# Seasoning a Smoker???



## stevetheteacher (Jan 30, 2016)

I just bought a Smoke Vault 18, and I know I'm supposed to season it before actual smoking. I know it involves running the smoker with nothing on it, but I don't know much more about it? Can someone please explain the seasoning process to me, including how long to do it?

Thanks so much!!!


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## bbqwillie (Jan 30, 2016)

I am no authority but this is what I do.....

Clean the smoker to remove any manufacturing residue.You can use soap and water to do this (DAWN works great to remove any grease or oil). Dry the  smoker with compressed air or clean rags. I use a vegetable oil and a paint brush to coat all surfaces, including the grates but you can use PAM if it's more convenient. Bring the smoker to 250-275 and leave like that for several hours. Let cool and you're all done.


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## SmokinAl (Jan 30, 2016)

For me the easy way is to spray the inside with Pam, put some wood in & let her run for at least 2 hours. I have a SV 24. I would suggest you use wood chunks. You can put some chips in at the start just to get it going, then chunks after that. Here's a photo of what I use.













1-21-16-7.JPG



__ SmokinAl
__ Jan 30, 2016






I also put a layer of lava rock in the water pan, then water.

Al


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## redrocker65200 (Jan 30, 2016)

I just did mine, and followed the instructions, kinda.  LOL   I did not spray it with anything, just connected the propane tank, turned it on, brought it up to about 230 or so and ran it with hickory wood for about 2 hours.  I also put water in the tray and rigged up a thermomter inside by drilling a hole into a 2x4 for the probe.  It would move anywhere between 220 and 235 or so, but I figured that was good.  Once it hit about 2 hours or so, I shut it down, let it cool and put it away.  We have had rain almost everyday since then, so I have not had a chance to actually try and cook in it.  But, that is what I did.  But, let me also say, I am a real newbie, so I kinda went with the instructions and just put my spin on it    Good luck.


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## joe black (Jan 30, 2016)

Steve,  Where have you been?  Been missing you.  

I don't know anything about your particular smoker, but I'll just tell you what I did for my smoker.  I sprayed it down good with Pam and heated it up to about 350*.  I held it there for about  2 hours and then let the fire burn out and didn't touch it until the next day.  When I opened it, she was really slick.  I didn't use any special wood, just my normal oak that I cook with.

Good luck with yours,  Joe


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## stevetheteacher (Jan 31, 2016)

I just cranked up the heat in order to season the smoker. It lit up easily, the temp was easy to manage, and I gad fun!

I think I'm gonna like this. I just wish I had some meat to grill!!!!


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## joe black (Jan 31, 2016)

Way to go, Steve.  Now that you're all seasoned, you're ready for meat at any time.  Be sure to post some pics.

Joe


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## stevetheteacher (Jan 31, 2016)

I couldn't resist, and I threw a burger on the smoker. It was delicious!!!


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## joe black (Jan 31, 2016)

Just couldn't wait, huh?  I'm glad it was good.


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## krex1010 (Feb 2, 2016)

Unless your smoker has unfinished steel inside there is no real need to season it. Seasoning protects the unfinished surfaces from rusting. Yes you may run a tad hotter until you build some love up on the inside, but there is no reason to not cook something the first time you fire it up. I know people talk about burning off packing grease or whatever but I've never seen any inside a cooker, wipe it down with a wet paper towel and start cooking!


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## ddbck (Feb 3, 2016)

Definitely  season it. Burn off all of the impurities.  Fill water trey, Pam the inside, throw some wood chunks on & fire it up. The temp dial is very touchy, a 1/16" of a turn will change the temp 20-25 deg. Experiment with it a bit. Let it go for 2 hours or so. Happy smoking. The Smoke Vault is a fantastic smoker and holds the temps very well.


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## smokeymose (Feb 3, 2016)

I just sprayed a little Pam in mine and burned high for a couple hours. I don't think it's like seasoning a cast iron pan or anything, just mainly to burn off any manufacturing, storage or shipping oils, chemicals, etc.


