Timing still off after dual mod

jimmyb · April 02, 2011, 05:04:51 AM

I'm a few smokes in after my dual mod. I did many smokes using the original one heating element smoker. With the stock configuration I was always safe to estimate about 2+ hrs per pound for a butt or brisket. I would usually give myself 24 hrs to smoke and FTC.

Now the modded beast. I am constantly overestimating the time for the smoke/cook. I estimate about 1 1/2 hr per pound but I am now still getting done earlier than planned. Last night/this morning I had a 10# brisket and a 83 butt in at 225 degrees. Started at 8:30 PM. Woke up at 6:30 AM and we were just about right. brisket was sitting at about 190 and the butt was a little less. Maybe 188.

So now I'm looking at about one hour per pound. I am just nervous to estimate 1 hr per pound because I know things can take much longer. I'm not used to these shorter recovery times and smokes. Also, reading others posts, I see some butts taking up to 22 hrs which is what I was seeing in the single element smoker. The problem is that when you are talking about a 10 # piece of meta, the difference between 1 hr and 2 hrs per lb. is 10 hrs. How do you plan for that swing? Could be a long FTC.

So here I sit with the meat in FTC at about 7:00 AM and will not be served until about 3:00 PM. This is right between too long of an FTC and "I don't want to reheat it shortly after pulling from FTC". Should I FTC for 8 hrs? Pull it from FT and put it in the fridge after about 5 hrs and then reheat?

In the end, I don't think I am cooking too fast because they seem to be cooked to perfection. Again, I am always too scared to plan for a max of 1 1/2 hrs. per lb.

muebe · April 02, 2011, 07:17:22 AM

Well my gut reaction would be if you are happy with how the meat is turning out than don't worry about it ;)

My questions would be...Are you using a PID? Are you using a wireless cabinet thermometer or the temperature gauge built into the cabinet? And where are you placing the cabinet temperature probe? Above or below the meat?

I would guess that by your cooking times you are at a higher cabinet temperature than normal. The built-in gauge is not accurate and I have experienced a 50 degree difference(guage reading lower) than actual temp from my Auberins.

There will be others much smarter than me who will be along to help you ;D

jimmyb · April 02, 2011, 08:06:56 AM

All good questions but I think I am doing everything right.
1. I am using a Auber PID
2. I have the probe just about even with the bottom rack that I have meat on. I would put it below but they don't give you enough wire to reach

muebe · April 02, 2011, 08:19:02 AM

Ok... good that you are using a PID. I would really try to get that temp probe located below the meat you are smoking if you can. I think you can get a probe extension wire from Auberins to lengthen the wire. The temperature at meat level and above the meat will be lower than the temperature below due to the meat absorbing the heat. The cooking temperature should be measured below the meat for an accurate cabinet temperature :)

And are you placing your meat on the lowest rack(closest to the heating elements)?

jimmyb · April 02, 2011, 10:00:38 AM

I do occasionally have to put the meat on the lowest rack. This was a big brisket and a big butt so I had to put one on the bottom and one the second from the top.

I will look into the extension for sure. I'm surprised it doesn't ship with a longer wire. I do try to get the probe under the meat and it is slightly below but not entirely below the rack. This could be the issue.

jimmyb · April 02, 2011, 10:02:37 AM

another thought on this. I had the pork butt on the second from the top rack and it was also done in record time. The time is actuall yin line with the recommended time which is 1 - 1 1/2 hour per pound but it always too me longer

muebe · April 02, 2011, 10:09:16 AM

The wires on my Auberins dual probe are very long. I had to use zip ties for the excess wires. Your PID must be located quite a bit away from your smoker or your model is an older one with shorter wires ???

Mr Walleye · April 02, 2011, 02:09:56 PM

jimmyb

Another observation I've made from the many and varied methods of smoking a butt is the temp. There are members here that smoke butts anywhere from 200 to 225. The chosen target temp will cause some variation in the length of the cook.

You are using 225 with the dual element mod. With this mod the temp is pretty much at it's target temp from the start of the smoke. With the single element and that size of load you would be hours getting up to your target temp. This extends the length of the cook greatly.

Sometimes it is simply the particular piece of meat. I've done similar sized butts side by side and had 3 or more hours of difference between them. My personal experience with brisket is my times are more like 1 hour per pound. I don't know if it's the briskets I get or just me but mine seems to finish earlier as well.

I think between all of these factors you can have some fairly big time differences. What's right and what's wrong? I agree with Muebe. It's all in the taste and it sounds like you have that nailed down. ;)

just my 2bits...

Mike

GusRobin · April 02, 2011, 02:13:07 PM

Are you hanging the PID probe from the vent? I put mine in and shut the door on it. It seals fine and no smoke gets out.

Habanero Smoker · April 03, 2011, 02:56:31 AM

Following up with what Mike has said, you may be able to extend your cooking time by lowering your cabinet temperature, but I would not go below 200°F.

jimmyb · April 04, 2011, 05:50:32 AM

thanks all for the comments. After 7 hrs of FTC I thought the brisket was dry and the butt was perfect. TO answer a few questions
- The wire from the temp probe going in from the vent. Maybe I will use the idea of going it through the door
- The wire barely reaches the bottom rack and the PID is right next to the SG on a crate. This is as close as I can get it
- I think I will lower the temp in my next smoke

Lots of thoughts here for the next one. I don't think having meat on the bottom rack helped either. Still lots to learn with the new mod and smoking in general. It makes this learning process alot easier with this forum though. Still having fun and the guests are not complaining about the meat at all!

Habanero Smoker · April 04, 2011, 01:01:20 PM

If your probe wires are too short, many members run their probe between the door and cabinet. You will still get a good seal with little loss in smoke.

jimmyb · April 05, 2011, 05:29:08 AM

I was just reading another thread on the Auber PID and the need to auto-tune. I did NOT auto-tune my PID as it said it was tuned for the OBS. Well, I guess they meant the single element OBS which I never thought about. Could this be my problem? I will try to auto-tune, turn the temps down, and run the probe through the door to keep the probe under the rack. One of these will surely help

Mr Walleye · April 05, 2011, 05:32:07 PM

Jimmy

You may or may not need to re-tune your PID. The idea here is you want to check it with another thermometer that you trust or have checked to make sure it is reading correctly (which it likely is).

The main reason that you would run the AutoTune is because the smoker is over shooting and under shooting the set temperature. As an example if you are setting the temp at 225 and you are seeing temperatures ranging from 215 to 235 then I would run the AutoTune to try and get your over/under shoot a little tighter.

Mike