Seasoning a New Smoker? Wait, A Few Surprising Thoughts on Seasoning

I am a cast iron cooker as well and I season and restore cast iron cookware because it must be seasoned to keep from rusting as well as creating a nonstick surface to cook on.

I understand the need for seasoning. What I don’t understand though is a need to “Season” a new smoker (wiping oil on it). A smoker will build up creosote on the inside from the smoke of the burning wood from the first time you build a fire in it.

That build-up will find its way into every crack and crevice inside the smoker. It will do a much better job than you can do with a cooking oil-covered rag or paper towel.

Creosote when it builds up inside your smoker, if not kept under control will eventually start flaking and dripping during your cook and get all over your food. In order to avoid this, you should actually brush at least the top inside your smoker to keep it from building up too much.

I’m not saying wash it off completely, you need it there to protect the metal inside. You just don’t want it building up enough to start dripping and flaking.

The only real reason for “Seasoning” a new smoker is really only to burn out any oils and residues left over from the manufacturer during construction. You should build a good fire and heat it up pretty well. Heat kills germs and dries out moisture.

Moisture is what causes rust and contamination. Let your fire burn for several hours. When it dies out you will have a thin layer of seasoning all over the inside and anything that was in there will be burned out.

DISCLAIMER: This has just been my opinion based on my experiences. While there may be other opinions, this one is mine and has not been proven to me to be “Wrong”