Doin' my first smke this morning!!! Couple of questions!

[kaz]

OK Guys & Gals ........ you've educated me up to the actual "event" ...... I'm doing my first smoke (it's 9am CDT on Saturday) ..... couple of questions:
I've got 2 racks of well seasoned Baby Backs (per your recipes) on a rack (per you guys) .... i preheated to 265F (per your tip) ......... put in the ribs ....... dropped the temp on my PID to 225F ...... here's where I am:
The PID shows 225 degrees (F)
The Bradley Thermometer on the Door shows about 215
The Maverick ET73 is showing 249!!!! The sensor probe on the PID was mounted through the back wall in the center.
The sensor for the ET73 is through the vent ..... which is wide-open.
The Bradley control is wide open.
Do I trust the PID and Bradley Thermometer or do I trust the ET 73 ...... or does 25 degrees just not matter?
I'm planning to run the smoke for about 3 hours!!!
I'm having fun!!!!
THANK YOU!!!!!

[3rensho]

I wouldn't trust the Bradley door thermometer.  Where is your ET-73 probe in relation to the PID probe?

[kaz]

It's on the bottom of the tray holding the ribs.
I used the metal "holder" hanging below the rack which is in the middle of the OBS.

[NePaSmoKer]

LUKE..........LUKE

Trust the PID

nepas

[JimmyDreams]

My PID sensor is mounted on the back wall, just under the top rack. My ET-73 sensor I have hang just inside the vent, not touching any metal. The ET probe shows much hotter than the PID probe. I go by the PID probe, since it's closer to the meat. The door mounted temp is usually closer to the PID, but it's usually lower.

I'm MOSTLY concerned about the IT of the meat.

Good luck on the smoke!

[Mr Walleye]

Kaz

You want to measure the temp the meat is being exposed to, usually just below it. You will find the temps to be different below vs above the meat. This is because the meat coming up to temp and giving off moisture will influence the temps above the meat.

So... your temps make perfect sense. The PID is measuring and controlling the temps above the meat and the ET73 is reading the temp the meat is being exposed to.

You could move your racks up a level or so and you should find the two temps become closer.

I would trust your PID and ET73 over the door thermometer.

Keep us posted on the ribs! Are you planing on putting them in foil for some time?

Mike

[Wildcat]

Concur with the above posts.  It is all about location.  You may find that even your door temp reading is accurate (for its location).  The important readings are what the meat is being exposed to and what the internal meat temp is.

[kaz]

THANK YOU ALL (or Y'all)!!!!!
They LOOK GREAT!!!
Now they're off to the oven (per you folks) with a little AJ at 225 for 3 hours, covered, of course..... then off to the sauce bath for another hour uncovered ............ house smells great ..... beer is a chillin' and I AM JAZZED !!!!

[jha1223]

THANK YOU ALL (or Y'all)!!!!!
They LOOK GREAT!!!
Now they're off to the oven (per you folks) with a little AJ at 225 for 3 hours, covered, of course..... then off to the sauce bath for another hour uncovered ............ house smells great ..... beer is a chillin' and I AM JAZZED !!!!

Sounds good so far!  Don't forget to post your pics.

[KyNola]

Nice going Kaz!  Sounds like you are well on your way to great ribs.

KyNola

[kaz]

THANKS (I say that alot on this forum!!!) for the responses and allaying any concerns about my temperature variations.
The ribs look and smell really good. They are now tightly wrapped in foil for dinner tomorrow night with friends, home-made spicy BBQ Sauce and my home brewed beer (a Hefeweizen). ahhhhh ..... LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

[Tenpoint5]

OK Kaz out with it, How did that one rib you just couldn't wrap in foil taste on your first Smoke?

[kaz]

REALLY NICE ......... uh ............. I mean ........... uh, well .......... they're for dinner TOMORROW ..... !!!