Finally !!! Just ordered My WSM 22.5" !


 
Carlos Gregory

Carlos Gregory

TVWBB Member
Had to let the "blow" of the last grill I bought that ticked off the Wife cool down before I struck again ! Just ordered my Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5 and should have it Saturday .... any advice on breaking it in properly ? I'm also a little overwhelmed on the whole water pan do's and dont's ! Some say clay saucer,water or gravel in it ! Help !:confused:
 
The way I seasoned it was to just cook... It may run hot at first but it will settle down as you season the WSM...I use water in my pan and no water when I do chicken..
 
Go with Chicken like Tony said. I just season my 22 and I had no high temp issues at all. No water in my pan.
 
Chickens and a small rack of ribs is how I did mine. Could also do a pork butt as they are more forgiving on errors. Like Tony R mentioned it may run hot first few runs but mine wasn't too bad at all. Just keep and eye on it to get a feel on what its doing for the first bit. Once dialed in mine stayed dead on temp for rest of smoke on first run.

Congrats on new WSM coming.
 
If you choose to not use water in the pan do you "spritz" with apple juice,etc. during your cook(s) ?! I think a Pork Butt is the best approach I'm thinking.
 
I seasoned mine per the wisdom of Harry Soo. I cooked a bag of KBB and a lb of bacon to build up grease. Then, I like a butt for the first cook to maximize grease build up more.

I use water in the pan to within 1" of the top for everything at lower temps. I use a dry pan and a foiled clay saucer for higher temps (325-350*).
 
Did a long burn my first go at it. Chicken for 2 hours followed by a 2-2-1 rib cook.
Used water in the pan that cook, but haven't used water since.

PS - Welcome to the club.
 
I've used a foiled clay saucer in every cook so far, and that has been great. Didn't do anything to season it, and the first cook turned out delicious. I did a Minion start with the lower vets in the 25-50% range the entire time and it didn't run hot in that first cook.
 
For my first cook I did a chicken a-la the directions over at the Cooking topics section. I think the only concern is a shiney new clean WSM may burn a little hotter than normal so it's prudent to do a simple high heat cook first.

For low heat cooks (such as ribs and butts) I use the water pan. My temps have always been steady and I never had the need to change it. For higher heat cooks I foil the water pan but don't fill it. I've also found the recipes and directions on the cooking topics section to be great and easy to follow. They helped me out when I first begining.
 
Last edited:
WSMs are enameled, inside and out. They do not have to be seasoned in the typical manner. Just start cooking, and you will start to get a gunk buildup which will make the unit cook better.

When I started cooking, I used water. I now use a foiled clay flower pot base in the foiled water pan. I find it works better and clean up is much easier. Some people use gravel or sand in their water pans. Simply foiling it works well too.

Good luck!

Bob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top