Seasoning a new pit

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

LarryWolfe

Chef Extraordinaire
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
15,035
Location
Bealeton
I received some good news this morning!! (No I didn't save alot of money on my car insurance) Ritch is getting started on my pit next week. Now I've been doing alot of thinking about seasoning it and want to do it right and not overheat it too much too fast and cause the paint to bubble.

Here's my plan;

Gonna use charcoal for a controlled first burn.

1. Spray entire pit with Pam High Heat Oil Spray (bought 3pack).
2. Wipe excess Pam off.
3. Fill charcoal basket with charcoal and wood chunks.
4. Do a MM burn around 200* for several hours.
5. Spray and wipe again.

Is there a need to do two "seasoning" burns?

I'm open for suggestions!!
 
Larry: FWIW, I would not spray it first. I would just build a small fire and let it go till it burned out. I then would spray and wipe it down (cold) and Then throw a couple of butts on. Reason for not spraying it down first is to let the heat get all the nastiness out of the steel. Spraying it first may seal some of the steel manufactures rust inhibitors in. Not a good thing IMHO. Nothing will season a pit better than cooking with it.
 
Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
Larry: FWIW, I would not spray it first. I would just build a small fire and let it go till it burned out. I then would spray and wipe it down (cold) and Then throw a couple of butts on. Reason for not spraying it down first is to let the heat get all the nastiness out of the steel. Spraying it first may seal some of the steel manufactures rust inhibitors in. Not a good thing IMHO. Nothing will season a pit better than cooking with it.

That makes sense! Thanks! It will be hard firing it up without food in it anyways!

BTW, What does FWIW mean?
 
That makes sense to me....burn it out good before spraying. Then for you're first cook, buy a ton of chicken leg quarter (real cheap), and let em
release all dat grease all over creation.
 
Larry Wolfe said:
[quote="Pigs On The Wing BBQ":353dl0m3]Larry: FWIW, I would not spray it first. I would just build a small fire and let it go till it burned out. I then would spray and wipe it down (cold) and Then throw a couple of butts on. Reason for not spraying it down first is to let the heat get all the nastiness out of the steel. Spraying it first may seal some of the steel manufactures rust inhibitors in. Not a good thing IMHO. Nothing will season a pit better than cooking with it.

That makes sense! Thanks! It will be hard firing it up without food in it anyways!

BTW, What does FWIW mean?[/quote:353dl0m3] For What It's Worth
 
:idea:
I use a baskit of charcoal first and add some oak for heat then when the oak dies down I add some hickory. The soot from the wood seams to seal the metal well and then once you start cooking on it, the fat from the meat works in well. IMHO.
 
Bill The Grill Guy said:
:idea:
I use a baskit of charcoal first and add some oak for heat then when the oak dies down I add some hickory. The soot from the wood seams to seal the metal well and then once you start cooking on it, the fat from the meat works in well. IMHO.
Soot? I have been told my whole life that soot is a bad thing. Be it from a wood stove to barbecue.
 
Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
[quote="Bill The Grill Guy":msur7okl]:idea:
I use a baskit of charcoal first and add some oak for heat then when the oak dies down I add some hickory. The soot from the wood seams to seal the metal well and then once you start cooking on it, the fat from the meat works in well. IMHO.
Soot? I have been told my whole life that soot is a bad thing. Be it from a wood stove to barbecue.[/quote:msur7okl]

WHAT HAVE I DONE???? 8-[ :pop: :pop: :pop: :pop: :pop:


Foil vs. no foil, sand vs. water, brine vs. no brine and now soot vs. no soot!! :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
 
Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soot
 
Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soot

Damn.... He's not as dumb as his pictures make him look. 8-[

Sounds like the Wizard did give the scarecrow a brain. :D
 
Look what I found, direct from the horses mouth:

Curing your GATOR PIT BBQ pit: Always coat the inside of your GATOR PIT with a cooking oil. PAM makes a spray specifically for BBQ pits. This works well and is quick to do. However, I recommend bottle cooking oil. Olive oil is real good for this. Takes more time and is somewhat messy. I use a small plastic container and a paint brush and simply brush the oil on. You can also coat the exterior. The oil will dry after cooking a couple of times and put a nice protective coating on the exterior as well. After coating the interior place a small fire in the pit and let it burn out. The longer the better, however, you can cook on your BBQ pit after about 2 hours, if you are in a hurry.

FWIW
 
Well, Dave Klose seasoned my current pit, but my backyard, I kinda took the same approach I would with a cast iron skillet. I washed it down with soapy water, coated it real good (inside, racks, firebox inside) with vegetable oil, and took it to about 350 for about two hours with a good wood fire. Then , I started cooking in it! Do yourself a favor Larry. Don't overthink this! The point of seasoning is not a flavor thing. Your food will not get ANY flavor from your pit! It is a surface preservation thing. The Pam will work fine because you can spray it. A paintbrush will work fine too. I never could understand all the fall-de-rall that goes with this process! Some use bacon fat, some use Olive oil,and on, and on....... YOU'RE MEAT SHOULD NOT TOUCH THE SIDES OF YOUR PIT!!!!!! IT DOESN"T MATTER WHAT FLAVOR THEY ARE!!!! After two cooks, it is all gonna be animal fat anyway! I would also watch my firebox for the first initial signs of flaking paint. At that point, I would start coating the outside of it with oil. This will cause a rather unsightly patina to form, but it will keep the rust to a minimum! Good luck!
 
Oil the firebox when the temperature falls after your cook,when you can just place your hand on for say 2 seconds.Now this helps the paint from stretching and cracking.Now next time you fire up the pit that oil is there
helping.Oh it's called peanut oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cheapest you can find.everything else don't work.even inside your cooker PO doesn't transfer food tastes,so you can cook fish one day,pork,beef,butterflies....:ack: seein if your paying attention is all :grin:
 
hay Larry just have ritch at gator pits drop that new pit off by my house an I will get her seasoned right up for you.


Ps I don,t live very far form there shop if you like me to take a look at her let me know by the whats her name.

Missing Link.
 
The Missing Link said:
hay Larry just have ritch at gator pits drop that new pit off by my house an I will get her seasoned right up for you.


Ps I don,t live very far form there shop if you like me to take a look at her let me know by the whats her name.

Missing Link.

Hey Link, sure drop by and pick her up for me. Also if you wouldn't mind, could you bring it up to Va for me. I'll by you a case of beer, you save me a little on the S&H charges.
 
Back
Top Bottom