Smoker seasoning? - first smoke

[otis857]

Well, I have my new Masterbuilt XL modified and its about ready for its first run. Pardon my ignorance, but I read somewhere that you should "season" a smoker for the first time before putting any meat in it to cook.
What do you guys recommend to season a new smoker?

 

[bassman]

There should be instructions with your smoker that explain how to season it.  If not, just spray the interior (racks and all) with cooking spray such as Pam.  Fill the water pan, add wood chips and let it smoke for two or three hours.  This should kill off any nasties that are in there from the manufacturing process.  Hope this helps.

 

[rbranstner]

Yep what Bassman said.

 

[otis857]

Thanks, that does help. I was surprised there was no mention of seasoning the smoker in the instructions. Only assembly and some recipes. Do you heat this up to normal smoking temps of 225-250 or crank it up Higher (say 300-350) ?

 

[coffee_junkie]

I would go on the higher side 300-350, for an hour, then drop er down to 250 for a couple of hours.

 

[rbranstner]

I think I worked my way up to around 350 when I was seasoning mine. I ran it at around 250 for an hour or so then worked up to 350 so that if there were any bad things in there they would be burned out in case my heat got away from me when I wasn't paying attention. I normally smoke at around 250-275 so if I seasoning it up to 350 I know I should be good as I should never be that high unless something crazy happens.Oh and once it is seasoned to your liking throw something on there to eat. No sense wasting that good heat.