First attempt

[Fishwick]

Hi Guys

Just thought i'd let everyone know how i got on with seasoning my new off set. Any advise on where i went wrong and things i should / could be doing differently would be great.

I started by spraying the inside with veg oil (not sure if this was nessesary but seen it on youtube and thought it couldnt do any harm!) I set it off by putting a full chimney of lit Lumpwood charcoal in, with the air vent open about half way. The temp went upto about 280 almost straight away. I put a handfull of Hickory chips on after 10 mins. At the 30 min mark the temp had gone up to 300 so i closed the vent to about 1/4 inch. The temp then settled down to 275 for 1/2 hour. After 1 hour the temp started to drop so i opened the vent a bit and threw a couple of handfulls of unlit coal (should i have lit these in the chimney first??). After 1 1/2 hours the temp was 180 and still dropping. After 2 hours it was 130 (and pitch black outside) so i gave up for the day.

I didnt attempt to cook anything in it as it was the first time and just wanted a bit of practice. Attempt #2 is currently underway (again no food) so we'll see if i learnt anything!!! A bit cold and wet here though so not expecting too much.

If I can get the temp a bit more stable I'll be throwing some ribs on there at the weekend so fingers crossed.

Cheers

[Swindon_Ed]

Here is a link to a useful page on another site which shows some of the mod's you can make to try and improve the stability of the cooker.

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_tec ... okers.html

[Fishwick]

Thanks for the link swindon_Ed, some great advice on there. Looks like a trip to B and Q tomorrow! Will definately be looking for something to seal the leak around the lid.

The second attempt went much better, even in the rain! Topped up the fire box with lit coals twice and managed to keep the temp pretty steady for over 4 hours but the mods suggested on the link can only help.

Thanks again

[Swindon_Ed]

There are a couple of other bits I've heard some other people talk about before which should help keep the temp's stable, the main one being to line the bottom of both the firebox and cooking chamber with fire bricks, as these should absorbe and hold some of the heat better than the thin metal walls, also if you can't find the correct filler just fill the gaps with tin foil that will work until you get it sorted.

[Fishwick]

Fire bricks sound like a great idea, I'll be adding them to the shopping list. Wish I'd thought of the tin foil earlier, seems so obvious now!

Thanks again for the tips and please keep them coming, I need all the help I can get!

[All Weather Griller]

I received some tips from a well know pitmaster over in the states about seasoning my offset and he suggested that using the fat that you trim from a pork butt. However, I found this really difficult and very messy, not least to get an even coat. So like you I went with the vegetable oil afterwards.

What a chef friend of mine told me was that lard, melted was a better way to go as it has better properties, I really don't know what the difference would have been if I am honest.

Anyway from a sealing point of view I used heat proof silicon, this was applied to one side of the doors and butter was applied to the other side, when pushed hard together it forces the silicon into a perfect gasket shape, leave it to set for 24 hours and trim off the excess with a stanley knife. The butter stops the non sealed side of the door from sticking. I have done this on my firebox door also.

As Ed has mentioned firebricks are great for retaining heat, I have one in my Bullet Smoker and it has produced fantastic results.

Cheers

Adie

[keith157]

I can only think that the lard being a softer consistency would spread better, either melted or in a "pat"

[Fishwick]

Thanks Adie

The seal round the door is something i'm really keen to do and I'll also definately by putting some fire bricks in there. I've been looking (B and Q and Halfords) for heat resistant Silicon today and can only find stuff rated to about 150, and Gasket tape, which i couldnt find at all. Does anyone know where i can get hold of a tube rated to higher temps or gasket tape.

Thanks again for the help.

[All Weather Griller]

This is the stuff I used,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Everbuild-Bla ... 357wt_1139

Hope this helps

Adie

[Fishwick]

Thanks for the link Adie, just ordered a tube.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers