Who likes to smoke their meat?

Dingo

Dingo

Well-Known Member
I installed the barrel thermometer. Both the digital probe and the barrel thermometers were verified in boiling water, being careful to only contact the water. Also have a hand held probe type, that also matched temps.

Meat was really juicy, it got up to 165*. Only lifted the lid once during the cook time. NO PEAKING lol

The 2 whole chickens took forever, never got up to temp (145) after 5 long hours. Had to put them in the oven to finish. They were incredibly juicy.

This weekend is baby back ribs.
 
Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
^^^ Yup -
I bet there is a site out there for home mods to this unit.
handles - side thermometers - water tray.....i've even seen temp control units which automatically
adjust the dampers

I use an iGrill and leave the probe in the meat with the unit closed.
There is probably a bung solution for yours, since the wire would crack the lid open.

I like the idea of hanging the meat! Get a grinder and sausage stuffer! (don't get a screw stuffer, get a press )
if you have a stand mixer, the grinder add-on is fine - just get an additional set of plates with coarse options.
 
Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I see a FB group - might be some unit specific tips they could give.

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JonF

JonF

Well-Known Member
Strange indeed. Still , i would try using a digital probe for smoker temp and see if there's any differential from the lower area to top area. Even on my horizontal smoker i have temp differentials in excess of 25-50*. Exhaust side is hotter than non exh side, sides are hotter because the bottom heat deflector doesn't go edge to edge, top rack is hotter than bottom, etc. Not usually an issue unless im loading the thing to the gills then i need to pay attention to what goes where. But for me that means i need to know the temp of the area im cooking at, not where the temp probe is at otherwise i may hve it set at 225 and its really 175 which would mean i'd never get poultry up to temp. Its an extreme but it illustrates the general concern. Some folks will go and lay a whole loaf of white bread on the grill surface and see what toasts more to find the hot/cold spots.
 
Dingo

Dingo

Well-Known Member
I smoked 1 rack of ribs, 1/2 turkey breast and a kielbasi today. Had the inlet air door slightly more open, damn temps went up to 325-350 and could not get them lower. Complete opposite problem. The ribs got up to temp in about 2 hrs, it should have been 3 to 4 for them. Came out moist and tasty, but do not have a clue what I am doing wrong as far as temperature control goes.
 
Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Dingo said:
I smoked 1 rack of ribs, 1/2 turkey breast and a kielbasi today. Had the inlet air door slightly more open, damn temps went up to 325-350 and could not get them lower. Complete opposite problem. The ribs got up to temp in about 2 hrs, it should have been 3 to 4 for them. Came out moist and tasty, but do not have a clue what I am doing wrong as far as temperature control goes.
Click to expand...

too much lit charcoal when it runs away.
keep playing!
 
jmanic

jmanic

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
Staff member
JORBA.ORG
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Dingo said:
I smoked 1 rack of ribs, 1/2 turkey breast and a kielbasi today. Had the inlet air door slightly more open, damn temps went up to 325-350 and could not get them lower. Complete opposite problem. The ribs got up to temp in about 2 hrs, it should have been 3 to 4 for them. Came out moist and tasty, but do not have a clue what I am doing wrong as far as temperature control goes.
Click to expand...
Not sure if this is applies to your situ,
but I realized after too many times that I was starting the minion method (lit on top of unlit charcoal to allow it to feed naturally)
with just way too many lit coals.
As a result, started with a temp spike, which was then followed by a rollercoaster ride of trying to get and maintain a stable temp.
Corrected this on my last smoke, and it was much better for everyone involved.
 
Dingo

Dingo

Well-Known Member
I did another round of ribs for my landlord. I just want to get a grip on controlling temps.

Directions say to add half a chimney load of lit coals. Today I counted out 13, about 1/4 full got them going for 5 min. just starting to catch.

Temps stayed about 250, for over 3 hours. Internal temp was 175 and smelled really good while cooking.

True test for the stalling temps will be a whole chicken. Can't wait! Oh and picked up some fresh unsmoked home made kielbasi from a place in East Brunswick, on the menu for next weekend.
 
ekuhn

ekuhn

Well-Known Member
Dingo said:
I did another round of ribs for my landlord. I just want to get a grip on controlling temps.

Directions say to add half a chimney load of lit coals. Today I counted out 13, about 1/4 full got them going for 5 min. just starting to catch.

Temps stayed about 250, for over 3 hours. Internal temp was 175 and smelled really good while cooking.

True test for the stalling temps will be a whole chicken. Can't wait! Oh and picked up some fresh unsmoked home made kielbasi from a place in East Brunswick, on the menu for next weekend.
Click to expand...

Check out the snake method. It’s my go to for ribs. I’ve posted some pics of it in this thread.
 
Dingo

Dingo

Well-Known Member
ekuhn said:
Thought there was a lower grate level in the barrel you could set this up with? or remove it and go with the large pot of coals?
Click to expand...
In the bottom of the barrel is a basket, that gets filled to the top. Then remove enough coals to fill the chimney 1/2. The last run I removed 13 coals and lit those.
 
Patrick

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
ekuhn said:
Thought there was a lower grate level in the barrel you could set this up with? or remove it and go with the large pot of coals?
Click to expand...

Oh - using a Kettle grill (performer) - not smoker. i line them up a couple wide/deep around 2/3ish of the grill,
haven't done that in a long time tho!
 
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