obtaining/maintaining the cooking temp - Winter

Shawn_In_Training · January 31, 2005, 05:39:50 PM

I got my BS in Dec. '04 and I have a question about obtaining/maintaining the cooking temperature. I smoked some chicken breasts (ideas from this forum) and sausages yesterday. It was between 30-40 degrees F out – not really that cold. I turned on the smoker for an hour before I was going to need to get the meat on – it only got up to about 275-300. Working as quickly as possible, I put on 2 racks of bacon wrapped chicken (7 good sized breasts) and 2 racks of store bought Italian sausages and bratwurst. After 2 hours the temp still had not gotten up to 225, after 2.5 hours it maxed out at 200 degrees. I didn't open the door at all until the 2.5 hour mark. I had the vent just a little bit less then half open. Any suggestions or is it just too cold to hot smoke? Problem with heating unit or temperature gauge?

Thanks,
Shawn

Always trying to improve my technique

Habanero Smoker · January 31, 2005, 06:03:54 PM

I see nothing wrong with the BS performance, considering the ambiant temperature, and you had a full load. The more you load the BS, the longer it will take to reach the temperature you want to smoke at. What temperature did you want to smoke at?

humpa · January 31, 2005, 06:29:59 PM

Shawn....Just a point to help you a little. Remember the "golden rule" which is "LOW and SLOW".........I will only speak for myself on the temp of the cabinet. I never cook or smoke anything over 210 deg. Yes it is more time consuming, but the end product is well worth the time factor. There is a great book out by Bill and Cheryl Jamison called "Smoke & Spice". This is a must read book as far as I'm concerned. Good luck and remember the golden rule.

humpa

Hey Doc...I'm down to 2 racks a day!!!

MallardWacker · January 31, 2005, 07:10:24 PM

Shawn,

Just my own observations here. First, this is a low and slow type deall like humpa said, not something you can bake a cake in, not meant for that. Also, things like chicken , sometimes can take a while to come up to temp, "I Think", because of the amount of moisture in the product. What you have experienced sounds fine to me. Also one thing, did you let the meat sit out for a wwhile before putting it in the BS? I put my vent at 1/4 to 1/3. You will find if you "really" load up the smoker, you will experiance the same thing.

Welcome and don't make yourself a stranger around here.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

Shawn_In_Training · January 31, 2005, 09:48:15 PM

I was doing the bacon wrapped chicken breasts and I thought most of the posts called for 225 for 2 ¼ to 2 ½ hours. Maybe I am just trying to load too much – don't want to waist the smoke with you can have leftovers all week.

I understand the "low and slow", I was just trying to get the heat up for the breasts. In the end I think I over cooked them a bit – a little dry but still very good. I just got a new remote thermometer to make sure I don't overcook again.

I also know about S&S. I had an old copy that did not have some of the recipes I seem here, so I just ordered the newest release (2003). I have a whole collection of books – it might be hard to explain to my wife why I ordered a second copy of a book already on the shelf?

Thanks for the input!

Shawn

Always trying to improve my technique

Habanero Smoker · January 31, 2005, 10:15:07 PM

Your BS was functioning fine, and 200 degrees is not that bad if your target temp. was 225. By all means load the BS up, just allow for longer cooking times. In addition, if you were using the door thermometer, that is not very accurate.

MW;
Poultry with skin has the most adverst affect on the temperature. It is the skin that contains the highest precentage of water. I don't believe that skinless chicken would have the same effect.

MallardWacker · January 31, 2005, 10:17:27 PM

Shawn,

A remote thermometer is you best investment. To me there is no one item that can help you more. It will improve your out come and give you a baseline for sucess or failure where you can adjust accordingly.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Poultry with skin has the most adverst affect on the temperature. It is the skin that contains the highest precentage of water. I don't believe that skinless chicken would have the same effect.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">HAB,thats what I thought. I think I will do a little experiment next time when I do chicken. When I do chicken I have always come to expect the extended time to come to temp.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

BigRed · February 01, 2005, 12:11:00 AM

Shawn,

If time is a concern cook at night. I almost always do butts or brisket over night. This way if I need more time depending on what the Maverick dual probe says I still have the remainder of the morning. Then wrapping in seran wrap, foil, towel and in the cooler will still be hot when you want to serve it. I know your not cooking these items but the idea is the same.

