Newbie from Peterborough, UK

[mrvernall]

Hello All

I just got my very first offset smoker. I wanted to start small.

I got an offset smoker as I want to grill meat as well as smoking.

I have not used my smoker yet. I am going to season the smoker hopefully tonight, I was thinking to spray peanut oil on the inside. But I don't know how long and how hot to get it. Any suggestions?

 

[wade]

Hi MrVernall and welcome to the forum

There are a growing number of members from all parts of the UK and I am sure that you will soon be hooked too. If you have difficulty getting hold of anything then just post it up here and someone should be able to point you in the right direction. The UK guys here also meet once a year at the end of July (near Lincoln) for a weekend of friendly banter and to share some good BBQ. It would be great if you could join us. It is NOT a competition and there are members there at all stages of their Smoking experience. 
 
The forum is a great place to get help and advice. No question is too trivial or stupid. The only stupid questions are the ones not asked. There is a lot of good experience on here. There are wrong ways to smoke food but there is no single right way. You ask about how to smoke pork shoulder for pulled pork and you will get almost as many variations as there are members. Most will use basically the same method but we all develop our own slight variations that work for us. Read all the replies and start with the ones that you think will work for you. It wont take long before you are responding to others with your own personal variation.
 
The offset you have bought will give you a good start. Take time though to learn how to finely control the temperature in it and be prepared to maybe add some additional seals.

To season it you should get a good fire going in the firebox - and run it hot for 3 or 4 hours. You are simply trying to burn off any grease residues from manufacture and any remaining volatiles from the paint before you start putting in any food. A hot oven temperature of 200-250 C will be fine. Once you have seasoned it the first time you can then coat the inside surfaces with a light coating of cooking oil to help prevent any rust forming.
 
When you get a chance please say hi in the UK Smokers group http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/groups/show/38/uk-smokers
 
Cheers
 
Wade

 

[mrvernall]

Hello Wade

I will go and say hi to the UK lot :)

Thank you for the info and your advice.

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David

 

[gary s]

  Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a cloudy and rainy looking day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary

 

[mrvernall]

Hello Themule69

I will post some QVIEW soon to help you all get your fix. lol 

Thanks

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi MrVernall, welcome to the "Family"

Wade has you covered on the seasoning of your new Smoker.

Start with simple cooks Chicken, Fattys etc then build on your confidence, don't jump in with big hunks of meat, learn how your smoker works.

You would be more than welcome to join us for the Weekend Smoke, or just pop in on Saturday for a Beer and Chat.

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]

 

[mrvernall]

Hello Smokin Monkey

Where and when is this weekend smoke?

Thanks

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi, it's 31 July @ Woodhall Spa

Hers a link to the website that explains all http://www.uk-smf.co.uk/Index.html

Would be good to see you, and a friendly note, it's not at all Clicky, it's only the second time we've got together and more members hopefully attending this year.

Smokin Monkey

 

[rmmurray]

Welcome to SMF! :welcome:
We're glad to have you. The search bar at the top is your most valuable resource here. This forum has been around for over ten years, so there is a good chance that any questions you may have, have already been answered (they may have 10 different answers, but you'll get an instant response non the less).
Please be sure to post your smokes along with your process and recipes. We will be glad to help you along the way and we may also learn something new ourselves in the process. Also, don't forget the very important Q view! (We're mad for pics on here [emoji]128513[/emoji])
Always remember to have fun because it's not fun if you have to work at it.
Thanks for joining,
- Ryan