Seasoning WSM 22.5

[Terry Bussenger]

just got a new WSM, any tips on seasoning or doing anything special?

Thanks

 

[Geebs]

I ran a full load of charcoal through mine to burn off anything from the factory. I then seasoned mine by making a Fattie, there are a ton of threads in them here if you want to check them out. Also threw in some bacon.

 

[motocrash]

+ 1 on Geebs

 

[Terry Bussenger]

Sounds like a good plan. Thanks

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Yep, Geebs gives great advice. My fattie would be a breakfast one. They are awesome.

George

 

[yankee2bbq]

Congratulations on the smoker! Great choice as I have one too. There is a great write up on Amazon. It is from a review. That is what I did to season my WSM 22.

 

[gmc2003]

I seasoned mine with a full load of coals also, but from what I've been reading all that is really needed is a good grate washing and a quick wipe down. It's porcelain so there shouldn't be any factory oils.

Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

Since it's a porcelain finish all you need to do is just start a fire & start cooking.
Or you may want to just start a fire & play with the vents & put a probe on both grates & see how well you can control the fire. I usually start with a full ring of charcoal & wood chunks mixed in. Then put about 10-12 lit briquettes on the top. Open all the vents & when the temp is about 20 degrees below your set point then close 2 of the bottom vents. When your within 10 degrees of your temp close the 3rd one about halfway. When you hit your temp, then close it just a little more & see where the smoker settles in at.
Here is a photo of how I start mine up.

When you are done smoking just shut all the vents including the top one & it will choke the fire out, then next time just shake the ash off & add new charcoal & wood on top of the old.
Good luck & congrats on the new toy!
Al

 

[Terry Bussenger]

Great advice. Thanks

 

[joedube70]

I seasoned mine with a load of charcoal and few lbs of cheap bacon.
Here is how I set mine up. full bag of KBB minion method. I lay my wood chunks around the depression for the lit charcoal. I light 20-25 in my chimney and dump them in once ashed over. Bottom 3 vents are open enough to stick a pencil in. once the smoker is close to operating temp I start to close the top vent - which is usually about 1/3 to 1/2 shut. In this config I can get a good 14-16 hour burn on 1 bag of KBB.
Of course the outside temp will dictate the vents. This setup works great for me with temps above 45.

Good luck with your cooker. I have had some really good luck with mine.