Happy Holidays from Texas, y'all!

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meanfish

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 19, 2007
4
10
Lubbock, TX
Hello, all. After months of agony and attempting to smoke stuff on my 2-burner grill, I just unwrapped my Christmas surprise from my wife, the BBQ Grillware Vertical Smoker I had been drooling over at the end of the summer.
icon_mrgreen.gif
It's my first "real" smoker, so I'm looking forward to learning the art!

My only regret is not having something big enough to handle a full packer brisket, but I'm betting I can run this baby low enough to end up with a nice juicy flat, right?

Here's my big question - what do I need to do to condition it before my first smoke (this weekend)? I'm busily reading everything on SMF about this smoker, but are there any particularly important tips I should know before firing up for the first time?

Hope everyone has a great holiday and thanks in advance for the advice!

-Nick
 
Nick, welcome to SMF from a TTU'er. As for your smoker, I'm not certain what type it is (electric, propane, wood, charcoal, etc), but for most smokers , its recommended to take it up to a high temp (300 or better) to cook off any manufacturing grease and paint that would leave bad tasting residue on your meat. I personally took mine up to 350 (GOSM) for about 2 hours. After that I let it cool and then took a sponge soaked in veg oil and went over the entire inside of the smoker. I then did a couple of chunks of wood at about 250 through the life of the chunks (about an hour). After that I considered it seasoned and I haven't done anything with it since other than clean the bottom tray out.

Hope this helps.
KE
 
Welcome to SMF. This is THE place to be! You got good advise above. Do tell us what kind of smoker you have elec, propane, charcoal.
 
Welcome to SMF! In addition to seasoning your smoker like Stars said, you're going to want to get a good digital thermometer or three... ones with a probe so you can monitor the internal temperature of the meat AND the temp of the smoker since a lot of the original equipment thermometers aren't very accurate.
 
Welcome to the SMF, I'm curious about the meaning behind meanfish. Anyway, be sure you season your smoker as mentioned by other members... it's kind of a Baptism by Fire thing. Good luck on your smokes!
 
I also have one of those and like it alot. To season, wash and dry the racks and water pan. Wrap the water pan in HD Foil, replace the racks and water pan in their place, spray with veggie oil ( I used canola) close door and vent, get it going on high, after 15-20 minutes turn to med and let it go for about 30 minutes, then set to low for 45 minutes. Let it cool, and wipe it all down and your done.
Be sure to spray the racks prior to smoking, also keep the water pan covered in foil for ease of cleaning after each smoke.
 
Welcome Nick,

Congrats on your first smoker. I'm sure you will be turning out great q in no time.

Spent a year at TTU right after high school during the 70's. GPA was 0.034....Guess I should have gone to class, but I was too busy learning about life and ladies.

Dave
 
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