First smoke

[Evilgrin]

Hey everyone,

My Smokin-It model #1 is due to arrive tomorrow.  I've never operated a smoker of any kind in my life, but I bought a house and wanted to be able to make my own "Q" and figured if I was going to get a smoker, why not get a solid, well-built piece of machinery that will last a generation?  After some online research, I settled on the Smokin-It, as its reputation is very solid.  Looking forward to seasoning it tomorrow or Wednesday and throwing some meat in that bad boy for a housewarming party on Saturday.

My first questions after doing a lot of reading here are these:  For the initial smoke (or even for the seasoning), should I wrap the wood with foil or let it fly au naturel?  I got a bag of the cherry and a bag of the hickory chunks they sell on the SI site along with the smoker.  I also have a bag of mesquite chips from Home Depot I bought in a failed attempt to convert my Weber Spirit grill into a proper smoker (I got the chip tray from SI as well).  Any wood better than the others for seasoning or does it really not matter?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can weigh in and I look forward to sharing my smoking indoctrination with all you fine ladies and gentlemen.

-John in central FL

 

[DivotMaker]

Congrats, John!  With the #1, you won't have a problem with combustion (I never have in mine).  No need to wrap the chunks from SI.  The Home Depot chips, however, definitely needs to be soaked.  Don't use the chip screen with chunks.  Any wood will work for seasoning.  To make it simple, use 3-4 of the hickory dowels, set the temp to 250 and let it go about 4 hours.  No need to foil anything during seasoning.

During seasoning, don't monitor the box temp - it will just make you crazy.  Temp swings are wild in an empty smoker.

Glad to have you on board! ;D

 

[Evilgrin]

Congrats, John!  With the #1, you won't have a problem with combustion (I never have in mine).  No need to wrap the chunks from SI.  The Home Depot chips, however, definitely needs to be soaked.  Don't use the chip screen with chunks.  Any wood will work for seasoning.  To make it simple, use 3-4 of the hickory dowels, set the temp to 250 and let it go about 4 hours.  No need to foil anything during seasoning.

During seasoning, don't monitor the box temp - it will just make you crazy.  Temp swings are wild in an empty smoker.

Glad to have you on board! ;D

Excellent, thanks so much for the advice !  Can't wait to fire this baby up !!!!!!!!!