Best Practices for a New Pit · Maintenance Tips ·

Lone Star Grillz - Best Practices for a New Pit

This is the first installment in the Lone Star Grillz Care and Maintenance series. To kick it off we are starting at the beginning with the Best Practices for a New Pit.

Purchasing a high-quality barbecue/smoker is not an easy decision. Before buying a pit, most people put some serious thought into it. There are many quality pit builders across the United States, and a variety of different cooking platforms. Before you pulled the trigger and purchased your Lone Star Grillz you have likely visited our website, engaged other LSG owners on social channels and frequently watched LSG content on YouTube. 

You finally decided on the new grill/smoker you want, selected the upgraded options, and placed your order online. It’s been a few months, now you have received email notification that fabrication of your new pit has begun. It’s been a few more weeks and now your new LSG has shipped, and the delivery date is set. You are about to embark on the greatest barbecue journeys of your life. Before you get started there’s a few things we recommend before the inaugural first cook. 

  1. Inspect and uncrate.  We take pride in the craftsmanship of our pits and take precautionary measures to ensure it arrives in the same condition it was when it left our facility.  If shipped your pit will come crated, wrapped, and banded.  Prior to accepting the shipment from the freight company inspect the crate and any portion of the pit that may be visible.  If any damage is observed, note it on the Bill of Lading prior to accepting the shipment and signing the Bill of Lading.  If the crate has sustained significant damage inspect the pit.  If the pit is damaged beyond repair, refuse the shipment and contact customer service.
  2. Clean your new pit.  Your new Lone Star Grillz is built from highly durable materials in our state-of-the-art fabrication shop.  It’s very likely your grill has shipped with some impurities from the manufacturing process, such as dust and debris.  Before starting the seasoning process, we recommend cleaning your new pit.  Start by removing all the grates, accessories and checking the pit for metal debris.  It doesn’t hurt to take a shop-vac to your pit before wiping it down with a wet lint free cloth, such as a microfiber towel.  Inspect the cooking grates and clean them with warm soapy water. Once the cooking grates are clean promptly dry them and set aside.  

  3. Season your new pit. Before placing the cooking grates back in the pit, evenly coat the inside of the pit with a quality cooking oil, lard, or other cooking fat. We recommend using Pam being it comes in an aerosol can, and easy to use.  Once the interior of the pit is coated with a cooking oil or fat, wipe the excess oil from the pit using a dry lint free cloth, leaving a thin layer of oil on the raw metal surface.  You do not want oil dripping from the surfaces and collecting at the bottom of the cooking chamber.  If your pit is equipped with a felt gasket around the lid, we recommend not coating the lid with oil at this time.  The felt seal is attached with an adhesive and should cure prior to being exposed to oil and/or fat. 

    Place the cooking grate back inside the pit and evenly coat them with a thin layer of cooking oil or fat. If you purchased an offset smoker, it’s important to season the interior of the firebox with a thin layer of cooking oil or fat.  It’s very important you     DO NOT season the exterior of your pit.  Lone Star Grillz comes with a 1,200-degree heat resistant paint, however it has yet to fully cure.  Part of the seasoning process is heat curing the exterior painted surface of the pit as well as seasoning the interior cooking chamber.

    Once the interior cooking surfaces have been evenly coated with a thin layer of cooking oil or fat, light a fire with coal, and/or cooking wood such as hickory, oak, cherry, pecan, mesquite or almond wood.  If you are seasoning a pellet grill, fill the hopper with your favorite food grade wood pellets or a combination of pellets and LSG wood chips.  Run the pit between 200 and 250 degrees for 4 to 6 hours to build the seasoning on the interior of the cooking chamber and cure the exterior painted surfaces. 

  4. Let cool and clean.  You just finished seasoning the interior cooking surfaces and heat curing the exterior of your new Lone Star Grillz.  Now it’s time to shut down the pit and allow it to cool to ambient temperature.  Once the pit has fully cooled to ambient temperature, recoat the interior cooking surfaces with another thin coat of cooking oil or fat.  It’s very important that after all cooking the ash should be emptied from the firebox.  Ash will attract moisture and moisture will cause rust.  Once the ash is emptied from the firebox, coat the interior of the firebox with a thin coat of cooking oil or fat and your new pit if ready for its first cook.  

 Proper care and maintenance of your Lone Star Grillz barbecue pit/smoker will offer you and your family generations of quality barbecue.  There’s no doubt your Lone Star Grillz will come up as a topic of discussion at all your backyard gatherings, parties, and events.  Keep your Lone Star Grillz out of the elements, and free of water pans and ash when not in use to extend its lifespan.  For more information visit our website at https://lonestargrillz.com or call us at 866-206-5245 or visit our YouTube channel at  https://www.youtube.com/@lonestargrillz.  

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