Assembly of the WSM is simple, there are only a few steps to take before your able to fire her up for the first time. As always before you assemble its worth ensuring there are no marks in the Enamel, when mine came the center section was chipped which Weber promptly replaced.

First time use is all about seasoning the WSM, there will be residue you need to burn off before cooking any food and you will also need to ensure you create a good carbon layer inside. The dullness of this layer really helps when controlling the temperature - don't be tempted to skip this step!

I seasoned my WSM for around 6 hours before cooking any food I intended to eat. I added around 2 kg of briquettes to the smoker and lite a further 15-20 in a chimney smoker. Once burning white I poured the lite briquettes onto the unlit and filled the water bowl.

I added some cheap cuts of meat to the top grate, these cuts released lots of fatty deposits which help in the seasoning. Cuts like chicken wings and pork belly are cheap for this role. After around 6 hours I had a good carbon build up inside the smoker. Do not clean this off as you want this there. This will build up after time with using the smoker which will make controlling the temperature easy.

I found using the WSM for the first time is a nerve racking experience, I had previously hyped this up and stupidly chose a hard cut of meat to master (Brisket) and invited friends around. I had no real idea of what i was doing! I smoked too hot, not for enough time, used the wrong cut of brisket (supermarket rolled joint) and basically ended up with a tough piece of meat with a good bark.  I had followed guides on-line and my outcome looked like theirs but I wanted a pull-able joint that reveled in flavour and tenderness. In hindsight I should have done a dry run first and chosen an easy cut!

So my advise here is get to know your smoker, start with easier cuts that are more forgiving and build up to the harder joints.  Easiest cuts to do for a short smoke would be Baby Back Ribs or for a longer smoke; Pulled Pork or Lamb shoulder.

Tips

1. Try only to light the required amount of charcoal, On an average day most of my recipes require around 20 briquettes to be lite and then others will light on their own.
2. Don't underestimate the time it can take, always give yourself plenty of time - the meat can always be foil wrapped and left to rest until needed.
3. Be gentle with the air ports, you only need to make small adjustments at a time and then leave for 15 minutes to take affect.
4. Don't be disheartened if the results are not what you expected - practice makes perfection!

I found the WSM one of the best smokers on the market, prior to ownership I had used a few different cheaper Bullet style smokers and none of them compared to the WSM. The WSM is much easier to control and setup for a long smoke and the results are in a different league. All of the Smoker recipes on this site have been cooked on the WSM, I have never tasted Pork Ribs or Brisket as good as these and i put that down to the WSM.

Yes there are cheaper variants and im sure if you use them enough you will get to know their sweet spot but by the time you have got the basics masters a WSM would have produced many tender meat feasts.  This in meat costs alone would probably pay for the WSM... Choice is yours.