Temperature Reading

[thostorey]

When the smoker is loaded with say, a 10lb pork butt, the smoke generator on and the slider hard over on max temp, about what temp reading should one see on the smoker door. I think I was seeing 270ish this afternoon with the outside air temp around the freezing mark. Is this in the ballpark? Thanks.

Tom in Qualicum Beach

[manxman]

That seems fine to me given the conditions you mention, however I tend to do pork butt at around 210ish cabinet temperature and have never found the need to have the temp slider hard over to the right.

Hope this helps.[:)]

Manxman.

[nsxbill]

The key to excellent preparation of most of the things we smoke is to remember the key is "Low and Slow."  You can bake/roast meat in the oven in the kitchen.  I smoke the pork shoulders and butts at a temp between 208°F and 210°F and go to internal temp of 187°F.  I don't care how long it takes, but when doing about 14-15 lbs can expect about 24 hours in the smoker.  After the internal temp is reached, I move to the FTC scenerio, and the meat comes out of the ice chest about 4 hours later for serving.

I use a Procom4/Raptor to control the temps and to monitor remotely, so it makes it easier for me, and I can control both of my SS Bradleys with the unit.  At minimum you need a remote thermometer if you are adjusting the manual slider.  The temperature of the box needs to settle into an acceptable range and then watch the meat target to be met after it is allowed to very slowly rise.

Many people new to this type of cooking peek a lot, and worry that they will overcook.  The remote thermometer is reassuring.  The door thermometer is the BS's weak link, and I might as well just remove it and plug the hole for all the good it does me.

Experience will come with time, and you will no doubt ruin some perfectly good meat with high temps, too much rub, etc.  Keep expirementing and you will ultimately gain confidence and know how much time to allow for preparation.

I consistently get good results with Baby Back Ribs, but it took a long time and more than a couple of smoking experiences to finally get it right.  Pork Butt and Shoulders, as well as brisket are very forgiving, as is salmon for me.  Just move slowly and carefully and record the temps you use so you can refer back to them.

Good luck,

Bill

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

[JJC]

Hi Tom,

I agree with the advice you've been given.  Can't emphasize the "low and slow" enough.  I also use about 210F cabinet temp for butts, and take it out at 190F internal temp to begin the FTC.  It's always great and pulls like a dream.  Depending on number of butts in the unit, it takes 12-30 hours.

With the smoker empty on a warm day I can get the unit to go close to the 320F mark.  Keep in mind that you don't ever want to hit the 320 mark because there is a built-in safety shut-off at that temp.  With almost anything more than a couple of lbs. in the smoker, or on a very cold day, 260-290 is about right.

As Bill says, the door thermometers can be off on the BS.  One of mine is within 5 degrees of accurate, and the other is within 10 degrees.  I consider both quite usable because they are consistently off in the same direction (high, as it turns out).  If yours is off by more than that, I would definitely get another one from Bradley Customer Service--they are excellent.

Bill, I noticed that Bbqguru is out with a new thermometer that they say is highly accurate and covers a 50-500F range.  It costs $25, which is pretty reasonable.  Do you know anything about it, and does it look like it could replace the BS unit without any fussing around?

The ProComm unit Bill mentions gets rave reviews by all who use it.  I've been hinting around about how nice a Christmas gift it would be, but in the meantime a lot of us use the dual probe Maverick ET-73 unit, which costs less than $40, and measures both the cabinet temp and the mezt temp simultaneously.  It claims to have a wireless range of 100 feet, and does when used outside, but it is closer to 40-50 feet once you have to go through walls.  It's a great alternative until the ProComm fits into the budget.

John
Newton MA

[nsxbill]

John,

Happy Holidays.  The thermometer is probably a good one.  I have always been happy with the products and service I have received from Shotgun Fred and his staff at //www.thebbqguru.com.  They are nice people to deal with.  The thermometer referred to is here http://secure.thebbqguru.com/productcart/pc/viewCat_P.asp?idCategory=24.  If he says it is +/- 1°F accurate, I believe it.  

I have the first of the Procom4 controllers...doesn't even have a serial number.  It is the Beta model, and it is worth shaving the scheckels or giving the "Big Hint" for the ultimate Christmas gift.  I just love it.  

Bill

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

[thostorey]

Thanks for the pointers! Actually, the butt turned out very good; pulled just fine. I can hardly believe how long it took to get to 190* tho. I didn't weigh it but it was much less than the 10lbs I first posted, more like 4lbs. I put it in the smoker (smoked for 8 pucks) at about 0930 and took it out at 1700. I haven't got the rub right yet either. It was ok but a little on the bitter side. I think I'll try less spices and more dark brown sugar next time. Does anyone put a bbq sauce on the meat while it is cooking in the smoker? When I've tried that in the past, on ordinary bbqs, it has mostly fallen off unless the heat was high enough to cook in on.

Tom in Qualicum Beach

[JJC]

I've never tried sauce on stuff I put in the smoker.  I would think that if you have a thick coating you would end up smoking the sauce rather than the meat.  I think if you do a search for rubs on the Forum you'll come up with some good ones.  I'm lazy, so I use the DizzyPig or Big Bob Gibson rubs--they're very high quality and formulated for smoking and BBQ.  Check with Big Smoker on these . . .

John
Newton MA

[nsxbill]

Thostorey,

I always just use French's Mustard, first tumbled under pressure(Optional-I have a commercial tumbler that will hold 25# of meat), and then overnight in container in the yellow goo in the refrigerator.  I use Dizzy Pig Rub in the mustard sauce, as well as some Parika based commercially prepared rub to add a little more taste.  I always crosscut the fat cap for better penetraion of the sauce.  When I take it out of the refrigerator, I let it sit for about an hour to warm up a little.

I start the smoker for a good warm-up at max temp of about 275°F while waiting for the Butt to warm up a bit.  During that time, I usually dust the butt with rub...not too heavy, but a liberal dusting.  Then into the smoker and set the temp for monitoring, hit the smoke generator 3 times and walk away to return in 4 hrs to change out the water.  I also change out the water in 4-6 hr intervals.  (Might be why it was bitter if you didn't change out the water).  

When the butt comes out, I place it on foil, make a little boat of the foil, and put in about 1/8 cup of apple juice, and seal up the meat, wrap in towel and into a preheated Coleman type cooler for 4-6 hrs.

Always sweet, pullable and melt in the mouth.  People have shared this with tell me I should give up the day job and open a pulled pork sandwich shop.  

Changing the water is important, and the apple juice really contributes to taste while the collagen breaks down post smoking while wrapped up in a towel.  If you are going somewhere and taking the butt to share at a potluck, or whatever, after 6 hrs in the cooler, it is still almost too hot to touch, so no worries about it cooling off and presenting some health risk.

Happy Holidays, and better luck next time.

Bill

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

[JJC]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nsxbill</i>
<br />
I always just use French's Mustard

<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Forgot about the French's mustard approach, Bill--I've got to try that really soon!

John
Newton MA