Have you finally purchased an electric smoker of your dreams for your parties and cannot wait to use it on different types of meat? If yes then please have a little more patience before you take the smoker out of the box and start using it because the seasoning is the first and foremost step to achieving deliciously smoked meals.
Professional chefs and experts would agree with us on this but for every amateur party host, it is important that you know exactly why you need to season your electric smokers along with the right way to do so. For this reason, read our guide and aware of this crucial process, and follow it with extreme precision for livelier feasts!
Importance of Seasoning new Electric Smokers
Seasoning is just a much more complex name for taking your electric smoker on a test run. When you fire your smoker without any food inside, it produces a fine and black coating on the interior. What do you achieve by this?
Well, for starters, dry running your smoker extracts any oil or dust residues that might be present since the manufacturing of the appliance. These residual material are not limited to harmless oil or dust but include petroleum and other flammable solvents as well. To have these inside your smoker is not only extremely dangerous but contributing to bad meat odour too.
Along with this, seasoning your electric smoker helps correct any coating or paint inside your cooker. With this correction, the chances of your machine rusting anytime soon decrease greatly. Thirdly, the biggest advantage of dry running your smoker is enhanced food flavour through the already build up black coating.
Don’t forget to check out our guide: Best Electric Smokers in 2021
How to Season an Electric Smoker?
Seasoning your electric smoker is not a hard chore but can be quite confusing if not learned properly. Different brands of smokers have little variations in their seasoning methods but we are here to offer an elaborative and general guide to do this with minimum inconvenience.
Step 1: Assembling your Smoker and its Equipment
The first step is to prepare your electric smoker for cooking. To do this, read the instruction panel included inside your electric smoker’s box thoroughly and watch some tutorials about the product you are using. Look out for any faulty parts or missing equipment and if found, request for a replacement immediately.
Although seasoning your appliance is promised to rid you of any unwanted residue, you can also wash the insides of your smoker beforehand. Do this by using a specialized grill cleaner or just soapy water and let your machine dry completely. Remember to not scrub harshly and therefore scratch your surface.
Step 2: Coating the Inside with Oil
Get your racks, water pan, wood chip and drip trip trays and any other removable equipment off your electric smoker right after it has dried. Then, using a clean and smooth cloth, rub cooking oil on every inch of your smoker’s interior. Be sure to use only a thin layer to do so as excess oil will increase your seasoning time and produce streaks on your walls.
Once you have coated everything inside the electric smoker, except for its heating element as doing so might cause a fire, place your racks and trays back inside. These, do not need to be oiled individually. Remove any wood chips or other potential cooking material from the inside and make sure your smoker is completely empty from inside before you move on to the next step.
Step 3: Preparing your Smoker
Before turning your electric smoker on, open any vents present fully and do not turn these off until you have seasoned your smoker. These will help your residue’s vapour to escape instantly and prevent your smoking chamber from getting clogged or heated.
Finally, plug your electric smoker in the nearest socket and most ventilated place and turn it on!
Step 4: Seasoning your Smoker
At this stage, there is a variation between different brands of electric smokers as to what to set their temperature to. Whatever smoking appliance you are using, set its temperature to the maximum value and leave it running for two to three hours at least. Two hours are suitable only if you are running low on time and in any other case, we recommend getting about three hours as a must.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, folks! The simplest yet detailed guide about how to season your electric smokers as a beginner and professional both. Just by following these steps and making sure to follow the dos and don’ts mentioned, your electric smoker is ready to cook the tastiest meat and leave your guests licking their fingers off.
