Season and Smoke, Same Day? Possible?

[Roger P]

Hi, just got my new WSM delivered from Amazon yesterday. Tomorrow, I want to put everything together, and season the smoker. I assume I need to do peanut oil and then run it .. how long, and how hot? Is it then possible to smoke a tri-tip later in the day? Planning to do ribs and butts on Saturday. Can't wait .. hoping I can produce better Q than I did on my ECB Gourmet Charcoal. Never actually used wood chunks on it, only chips

(Before I read all the tips on this wonderful site!)

 

[Konrad Haskins]

The WSM is not like a regular smoker with a mild steel interior. You can season and smoke the first day or just start cooking and season as you go. The oil trick is for smokers with bare metal interior.

 

[Jeff T Miller]

Mine got seasoned with 6 racks of ribs. Actually I haven't ever heard of anyone seasoning the wsm.

 

[Roger P]

Oh, well then, rock on. Tomorrow will be tri-tip and ribs. Will post my progress here. Gonna try BRITU.

 

[Doug D]

Let's define "seasoning" as pertains to a WSM. Porcelain enamel inside and out doesn't provide any porous surface to season, as with cast iron and the like. There's a belief that a new WSM cooker runs "hotter" because of a lack of a greasy layer of build-up on the inside that accumulates after a few cooks. The thinking is that the shiny new interior surface reflects heat back into the cooker whereas a grease layer beneficially absorbs and conducts some heat out of the cooker. This perception may also be perpetuated by the WSM novice's reluctance to aggressively close down the bottom vents in order to achieve and maintain temps in the 225-250° range. It's helpful to know that, under certain conditions, the WSM's temp can even be controlled with as little as a single partially-opened bottom vent.