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## paul6 (Feb 3, 2016)

I bought the biggest cheapest bottle of vegetable oil I and painted it on Whenever I see a dry spot I just repaint it !!!


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## rogerwilco (Feb 3, 2016)

On our offset, I first wiped the inside, then coated it all over inside the cooking chamber with cooking oil. Having gone to a butcher and gotten several pounds of pork and beef fat trimmings, these were placed on the food racks. The smoker was then run at around 300-325°F for about four hours: smelled great and gave a real sheen to the inside.


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## bullitt5339 (Feb 6, 2016)

I never thought about coating the inside with Pam, but I guess that would be a quicker way.  I typically go high heat for about an hour to get rid of all the bad stuff and then do a couple pounds of bacon.


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## thebig1 (May 18, 2016)

I understand that this thread has a few months on it but I just bought a used smoker which is well seasoned.  In addition to that I just did the mods of the baffle and tuning plates which are brand new.

So let me know if I understand this right.

1. Clean the parts with Dawn.

2. Start fire in firebox using chunk charcoal.

3. After burning for a little while add my good smoke wood to it.

4. Let it burn and smoke around 300 for a could of hours.

5.  You're good to go.

Is all of this right?  Also, would it be better to use some lard or would that just simply be a waste of some good lard?

Chad


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## phatbac (May 18, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> I understand that this thread has a few months on it but I just bought a used smoker which is well seasoned.  In addition to that I just did the mods of the baffle and tuning plates which are brand new.
> 
> So let me know if I understand this right.
> 
> ...


It depends on the smoker. for my smoker (Lang off-set RF) i didn't need to dawn the parts just spray down the cook chamber with veg oil. smoke it to till it got really hot steam clean it and then spray with oil again and smoke a couple more hours. then i was ready to cook food on it. go to you tube and search for seasoning a smoker and put in your type of smoker.

Hope this helps,

phatbac (Aaron)


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## thebig1 (May 18, 2016)

phatbac said:


> It depends on the smoker. for my smoker (Lang off-set RF) i didn't need to dawn the parts just spray down the cook chamber with veg oil. smoke it to till it got really hot steam clean it and then spray with oil again and smoke a couple more hours. then i was ready to cook food on it. go to you tube and search for seasoning a smoker and put in your type of smoker.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> phatbac (Aaron)


Thanks Aaron.  I have a New Braunfels offset.  I guess that's just what I'll do.  I'm sure that anything is better than nothing.

Chad


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## joe black (May 18, 2016)

I agree with Aaron, but if your cooker is very dirty from having been used you may want to wash it down with something.  Other than that, just follow Aaron's advice.  It's so easy, that's what I do about every 3-4 cooks.  Just let it get hot when you finish cooking and spray with water.  Then spray with vegetable oil and let the heat go until it dies out.  No problem.


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## thebig1 (May 18, 2016)

I know that this may sound silly, but you actually clean your smoker?


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## sfprankster (May 18, 2016)

RogerWilco said:


> On our offset, I first wiped the inside, then coated it all over inside the cooking chamber with cooking oil. Having gone to a butcher and gotten several pounds of pork and beef fat trimmings, these were placed on the food racks. The smoker was then run at around 300-325°F for about four hours: smelled great and gave a real sheen to the inside.


I wiped everything down when I initially assembled my WSM.

I skipped the cooking oil and smoked several pounds of brisket fat @ 225. Rinse and  repeated. It left a nice coating/sheen that helped seal up my WSM.


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## paul6 (May 18, 2016)

When My cooking chamber (Offset ) gets to greasy I just grill some steaks over charcoal and wood , Burns off the grease then just paint it again with vegetable oil . I have never had any rust spots develop like I did on my old smoker .


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## thebig1 (May 18, 2016)

Thanks Paul and Prankster. I just added a baffle and tuning plates today so I'll be seasoning on Saturday to cook on Sunday.  I'll be sure and clean it up.


