If you’re like me, you’re excited to turn on your electric smoker and grill your first steak. However, there are some important steps you need to take to keep you and your family safe. In this article, I’m going to walk you through on how to season a Pit Boss electric smoker or do the first burn as they refer to it. as well as why it’s vital to do it.
What Is The Pit Boss First Burn Off?
If you’re new to smoker grills or outdoor grilling in general, you may not know what the first burn off is. Basically, it is when you turn on your grill for the first time and let it burn at 450℉ without adding any food.
Why Season Your Electric Smoker?
I know it sounds crazy and you might be wondering is it really necessary to take this step? Yes, it is and here are some very good reasons to season a Pit Boss electric smoker.
Think of the seasoning the grill aka the first burn or priming the grill as prepping it for use.
Let’s take a closer look at what seasoning a grill means.
To Burn Off What The Manufacturer Left Behind
When you get your electric grill, it’s likely been sitting in a warehouse and been gathering dust. At least that’s what looks like mine did, check out the condition of the box the grill came in.
Don’t even get me started on my whole experience of ordering my Pit Boss from Lowe’s. Just check out the box to see what I mean.
Pit Boss electric grills or any brand of grill for that matter are manufactured by the dozens or hundreds per day. According to Statistica, consumers purchased over 1.45 billion dollars worth of barbeque and grills in the United States alone.
That means the grill you purchased was created with hundreds or thousands of others.
It is your responsibility as the new owner, to run through the first-use grill burn off to clean out any residue or industrial nastiness left behind from the manufacturing process. You’ll also want to clean your Pit Boss out on a regular basis after normal use.
The initial burn off will burn off any impurities like machine oils and etc from your grill.
To Protect Your Smoker And Extend Its Life
Another reason is to protect your investment. Imagine buying a new pair of suede shoes and wearing them outside without first protecting them with a protective spray.
If you get caught in the rain, the water can damage those new shoes quickly.
While a pair of new suede shoes don’t cost as much as your new electric smoker (I hope not). Electric smokers will vary in price depending on which brand and model you get, but you can find some reasonable electric smokers for under $200. Either way, it’s still a big investment that you want to last for years.
Pre-seasoning your electric smoker will also cure the paint on your grill making it rustproof and keep it looking good for a long time.
How To Season A Pit Boss Electric Smoker Step-by-Step
The following steps are pretty generic and will work for almost any type of model.
Different manufacturers have their own process for seasoning a new smoker grill, just follow the manufacturers manual as I did. There are tons of YouTube videos that will walk you through the process of seasoning an electric grill.
I actually created a step-by-step tutorial video to show you how I seasoned my new Pit Boss Pro Series 820 for the first time.
If you’d rather read a tutorial, then be sure to follow along below as I walk you through the entire process.
Ensure Your Smoker Is Properly Assembled
Most people won’t have to worry about this step, especially if you get your grill pre-assembled.
We didn’t, we actually assembled our own grill, which I’ll share with you how we did it and why we chose to assemble our own grill.
Assembling a Pit Boss pellet grill is not as hard as you might think. Pit Boss provides a manual that you can use to ensure you get your grill assembled properly.
Get Ready To Season The Electric Smoker
The first step is to find a safe spot in your yard to run the first grill burn off. Opt for an open place such as a driveway, garage or backyard.
Keep it away from anything as the grill will get extremely hot.
Leave The Grill Empty
Nothing should be in your grill, except the heat shield (make sure that the sear plate closed), porcelain racks and top-shelf. Don’t add any wood chips, water, or food!
Start The Pit Boss Pellet Grill
Press the power button on your Pit Boss to start it. Turn the temperature control dial to 450℉ and close the lid on your pellet smoker.
Now let it burn for 30 minutes minimum. We just set the alarm on our smartphone for 40 minutes and just let the preseason process run its course.
You’ll notice some white smoking coming out of your grill, those are the impurities that are being burnt off.
Grab A Seat and Relax
There’s nothing you can do for the next 40 minutes, so grab a lawn chair and your favorite beverage and just relax.
I read the manual while we waited for the process to finish. After all, I am completely new to electric smokers. So I want to learn how to use my Pit Boss and make the most of it.
Let Your Grill Cool Off Before Storing It
The grill is going to be extremely hot after the first burn off. If you’re not planning on cooking right after you season the grill, allow the grill to cool completely before covering it with a grill cover.
We left ours in the backyard before we stored it away. While it’s cooling down, you may want to think about where to store it.
After all, you don’t want your new pellet grill to sit outside without protection. If you do leave it outside, make sure you have a grill cover that will keep the pellets dry.
Should I Apply Cooking Oil To The Inside Surfaces?
I’ve seen some people say that they used peanut, canola, or coconut oil during the seasoning process.
I personally have no clue why people do this, but we didn’t do this with ours as the manual didn’t say to do it.
Wash The Grates After The First Burn Off
Once the burn-off or burn-in has finished you’ll notice that the grates and cooking components have residue left over from the process.
You may want to remove the grates and top-shelf from the grill and rinse them off with warm soap and water.
Now It’s Ready to Cook
Once your Pit Boss electric smoker has been seasoned, you’re ready to start grilling. Here’s how to turn on your pellet grill, and the temperature settings you should know about.
Tomorrow we’ll be cooking our first ribeye on the Pit Boss, so stay tuned to see how it comes out.
Final Word On Seasoning A Pit Boss Grill
You only have to run through this process once and you can rest assured that you’ve done everything you can to protect your grill.
Not only that, but your food will taste better because it won’t have any impurities that can make your food taste bad and may even make you sick.
Hopefully, this Pit Boss first burn off guide helped you season your electric smoker. Be sure to bookmark this site as I’ll be sharing a ton more articles on smokers to help you make the most of your investment.