Seasoning WSM


 
P

Peter Wells

New member
I am in process of ordering my first WSM - I have seen comments about seasoning the smoker - any thoughts and/or suggestions about this process.
 
I seasoned my 22" a few months back by just running 1 chimney of charcoal and some smoke wood through it before getting it set up again for cooking. Others may tell you to cook fatty scraps on it, not to be eaten, but to get more of a coating or seasoning on the walls and lid of the smoker.

Honestly, if you're pressed for time, I think you'd be fine by just lightly washing or rinsing the cooking grates before you use them for the first time. However, a seasoning run or two will also give you the opportunity to play with temperature adjustment, opening/closing vents, adding wood or water through the access door, etc. Doing this stuff on a dry run may make you feel more comfortable when using it for the first time with actual food that people are expecting to eat! Have some friends over, cook up some chow, and have a good time! That's what it's all about.
 
i think it'd be a shame not to cook something. i think i cooked chicken thighs. tasted fine despite wild temperature fluctuations caused by me playing around with the vents too much.
 
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I seasoned mine by doing some lower ticket, HH items like chicken, pork tenderloin. I couldn't bring myself to waste a perfectly good fire.
 
btw chris has a great article on it: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/seasoning.html

Your shiny, new Weber Bullet is made of steel with a porcelain enamel finish inside and out. If the custom-built pit is like a cast iron skillet, the WSM is like a piece of Le Creuset cookware—it doesn't need seasoning and will provide many years of excellent service without rusting.
 
I seasoned my with a chimney full and some wood in an empty smoker. It will take a couple of cooks to seal it up good.
 
Straight out of the box, poured lump/cherry in, along with a couple of delicious pork shoulders and a pork steak!

Couldn't imagine not eating the first food you cook on it!
 
Matt Rector said:
I seasoned my with a chimney full and some wood in an empty smoker. It will take a couple of cooks to seal it up good.
Click to expand...

Matt reminds me of another point to mention... The first time you use it, you'll likely notice that the access door doesn't seal very well and smoke will pour out at the corners. I've fiddled with mine to the point where the door seals great without adding any gaskets or buying an aftermarket door, but that did require a lot of very careful, minor bending, and checking the fit against the center section of the WSM many times during the fiddling process.

Matt was referring to the seal that will form between the lid and center section, etc... not the fit of the door, but his post reminded me of this.
 
Matt H. said:
My door fit perfectly out of the box. guess I got lucky.
Click to expand...

Which WSM do you have? Since the problem with the doors has to do with the curvature, I think it might get worse as the cooker diameter gets bigger. My 22 door needed quite a bit of work to match the contour of the center section, but now it fits great with no leakage at all. I actually messed with the door before I ever fired the cooker, so I don't know how much it would have leaked.
 
I seasoned my by cooking with it for several years now. Put me in the camp of not seeing the value of lighting the fire without cooking something. The only way I would think otherwise is if I was a competition smoker like Harry Soo bringing a new cooker on-line.
 
Jerry N hit it on the mark.

Decide what you intend to do... cook for your family and friends or cook for certified bbq judges. If you will be cooking for the latter, than a full blown, full court press seasoning approach is warranted. Otherwise, get some food inside and start smoking...

Either way... Have Fun, Enjoy !
 
thank you all for your replies - I did my first smoke yesterday - pork shoulder - I think it turned out pretty good - and no one got sick. On to ribs
 
I hated to waste a load of fuel, so I did my first smoke using a rack of baby-backs. Wasn't too happy with the outcome since the temperature fell to around 200 a few times, and flared up high once or twice, but some of that was due to the weather and the fact that I didn't use the MM to light it up (which I have done in my kettle several times). However, we bought a cheap pork shoulder on sale last autumn, and I think it has freezer burn--I may toss it in on my next smoke. Might trim some of the meat off to see if I can still use it but, no big deal if not, as we'd be tossing it anyway.

My second smoke on the WSM18 came out OK, so I'm going to let 'er get seasoned as I use it. My kettle, on the other hand, is 18 years old now and has quite a crust on the inside of it. :)
 
I just wiped it down with a wash cloth and seasoned it with a rack of spare ribs. Turned out fine.
 
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