How do I season a 250 gallon propane tank smoker?

[dockman]

I am finishing a 250 propane tank build next week. I have not had a fire in it at all yet. What is the process I need to go through to get it ready for meat?

 

[phillip p smith]

Pit looks good!!  Have you ever built one before?

 

[dockman]

This is my first done a ton of reading here first. Not sure if you have seen it but I have a build thread going?

 

[glocksrock]

Season it the same as you would any other smoker. Run very high heat in it for a couple hours to burn off all the contaminants then spray the inside and all the grates with oil and run smoke in it for a couple more hours to cure the metal. After that it should be ready for cooking.

 

[phillip p smith]

I agree build you a good hot fire up around 300 to 350 degrees and keep it there for a few hour.

I went to the local BBQ place and got a couple gallons of their drippings and used that for the initial seasoning after I had burned it down real well!  rub it on all the surfaces and the grates.

 

[dockman]

Thanks guys!

 

[ribwizzard]

If you can get it sandblasted inside and out out to " white" metal, I would highly recommend doing so. It's really not that hard to find someone to do this, and probably won't cost but about $100 bucks or so.

It will help keep you from having all the paint issues so many people complain about, especially on the firebox, and will give you a cleaner, more sanitary look to the inside.

I usually blast the smoker, the paint the outside and just the inside back side of the door, including all of the flanges. Then install my door seals or gaskets, and once they are cured, I will spray down the inside with some cheap vegetable oil and let it soak in for a little bit.

Then I'll start with a small fire, and keep it below 200 for a couple hours to let the paint cure real good before cranking it up to around 400' , then start stacking layers of vegetable oil ( with one of those quart sprayers from Home Depot ). And keep doing that for a couple of hours until the metal gets a nice dark color .

This includes the grates, top and bottom of them as we'll.

Then rinse it out with a water hose while it's still hot to get any crap out of it that may be still in there, and one all the water is baked off, stack a couple more layers of oil and run it around 300 for as long as you feel like it, just make sure all water is burned off.

Then cook, and never worry about seasoning it again. ( except your grates if they are not stainless)