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## joe black (May 18, 2016)

This might sound silly, but yes, I do.  If there is any soot or other foreign matter, it's nice to get it out as soon as possible before it has a chance to build up.  I only clean it every 3-4 cooks and while it's hot the water turns to steam.  It's really easy and with just plain water it doesn't wash off any of the season.  Spraying it with vegetable oil may be overkill, but I don't see where it can do any harm.  A good, thick season is always a good thing.


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## thebig1 (May 18, 2016)

Joe Black said:


> This might sound silly, but yes, I do.  If there is any soot or other foreign matter, it's nice to get it out as soon as possible before it has a chance to build up.  I only clean it every 3-4 cooks and while it's hot the water turns to steam.  It's really easy and with just plain water it doesn't wash off any of the season.  Spraying it with vegetable oil may be overkill, but I don't see where it can do any harm.  A good, thick season is always a good thing.



Ok Joe, so I am going to fire it up on Saturday to season the baffle and tuning plates.  So after a couple of hot hours, I just spray the inside of chamber with water and close the lid for it to burn off, am I getting this right? 

Also, just to note, I have an offset smoker so the fire will be in the firebox. 

Chad


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## joe black (May 18, 2016)

Yes, after I spray and it turns to steam, I close the doors to let it dry.  When it's dry, I spray the inside of the CC with vegetable oil and bring the temp up once again and let it taper off with everything closed.  I don't ever season the FB.  This is the way I keep my offset clean and seasoned.


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## phatbac (May 19, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> I know that this may sound silly, but you actually clean your smoker?


Absolutely!

you want old meat or bacteria in your smoker for fresh meat?

The manufacturer of my smoker recommends a steam clean between every smoke. i hit my with a wire brush too to get out the foreign matter. I keep a seasoned but clean smoker every time. NO ONE gets sick from my food!

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)


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## thebig1 (May 19, 2016)

phatbac said:


> Absolutely!
> 
> you want old meat or bacteria in your smoker for fresh meat?
> 
> ...


Thanks Aaron, I'll be sure to hook that up ASAP since I bought it used and dirty.

Maybe since it's my first time cleaning it after not knowing the last time that it was done, I'll clean it with some Dawn and a hose and reseason it since I have to do that anyways.  I'll just get it all cleaned up.

Another question for anyone, do you spray paint the inside of the chamber and/or firebox with high temp paint or is that just for the outside?

Chad


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## gwschenk (May 19, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> I know that this may sound silly, but you actually clean your smoker?


I follow Harry Soo's advice and just run a brush over the insides after each use.


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## joe black (May 19, 2016)

For the CC, it's season on the inside and paint on the outside
For the FB, it's paint on the outside and get the ash out after each cook.  I also use a putty knife or wire brush or mostly both to keep the rust down in the FB as much as I can.  About once or twice a year, it doesn't hurt to use some WD -40 on the FB.


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## thebig1 (May 19, 2016)

Thanks Joe. I just cleaned it all up with a bucket of hot soapy water, my wire grill brush and the hose. It looks good.  Going to let it dry overnight and season it tomorrow after wiping it down with oil.

Chad


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## joe black (May 19, 2016)

Good luck with it, Chad.  Let us see a couple of pics of that nice shiny CC after you're done.


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## cats49er (May 19, 2016)

For off set smokers Watch this Lang video.             http://www.langbbqsmokers.com/tips_caring_instructions.html


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## smokeymose (May 19, 2016)

TheBig1 said:


> I know that this may sound silly, but you actually clean your smoker?


I'm with you, Big. All I clean are the grates...


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## thebig1 (May 19, 2016)

Cats, thank you very much for that link. That was a great tutorial. 

I just don't understand why he said that you only cook with heat and not smoke. I thought smoke was the whole point.  Or does the heat also carry the smoke flavor?

Chad


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## joe black (May 19, 2016)

He is trying to note the difference between heat and smoke.  The heat "Cooks" the meat.  The smoke flavors the meat.  There's not that much heat in a smoke house, but that meat is curing, not cooking.


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