist your birds are, so if you air dried them, probably not. I usually get plenty of rusty looking residue from cooking two racks of chicken just pulled out of a marinade or buttermilk brine, though. I just check my domes between cooks and hit the high spots and rinse out as needed. I'd rather be outside and do that than wash pots and pans, any day.
 
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