Originally posted by Derek D:
A Your WSM may run hot on the first few cooks due to not having smoke and grease built up on the inside of the cooker.
Originally posted by brian lanius:
I'd like to see the science behind this often repeated piece of information. In my experience any build up inside the smoker is going to have negligible impact compared to:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE> <LI> a change in the vent settings/air flow.
<LI> amount of charcoal lit/burning.
<LI> impact of direct sun/shade/wind and ambient outside temp.
<LI> Temp and quantity of meat soon after you load the smoker. 15# of refrigerated butt vs 2 babyback racks at room temp will have an impact on your temp reading, especially if your probe is near the meat.
<LI> amount and temp of water put in the pan.
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You might burn hot because you don't have a good handle on how to set your vents on your inaugural burn, but I don't think it is because the inside is a little bit shiny.
And don't blindly follow the instructions/recipes that come with your smoker. Unless it has been updated in the past 5 years, that manual is not very good. You will be much better off with advice from the experience here and the information that Chris has posted.