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smoker seasoning

by Carl
(Las Vegas, NV)

I purchased my third gas smoker and the sales person suggested that I rub the inside of the smoker with vegetable oil and turn the smoker on until the inside of the smoker forms a crust. He said it is the same as seasoning a cast iron skillet. No one has ever suggested this to me and before I do this I wanted to make sure that this is the proper thing to do.

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smoker seasoning

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starstarstarstarstar 		Seasoning a New Smoker
by: Bill

There are a couple of reasons that it's a good idea to do a dry run with a new smoker before you smoke meat in it. The first, and most important to me, is that when it's heated up that first time, any chemicals, solvents or oils that might be left over from the manufacturing process will hopefully be burned away, so you won't need to worry about that stuff getting on your food. Second, and I'm not sure if it's a fact, but dulling the interior surface of the smoker is rumored to help in maintaining a stable smoke chamber temperature, something about the shiny, new surface reflecting heat back into the smoker, causing it to overheat.

I just lightly hit the inside surfaces with PAM, or some other spray cooking oil. I also use wood to create some smoke, because I think it gives the inside a better seasoning.

So yeah, I think seasoning a new smoker is something that should be done. At least, it gives you a chance to see how it performs before trying to smoke a $30 chunk of meat.

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