# Should I "season" my brand new Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker?



## albertahab31 (Mar 7, 2013)

I am thinking smoke is the best "seasoning" out there. What do you fellas think?


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## jammo (Mar 7, 2013)

Seasoning helps get rid of any oil etc from the manufacturing process plus coats the inside which I think helps control temps.


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## venture (Mar 7, 2013)

No experience with that particular smoker?

Many come with unidentified gunk in them?

I would clean it out.  Oil it up.  Run it through a high heat cycle at least twice.

On grass unless you want oil dripping on your deck or your concrete.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## BGKYSmoker (Mar 7, 2013)

I did my WSM

1 charcoal chimney with 4 hunks of wood. I also wipe the insides down with a ball of aluminum foil aft my WSM has cooled.


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## jammo (Mar 7, 2013)

I forgot to add, the minion method works great for preparing the charcoal for cooking on the WSM. There are instructions on several threads if you are not familiar with it.


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## fpnmf (Mar 7, 2013)

Seasoning yer WSM is not necessary...

Fire it up and smoke something..

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/seasoning.html

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135116/how-i-start-and-use-my-wsm

   Craig


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## albertahab31 (Mar 8, 2013)

Thanks for the advise all. I will "season" it somehow with a combination of a high heat and some cooking oil. Heat up and then cool completely and then repeat with just smoke.


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## albertahab31 (Mar 8, 2013)

Awesome links with tons of great advice. Will do!!!!


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## dward51 (Mar 8, 2013)

The metal of the WSM is coated in a hard ceramic powder coat material that is baked on.  It's not bare or "painted" metal like a lot of smokers.  No need to oil it or season it.   It will usually tend to run a little hotter when new as the shiny surface does reflect heat.  But after a smoke or two, the normal smoke film will accumulate and it will be fine.

Just fire it up and throw some smoke wood chunks in the coals and cook something.  Might as well use the heat once it's up and running. Chicken is easy and quick.


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## dlr1 (Mar 8, 2013)

Most owners will tell you the best way to season that thing is with a couple of big ol butts. They have been known to run a tad hot the first few cooks, it took mine the better part of the Summer to get enough build up on the walls to make the temp control unbelievably easy. What size did you get by the way? You are really going to love that cooker.


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## albertahab31 (Mar 9, 2013)

Got the 18.5 as I felt that it was big enough for my 4 person family. The 22.5 just looked massive.


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## pgsmoker64 (Mar 9, 2013)

I seasoned my WSM with a load of briquettes, hickory and cherry splits, and two 10# pork butts!!!!








Seasoned it perfectly!

Bill


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## albertahab31 (Mar 9, 2013)

Ok so fire up and use it! Going to assemble tomorrow and cook something. So stoked! Any immediate mods that need to be done?


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## pgsmoker64 (Mar 9, 2013)

Nothing right off the bat...well, you may need to put a little more of a bend in your door...carefully.  

It'll leak smoke a lot at first but once you get some smoke and grease in there it'll be fine!

I wound up putting a grommet where one of the grate holder bolts is so that I could put my pit probe of the Maverick ET-732 through.

Good luck and be sure to post some good q-view!!!!

Bill


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## fpnmf (Mar 9, 2013)

Albertahab31 said:


> Ok so fire up and use it! Going to assemble tomorrow and cook something. So stoked! Any immediate mods that need to be done?


The search tool up top would help you a lot...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/57139/basic-pulled-pork-smoke

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork-by-soflaquer

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/94076/wsm-mods


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## venture (Mar 9, 2013)

Accept my apology!

I didn't notice the Weber in that one.

Webers are a very different unit.

And a great one at that.

I see no need to season?

Good luck and good smoking.


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## albertahab31 (Mar 10, 2013)

Assembled it and smoked some sausage right away. It went awesome for the test drive. For the "first real drive" I'm thinking brisket this Saturday. About 10 lbs for about 12 hours I'm guessing. Only issue is that I have wood chips not chunks and there is none to be found where I live until summertime apparently. Not looking forward to putting more chips on every 45 minutes. Hmmm might have to rethink it but I have always wanted to try a brisket and could not do it with my old brinkmann...


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## dward51 (Mar 10, 2013)

If you have a Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, etc.... nearby, they should sell fist size chunks of smoking woods in bags.   My local Kroger also sells them.  They pretty much always have Hickory, Apple, and Mesquite, but I have seen Cherry on the rare occasion. 

Here is the walmart page for Hickory (shows in stores only)

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Western-Cookin-Chunks-Hickory/23598496

Edit......

Well, I see you are in Canada and I have no idea what your options might be.  But if you have something like the above in your area, I would call and ask if they carry them.  If they have a grill department they probably do.

And one more thing to be aware of.  One of Todd's pellet trays or tubes *WILL NOT* work in a WSM for a hot smoke.  It would for a cold smoke, but not a hot one.  Several of us have tried it since we had the pellet trays/tubes for other smokers but it just does not work in a WSM.


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## fpnmf (Mar 10, 2013)

>>>>>>>>>[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]  I'm thinking brisket this Saturday. About 10 lbs for about 12 hours I'm guessing<<<<<<<[/color]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch/?search=brisket&type=all


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## sawzall (Mar 11, 2013)

Albertahab31 said:


> Assembled it and smoked some sausage right away. It went awesome for the test drive. For the "first real drive" I'm thinking brisket this Saturday. About 10 lbs for about 12 hours I'm guessing. Only issue is that I have wood chips not chunks and there is none to be found where I live until summertime apparently. Not looking forward to putting more chips on every 45 minutes. Hmmm might have to rethink it but I have always wanted to try a brisket and could not do it with my old brinkmann...


Wrap a couple bundles of chips in tin foil and poke a small hole in each pack to let the smoke out. Position them just as you would chunks with the hole up and they will last much longer and not flare up. Yeah, chunks can be kinda hard to come by in Canada where I am too.  I started making my own a couple years ago.  When desperate, I used some of my neighbors' well seasoned birch firewood and it turns out it is fantastic and very easy to come by.  Very similar to maple.  It will soon be pruning season so checke around your neigbors to see if they have any fruit or nut trees,maple, birch, oak, etc.  You can often get the trimmings for free if you haul it away for them.  I have a few local tree trimming services who also contact me when they get some interesting wood.


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## hoffmaba (Jun 20, 2013)

Just to throw in my two cents, after reading the Virtual Webber Bullet and some board member's advice on not having to season my new WSM, I was on board with that.  HOWEVER, after getting it out of the box and assembling it, my hands definitely smelled of chemical.  So, I've decided to run it through once after all to help cook off all of that stuff.  The page at VWB about not seasoning was so heavy-handed and sarcastic, it made me a little skeptical.  At any rate, can't hurt it!


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