Help! - first time use problem - temperature?

[gopwillie]

Hi, I had previously used a cheap Weber bullet smoker for about 2 years before finally buying my BS last week.  My local meat market sells small boneless pork butts, which are usually perfect for feeding 4 people for a few days.  This one weighed about 3.5 lbs.  I got the meat in about 8:30 AM, with the temperature gauge at about 215 or so, and applied 4 hours of smoke (mesquite's all I got so far).   I figured I'd be in good shape somewhere between 2:00 and 3:30 (3:30 being 7 hours, or 2 hours/lb.) After 4 hours, I changed the water and stopped the smoke.  Well at 3:30 I was only at about 160 degrees internal.  I ended up taking the meat out at about 8:00PM! Internal was about 180, and for the most part, it was pretty good - but almost 12 hours for a 3.5 lb butt?  I cooked it on the second highest rack.  - I'm obviously figuring that the temp gauge is off.  I don't feel like buying a probing thermometer ( I fried a Polder last year- don't ask) - I guess I'll try going up to about 250 on the gauge and trying from there.  Has anyone tested out how far the gauge is generally off by?  Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[nsxbill]

Despite your problem with a Polder, I would still recommend you get a remote thermometer.  Otherwise, history will just repeat itself.  I typically do about 11-14lbs of butt at a time.  If feeding a crowd, I crank up the second BS.  I smoke at 210°F, and typically it will take upwards of 24hrs to reach internal temp of 187°ish.  

Questions for you.  Top vent only about 1/3 slot open to release moisture?  Did you leave the smoke generator on to continue adding heat to the cabinet?  How much peeking did you do?  Big problem for new owners is learning to trust the thermometer without looking at the meat.

I open the door to change water at 4 hours and again every 4 to 6 hours to rotate shelves and change water.

I personally don't have the time or disire to watch the temp of my smoker sitting out on the porch doing its thing.  I use a Procom4/Raptor combination from //thebbqguru.com, and it does everything for me, and if loads are equal in both of my smokers, the Raptor, with a splitter, will control both smokers. Prior to that I used a Maverick ET-73 remote thermometer.  A remote thermometer for monitoring should be an essential part of your cooking ventures.  The In-Door thermometer is not as accurate as you would hope it would be.  I frankly can't understand whey they even bother.  

I think I am just going to remove it at cover the hole.

Bill

<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>

[gopwillie]

The vent was open just a little, 1/3 is probably right.  I did not leave the smoke generator on, I figured that my temp was OK without it.  I only opened up at 4 hours to change water, and then I did peak every 2 hours or so after it was already in for as long as I thought would be needed (about 3:30).  I may still end up getting a remote, but I know I won't have it by my next smoke on Saturday.

Thanks

[bsolomon]

You should leave the smoke generator on for the whole cooking time.  Cycling every 20 minutes is not an issue, but with the cabinet burner at 500 watts, and the smoke generator burner at 125 watts, by turning it off, you lost 20% of your heat right there.  Also figure that each time you open the door, you will add up to 30 minutes to the cooking time.  2-3 less door opening might have saved you at least an hour or more, and without the smoke generator, the ability to recover from the door opening is even worse.

Also, if you have a choice, you might want to consider the next rack down (2nd lowest), or even the bottom rack.  Most of the heat is near the heating elemnts of course, so the closer to the bottom, the more heat that will hit the food.  So even with an identical slider setting and door temperature reading, you would have been done faster with a lower rack setting.

Ditto on the remote thermometer.  You should get one to help avoid having to peek!  And a good dual probe like the Maverick ET-73 also lets you measure cabinet temperature, but since you can put the probe at the same location as the food, you know the temperature where it really counts, regardless of what the door temperature says relatively high up in the cabinet.  Don't trust the door thermometer unless you have checked it against another thermometer.  Some are relatively close, and many others are drastically off (Bradley will replace them if you check and they don't match a calibration).

[JJC]

Welcome, Greg!  Bill and Barry have given you great advice . . . its worth $35 to have a good dual temp probe with alarm, and the wireless feature of the Mav ET-73, while pretty short range, is a fringe benefit that lets me sleep without worrying about going overtemp.

John
Newton MA

[gopwillie]

Thanks everyone.  I have a 4.5 lb butt smoking right now on the lowest rack, and I will only open once to change water, and then again when I think it might be done (I'm guessing 9 hours total) - I turned up the temperature from last time, but I'm still guessing a little.  I have it up near 240 on the thermo, but I'm guessing that will actually be more like the 215 I hoped for.  I'll get a new thermometer soon.  Thanks again

Greg

[JJC]

Let us know how it turns out, Greg!

John
Newton MA

[TomG]

Just a thought.[}:)] With so many people having problems with their generators, is it worth it to leave that unit on and cycling for more than the 2-4 hours needed for smoking?  It sounds as if the generator has a relatively short life expectancy and leaving it on for 8-24 hours may be an expensive way to get an additional 125 watts.  Is there a better solution?