My brand new WSM 22.5/SEASONING?

[jmo bbq]

Hey everybody! Just wanted to say hey, and spread the word around that my new Weber just showed up today!!! I ripped the box open like it was christmas morning again and put it together in like 5 minutes. Unfortunately I live in the panhandle of Texas, surrounded by empty cotton fields now and the wind is really whipping up a nasty sandstorm out there. So I won't be able to season it right away. So I figured I would jump on the forum and ask around which is the absolute best way to season it before a first smoke. One of the reasons I bought this was to get to know it so I could get a few more and go to some comps around where I live. I bought it from Amazon, and Harry Soo had a review of how he seasoned his. Has anyone else tried this. Thanks for the help guys. Damn West Texas Wind!!!

 

[linguica]

I haven't purchased mine yet, but I'm told when the WSM is brand new and shiny inside, the temps tend to run higher until it gets more used.

 

[appwsmsmkr1]

That feeling is the best isn't it?

Make sure you register your wsm with weber just in case you need replacement parts they wont charge you for it. Their customer service is superb! 

I didnt do what i was told, i seasoned it by throwing some chicken thighs and a rack of ribs. It cooked the both of them beautifully. Im also a newbie so I'm learning as i go. I also couldnt tell if it ran higher, it was like at 240* for most of the time (i learn as i go), why bc, i had a problem with measuring the maverick et 73 vs the thermometer on the unit. I need to run the temperature wires through grommets (i am buying online) instead of the lid. (they were both off by at lease 75*) so please dont take my advice because i only used it once so far. 

Everyone on this site is wonderful!! They give great advice and also help troubleshoot as well.

happy smoking! 

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hello JMO!

The WSM has a thin ceramic coating on the inside much like the outside and really doesn't require "seasoning" like a cast iron cooker would.

No need to put oil in it but it doesn't hurt to do a burn in with a good load of charcoal and whatever wood you like to smoke with.  As Linguica mentioned it will run a bit higher at first, mainly because there is no smoking residue, grease, etc plugging up the holes, per se.

I loaded my charcoal ring the first day, dropped in some hickory, and played with the temps until I got the hang of it.  The next day...three pork butts and three racks of ribs.

Eventually you will get a film on the inside of the WSM that looks a little like chocolate...not a bad thing.  If it starts flaking rinse it out or wipe it out.  I also do not use water in the water bowl any longer.  I filled it with sand and put foil over it and it makes a great heat sink.  The BBQ I produce has not suffered one bit.

It may interest you to know that when you remove the lid from a WSM with hot coals in the bottom the temp only drops slightly but removing the lid creates a chimney effect, which will cause the temperature to rise, sometimes to very high levels making it hard to recover your low/slow temp of 225.  Try closing all your bottom vents prior to opening the lid and get the lid back on quickly to be sure you don't overshoot too far.

Good Luck and Get Smokin'

Bill

 

[dward51]

Good advise!!!

The reason the WSM runs hot when new is the nice clean ceramic coating tends to reflect the IR heat back into the pit. Once you get a thin layer of smoke residue on it, the surface will appear that dull chocolate color.  No need to clean the inside of the smoker after smokes, but do clean your racks and the water pan (sand pan) or flower pot base if you use them.  Covering those with foil will make cleanup much easier.  And like Bill said, if the stuff on the inside starts to flake, just wipe the loose stuff off and don't clean it all the way down to shiny ceramic or you will have to re-season it again.

There is no shipping gunk, oil, or anything on the inside of a new WSM so you can safely smoke food on your first time using it.  Just throw something simple like some chicken or a fatty or two on the top rack and smoke them while you get the hang of the smoker.

 

[bama bbq]

Great choice on your cooker.

I seasoned mine per the wisdom of Harry Soo.  But, he's a competiton pitmaster and I am a backyard weekend warrior so I doubt I really needed to.  Basically, he recommend burning a full ring with fatty food to help build the "gunk" inside quickly.  You can do the same thing with a pork but as your first cook.  If you do trim the fat cap off the butt, place it on the grill beside or below the butt so the fat will do it's thing on the inside of your new cooker. 

After about ten cooks that thing will hold temp steady FOREVER -- using vents only -- without a temp controller.  The key is a clean burning fire.  I plan an hour to light a chimney, get it volcano fire shooting out the top hot, pour it on my ring of unlit, and let the nasty black smoke go away until it produces nearly no smoke at all.  Then I assemble the cooker and add my smoke wood and food.

If you use a Mav don't use the lid thermometer.  They will be different so pick one as your reference and stick with it. 

As mentioned above by others if you take the lid off and do your work your temps will spike.  My solution was to cut a slot in the top of the center section so I can remove the grate(s) with probes installed, get the lid back on, do whatever I'm doing to the food on a work table, then remove the lid, sweep the probe wires back into the slot, and get the lid back on.  Here you can see the slot:

IMG_1279.JPG

• bama bbq
• Jan 21, 2013