Seasoning my klose

[roksmith]

I can't tell you why more competition teams don't preburn..my guess would be that with the hectic schedule of getting out meat at half hour intervals, it's just one more thing that would have to be done...

..not sure what the flavor would be like after only 4-5 hours of smoke..the only thing that I ever wrap in foil would be my ribs.(more for moisture retnetion than to keep smoke out)..everything else smokes naked till the end.

I admit I'm usually too lazy to preburn..too busy suckin' down brewskis to mess with that as well.

I usually pre-heat and have white smoke for a few minutes after tossing in a fresh split...when I get 'er going well, I can usually go 3 or 4 hours without adding new wood.

I also have never seen the Minion method and would be interested to hear about it or be directed to a thread..

-Rock-

 

[nmayeux]

The Minion Method is a method of burning charcoal to ensure a long burn. It was originally developed by Jim Minion (competition cook) for the WSM, but it can be adapted to almost any cooker. The method entails spreading a few fully lit coals over the top of a large bed of unlit coals. This brings the cooker to temp very quickly, but allows a top-down burn, which is very steady and long lasting.

The method that I use is similar, but I put a coffee can with the bottom cut out in the corner of my basket, and fill the rest of the basket with charcoal I then dump a lit chimney into the coffee can and remove. This gives me about a 4-5 hour burn in the BSKD.

 

[bob-bqn]

Although pre-burning may be the way to obtain the "cleanest" fuel, it uses considerably more fuel to do the job. I'm not for or against pre-burning but I don't pre-burn due to the added cost.

I build my fire very much like Noah. I even had a few logs smoking on top of the firebox this weekend and turned them over before they ignited.

I've heard several accounts of logs flaming up on top of the firebox so I keep an eye on it. I put a stick or two (depending on size) at a time into the firebox when the old fire is a bed of coals beginning to lose their heat. The pre-heated log almost immediately ignites, puffs a white smoke for a few seconds, and then begins to burn clean. The vents are adjusted to regulate the flame so that it doesn't go out until the fuel is coals. I find smoldering wood to have a very unpleasant odor and wouldn't want it on the food (I've even had to get up out of bed to remove a smoldering log from the fireplace at night and take it outside).

Cajun, that was a very interesting article:

<Begin Copy of Article>

When temperatures are too low or when there is insufficient oxygen for complete combustion of the volatiles, smoldering occurs. This is characterized by smoking, the emission of unoxidized pyrolysis products. (This is the awful tasting stuff, creosote, that will give barbecue a bitter taste.)

If the temperature is high enough and sufficient oxygen is present, then flaming combustion occurs with less smoking and more complete oxidation of the pyrolysis products. Further pyrolysis of volatiles during flaming combustion may cause char particles (soot) to form.

</End Copy of Article>

Of the two choices above, the high temperature option is what I do. Build a small fire just large enough to keep the smoker heated so that I don't have to choke the vents, and let it burn.

 

[buzzard]

this postings is the closest i can find to answering my question, but it still dont. this may change a little the origial meaning but i still need to ask.

i am getting my new smoker. i hope, tomorrow and after a little work i am going to need to season it. what am i supposed to do? is it like seasoning a cast iron skillet? rub it with oil heat it up and smear more oil on it and bake it in an oven? i dont know any one with an oven that big. im sure i can find someone if needed.

then how often do you all recomend i re-season it or is it nessessary? do you keep oil on it every time you finish smoking?

this is stuff i have never done to the one i have now, i just fired it up and went with it, and it dont look so pretty now. i would like to change that a little.

or a lot.

 

[cajunsmoker]

Hey Buzz,

So you finally going to bite the bullet and get that new smoker eh?

I know your's is not going to be a gasser but the curing process is the same no matter what your fuel type is. This thread has a pretty good checklist for curing that should help you out.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1687

Hope you have good luck with your new toy :D

 

[buzzard]

thanks man i looked forever to find where it was. as you can tell i never did.

yea i found a great deal on a guy who used to make and sell them quite a bit. he has 4-5 left that need a little work, cleaning the rust off and painting them, im picking all them up. im not really looking to make money just a free smoker. he has a real good design, im figuring he copied a combination of other smokers to make one that fit his style, people liked it so he made more.

so if im understanding this im just rubbing grease all over the smoker inside and out and fireing it up HOT and letting it cool? i wonder if it would be a good idea to do this a few times, like seasoning a skillet?

 

[cajunsmoker]

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to repeat it a time or two. What the directions that came with my Brinkman smokers said was to rub the inside down with vegetable oil and get the smoke up to 400 degrees, then cool it down to 225 - 250 and let it smoke for an hour or so. Then you shouldn't need to do it again. I didn't oil down the outside of mine, since it was already painted.

 

[Dutch]

Hey, Buzzard-I know of a company that has an oven big enough to drive a truck into. They rent it out when it's not in use but ya gotta take the work to their site. They use it to cure graphite composites products such as aircraft wings and helicopter blades. About 10-15 years ago, one of the High School cooking classes used it to try and set the record for the most chocolate chips cookies baked at one time. Can't recall if they set the record or not :(, guess my 'old-timers' is working overtime.