Smoker question

I have a question for anyone who can help. I have been an avid griller/BBQer for years (Weber 22 1/2) and decided to delve into the world of true barbeque. I purchased a Char-Broil "American Gourmet" offset smoker and did some baby-backs (memphis style from the "Bible") in it yesterday. When they were done, much to my dismay, the ribs had a metallic taste to them - completely inedible!. I did the recommended "break-in" as instructed prior to cooking, but could that taste just be from the newness? I am now nervous about cooking anything else in there - I don't think I can bear to spend 4-5 hours in anticipation only to throw away a nice cut of meat. BTW, I used hickory chunks as fuel, if that is of any concern in this case.

Thanks for whoever can shed some light on this!

How did you and how long did you break in the smoker? Were the grates in the smoker when you seasoned it. When I season a grill or smoker I use the spray oil and olive oil on any and everything that will be in the smoker during cooking, especially the grates. The longer you season the smoker the better.

I gave it a two hour break in with mesquite wood. I did not have the grates in - I'm not really sure why I left them out.

eobDuck,

I certainly would not give up on your new smoker. I believe it needs a really good season and burn -- with the grates. Like Grand Scale in another recent post here, I dumped a whole bag of charcoal into both the firebox and the smoking chamber of my new Brinkman a few years back. I let the whole thing get really, really hot with a big fire for most of an afternoon. When the fired died and I cleaned out the ashes every surface got a whole lot of grape seed oil smeared on. No metalic taste and no rust.

when I broke mine in I fired up the fire box with some oak logs and kept a good fire going most of the afternoon. You can definitely smell the fumes from the metal burning at first. That would really affect the taste of your food. Put the grates back in and fire it up again with a bag of fire wood or something.

Check out this thread. BBcue Z goes into some great detail on how to season a smoker.
http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1073&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Thats how I did it.
I seasoned my cast iron grates in the oven too.

Thanks guys! Is it still worth going through an additional break-in at this point? I did have the rib cooking fire going for 5-6 hours with hickory wood burning (Grates inside this time). There is now a nice coating of smoke resin on the inside. If in your experience, you think it would be worth more fire time, I will do it! Any additional advice for afterward?

Thanks again!

Like I said before, the longer and the more smoke goes through the better. I personally never use coals in the cooking chamber and never ever scrap the smoky resin out of the inside of the smoker. I have found that the smoky resin seals your smoker and flavors the meat that much more. At what temp are you cooking your ribs? Is it a vertical or horizontal and does it have a offset firebox?

smokyblues, he mentions in his first post that he has a Char-Broil "American Gourmet" offset smoker.

eobDuck, I would recommend re-seasoning it as outlined in BBcue-Z's earlier post. I believe that ThrRoff also talks about the importance of the oils and smoke seasoning the chamber and grates. It sounds like you used wood without oil during your rather short seasoning session.

Your next cook is bound to be better than the first, and so on...but a good seasoning first-off accelerates the process and immediately gives better flavor to your food along with protecting your equipment.

Let us know how it goes.