Preparing To Use Your Smoker; Cooking Tips; Smoker Maintenance - oklahoma joes Marshal Centerbox Manual

PREPARING TO USE YOUR SMOKER

Before cooking with your smoker, the following steps
should be closely followed to both cure the finish and
season the interior steel. Failure to properly follow these
steps may damage the finish and/or impart metallic fla-
vors to your first foods.
1. Brush all interior surfaces including grills and grates
with vegetable cooking oil.
2. Build a small fire in the firebox using 4 lbs.(1.8 Kg)
of charcoal, approximately 60 briiquettes, being sure
not to lay coals against the walls of the firebox.
3. Close door. (Position damper and smokestack damp-
er approximately at one quarter open.) This burn
should be sustained for at least two hours, the lon-
ger the better. Then, begin increasing temperature by
opening the damper and smokestack damper halfway
and adding more charcoal. Your smoker is now ready
for use.
Rust can appear on the inside of your smoker. Maintain-
ing a light coat of vegetable oil on interior surfaces will
aid in the protection of your unit. Exterior surfaces of
smoker may need occasional touch up. We recommend
the use of a commercially available black high tempera-
ture spray paint.

SMOKER MAINTENANCE

Frequency of clean up is determined by how often the
grill is used. Make sure coals are completely extinguished
before cleaning inside of the unit. Thoroughly rinse with
water and allow to air dry. Wipe out the interior of the unit
with a cloth or paper towels.
When finished cooking, and the unit has adequate-
ly cooled, clean out all remaining ashes. Ashes collect
moisture, which can lead to premature rusting and decay.
Periodically coating the interior surfaces with vegetable
oil will aid in the protection of your unit. Also, occasion-
al touch up of the exterior paint will be required. Black,
high-temperature spray paint is recommended.
NEVER PAINT THE INTERIOR OF THE UNIT.
Cooking Surface: If a bristle brush is used to clean any
of the grill cooking surfaces, ensure no loose bristles re-
main on cooking surfaces prior to grilling. It is not recom-
mended to clean cooking surfaces while the grill is hot.

COOKING TIPS

BUILDING YOUR FIRE
1. Stack charcoal briquettes or wood into a pyra-
mid-shaped pile on top of the charcoal grate or ash
pan. We recommend using 4 lbs.(1.8 Kg), approxi-
mately 60 briquettes, to start your fire. Add more bri-
quettes as needed.
2. If using lighter fluid, saturate the charcoal briquettes
with lighter fluid and let it soak in for approximately
5 minutes. If using a chimney starter, electric starter,
or other type of fire starter, light your fire according
to the manufacturer's instructions.
3. Always light the fire with the cooking chamber and
firebox lids open. Leave lid open until briquettes are
fully lit. Failure to do this could trap fumes from char-
coal lighter fluid in grill and may result in a flash fire
when lid is opened.
4. Never add charcoal lighter fluid to hot or warm coals
as flashbacks may occur causing injury.
5. You are ready to begin cooking when the pile of bri-
quettes ashes over and produces a red glow (approx-
imately 12 – 15 minutes).
6. Depending on your cooking method, either leave the
briquettes in a pile or spread evenly across the char-
coal grate using a long-handled poker.
7. Avoid laying coals on smoker walls.
SMOKING WITH WOOD CHIPS /
WOOD CHUNKS
For a more robust smoke flavor while using charcoal bri-
quettes or lump charcoal, try adding wood chips or sev-
eral wood chunks to the fire. Wood chunks are available
in a variety of natural flavors, and can be used alone or
in addition to charcoal. As a general rule, any hardwood
that bears a fruit or nut is suitable for cooking. However,
different woods have very different tastes.
Experiment with different woods to determine your per-
sonal favorite, and always use well-seasoned wood.
Green or fresh-cut wood can turn food black, and tastes
bitter.
Our Recommendations:
Chicken - Alder, Apple, Hickory, Mesquite
Beef - Hickory, Mesquite, Oak
Pork - Fruitwoods, Hickory, Oak
Lamb - Fruitwoods, Mesquite
Veal - Fruitwoods, Grapevines
Seafood - Alder, Mesquite
Vegetables – Mesquite
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