First Time with the WSM

[bgmorris0]

I read somewhere that I need to make a dry run(without meat) before I try to smoke something. Is that recommended? I want to cook something this weekend, but I have not used the WSM yet. Thanks in advance.

Brantley

 

[JckDanls 07]

Yes... that's a very good idea to do a "Seasoning" run.. it should tell you how in the directions... this will also familiarize you with the smoker (somewhat).... That way you will know a little bit about it before throwing meat in it... have fun

 

[dward51]

Instead of a true dry run, do something simple like a fatty or two.  Not a lot of meat mass to deal with and it will give you a chance to get the feel of the smoker and how to regulate the temps.  Also not expensive and does not take more than a few hours.  I would run it with the water pan the first time out and just put a foil pan on the lower rack to catch any drippings.  You could also do chicken, etc...

Remember on a WSM, top vent is always 100% open and you adjust temps by the bottom vents.  Also using dampers (vents) to control any wood or charcoal pit is a slow process.  It takes a few minutes for the result of your action to show up in the pit temp.  So if you start running higher than you want and close the vents some, give it 5 minutes to settle back down and re-evaluate if further action is needed.  Don't panic if it still creeps up some more after you close the vents some as it takes a few minutes to choke back the fire from the reduced air flow.  Otherwise you will be chasing temps all over the place (and this is true of any pit, but the WSM will be fairly stable by it's design).  Same advise goes for if the pit is running to low and you want it to heat up a little more, it takes a few minutes for your action so show results.

A new and unseasoned WSM will run a little hot from the bare unseasoned metal too (often does, but does not always).

You are going to love the WSM and the learning curve is not hard at all.  It is a well built smoker that will last you a long time.

Oh, one more thing.  A seasoning run it the WSM does not require you to put anything on the inside of the smoker.  You don't need to coat it in spray oil (PAM) or cricso like you would a steel smoker.  The metal is sealed with a hard ceramic coating from the factory and there is no factory gunk to burn off either. It should be clean, dry, and shiny ceramic black coating.  The seasoning you see people talk about on a WSM comes from the smoke after a few runs, not some spray on stuff.

You might also want to check out this link (and this site is dedicated to the WSM so look around while there).

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/seasoning.html

 

[pgsmoker64]

Looks like Mr. Ward has you covered!

You will love your WSM, I know I do and you will make some wonderful que on that R2D2 looking bad boy!

One note of caution and something you will find helpful at some point:

Most smokers lose temperature when you open the lid - the WSM will too but only briefly - by removing the lid you are creating a chimney effect on this vertical smoker and your pit temperature will actually increase!  If you leave the lid off for too long you will find it difficult to get the temps back down where you want them, so take care.

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill

 

[jirodriguez]

Dward has you pointed in the right direction.... no oil or anything needed, just light it up. I would give it about an hour of run time with nothing on it just to burn off any vapors or ressidues left over from either manufacure or packing. Then definately toss some chicken or a fatty on there!

One thing to do (if you have the foil) is to foil your water pan. I use the big costco/resteraunt roll of foil - pull two lengths of foil out (approx. 2.5-3 ft. in length) lay them ontop of each other and line up all 4 edges. Then fold one of the long edges over on its self by approx. 1/4 to 1/2 inch, repeat fold 7 or 8 times to form a nice stron seam. Open up the foil and you now have one BIG sheet that will cover the entire pan - pat it in gently or it will rip.

For starters you will have all vents (top & bottom) 100% open. Fill the ring 1/2 full (plenty of burn time for your first go around) then dump half a chimney of lit charcoal right on top in the middle. Wait 5 min. then stack the body on, watch the lid therm - when it hits 200° add a big pot of HOT water to the water pan, put the lid back on and wait for the therm to come back up to 200°. Then start shutting your lower vents - shut two of them 100% (unless it real windy or really cold - then only shut 1 of them), and set the 3rd one to about 1/2 closed. Watch it for 10-15 min. and the temps should settle right around 250'ish - yours may be higher because it is a new smoker and all the cracks and crevises haven't been seale up with smoke ressidue. Toss in two or three fist sized chunks of flavor wood every 2 or 3 hrs as needed.

After it has ran for an hour or so toss on some MEAT!

 .... and don't forget the pictures!

 

[fpnmf]

Crank it up and smoke some meat..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135116/how-i-start-and-use-my-wsm

 Craig

 

[badmoont2]

Everyone has given you excellent advice about how to operate a WSM. I read all the stuff about seasoning but, I wanted to try it out, so I fired it up and did some country ribs. They came out great, so I say build a fire and start smoking, I find the WSM very easy to use.

 

[bgmorris0]

Thanks for all of the advice. This board is great.