How to Properly Season a Pit.
 

Thick Carbon steel pit. How do you season it.

Fire the pit up hot - over 300* and use bacon grease to season the interior grates (like a cast iron skillet).
Keep the pit at temp for a few hours. Some use PAM spray or canola - a high temp oil.

Lang suggest closing upper damper to "smoke cure" the grates for a couple hours.
I also coat the exterior for some weather protection... allowing the grease to bake on.

Pretty much what Bandit says. I use spray Pam its just easier and I put it on everything inside and out [ I wipe down the outside ]

Bacon grease, lard, crisco, olive oil. I'd prefer to use bacon grease. but that's just me, I'm silly like that.

I use Peanut oil. Do it just like you do for seasoning cast iron skillets.

Been using Canola oil - thinking that it holds better together at higher temps.
My real recommendation is to cover yourself with clothes you don't care about. I generally seem to get it everywhere.

Pam makes a BBQ grill spray. Used it to season my uds. Worked great !

The best thing to use is Flaxseed oil you can get it at a health food store 2nd best is a thin layer of crisco 400 deg 1 hr either way.

What about a mess of pork butts and briskets? :crazy:

All kidding aside any of the above should work.

you're not suppose to season it like that? :twitch:

I use Pam, which is just canola oil. Just make sure that you get the pit up over 400* for at least an hour. The smoke point for Canola oil is 400*. What you are doing is turning the liquid oil into a solid through carbonization. Same process for seasoning cast iron cookware. Whatever oil you use, make sure you cure it at a temp higher than the smoke point of the oil. Here is a reference I use for oils I use in seasoning cast iron:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/colle...mokepoints.htm

I like to use those meaty beef back ribs from Restaurant Depot, just fill the smoker with them and all that WONDERFUL fat dripping down into the bottom will season it!!

+1 on the flax seed oil is the best.