Seasoning The BBQ Smoker
1.
Begin by coating the insides and cooking grates with a high temperature cooking oil, such as sunflower oil, or even lard.
We recommend a good quality, cold pressed rapeseed oil.
TIP: Remove the Grills and Water Pan Tray and coat these separately. Use a wide paint brush and a mixing bowl to
apply the oil, or an oil spritzer.
2.
Fire up the unit (see lighting instructions below), using around 3-5kg of good quality, lumpwood charcoal. Run at
normal cooking temperature (225-300 degrees F) for at least an hour. The heat will cause the oil to bond to the steel.
This will help with the preservation and life expectancy of the unit. The normal act of cooking will also help to “season”
your BBQ. Your unit will from time to time require a “deep clean” and after this, the seasoning process will need to be
redone.
Lighting Up
This is one of the most important tasks, doing this correctly will ensure that you have a safe, long and even burn. Make sure the
cooking chamber, cooking grills and heat baffle are clean and free from any fat/ grease build up before use.
Step 1. Fill the Water Pan (13) with water.
TIP: Use hot water as this will help in getting the unit up to temperature a little quicker.
Step 2. Make sure the Air Intake Valve (10) and all doors are closed, except the Fire Door (5), and the Chimney Damper which
should be fully open. The main Cooking Chamber Door (4) is fitted with Slam Latches and in order to work correctly and seal
properly it is essential that the door is firmly “slammed” shut.
Step 3. Get a small amount of good quality lumpwood charcoal going in a chimney starter. Once the charcoal is burning
sufficiently well, pour in the lit charcoal into the front section of the Fire Basket (13). Fill the remainder of the Fire Basket (13)
with unlit Charcoal.
Step 5. Once the unit is up to normal operating temperature, between 200⁰F -250⁰F (95⁰C – 120⁰C), close the Fire Door (5), and
set the Air Intake Valve (10) to around ½ of the way open. You may need to adjust this slightly, as different types of charcoal will
give different results. The Chimney Damper is usually set at ½ open.
TIP: If you are using a forced air system/ digital controller, such as the BBQ Guru®, the Air Intake Valve (10) and Chimney
Damper (7) need to be in the fully open position.
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