BigRED

Chez Bubba · February 01, 2005, 12:59:27 AM

Shawn,

Along the same vein as the cold smoking ice trick, if the outside temp is cold, put HOT tap water in the drip bowl.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

Shawn_In_Training · February 01, 2005, 02:24:57 AM

Your follow-up and comments are great - and really appreciated!

Chez,
I did start with hot water - soo hot I had trouble carrying it without gloves. I should add that I used your BuddaPucks and bisketts from your variety pack.

BigRed and others,
How long will a butt/brisket stay warm when wrapped? Also, I have one of those new "plug in coolers". They plug into a car outlet (or house with adapter) and can either provide electronic cooling or heating. Could I extend the "hold" time without effecting the final taste?

Everyone has been answering my questions, so I am going to just keep asking[:)]. (I don't really like those little face things, but I wanted to make sure everyone knows I appreciate the advice!)

Shawn

Always trying to improve my technique

owrstrich · February 01, 2005, 03:00:08 AM

i foiled toweled coolered a rib roast once... took it out at 130... after 3hrs it was still 130...

i ftc a pork loin once... took it out at 160... it was 150 after 5hrs...

i ftc a brisket once... took it out at 190deg... it was still hot and and steamy juicy 7hrs later...

the ftc freaks me out...

more without prejudice later...

owrstrich

MallardWacker · February 01, 2005, 02:05:01 PM

owrstrich has it descibed quite well, FTC can hold meat for a "freaking" long time, I almost always FTC everything I smoke. To me it never hurts, except for something like some chicken items. Lately, thanks to BigSmoke, I've chugging a little apple juice to my pork products and briskets before I seal them with foil, this had made a differance. Hang in there Shawn, you will get the hang of your BS in a very short order.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

BigRed · February 01, 2005, 02:35:55 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Shawn_In_Training
 Your follow-up and comments are great - and really appreciated!

Chez,
I did start with hot water - soo hot I had trouble carrying it without gloves. I should add that I used your BuddaPucks and bisketts from your variety pack.

BigRed and others,
How long will a butt/brisket stay warm when wrapped? Also, I have one of those new "plug in coolers". They plug into a car outlet (or house with adapter) and can either provide electronic cooling or heating. Could I extend the "hold" time without effecting the final taste?

Everyone has been answering my questions, so I am going to just keep asking[:)]. (I don't really like those little face things, but I wanted to make sure everyone knows I appreciate the advice!)

Shawn

Always trying to improve my technique
Shawn,

The last butt I did took off at 1:00 PM wrapped it in saran wrap, wrapped in foil, wrapped in old towel and put it in a Coleman cooler.
Went to son's house for dinner (of course we had to bring it. Pulled butt our at 7:00 PM or so and could not pull the pork by hand because it was still too hot!!! Not a lot of folks use the saran wrap but I feel it keeps the meat more moist and keeps the heat in longer. Experiment yourself to see what is best for you.

BigRED

mgg · February 02, 2005, 01:13:09 AM

Hi just another question from a newbie. I understand quite well the low and slow concepts. It was very cold in Utah yesterday doing just a 5 # 1/2 pork shoulder and the slider/controller seemed not to be the bottle-neck of the proceedure. The 500 watts of the heating element plus the 125 watts of the smoker seemed to be overwhelmed in the wind/ambient temp for the BSS. It still turned out pretty good but I had to change the Guru to 300 degrees to finish it after 13 hours. Would there be any possibility to get or use a 750 or 1000 watt heating element for the BS? Winter conditions don't seem to dampen my desire for smoking. My wife does add that I have a penchant for "boy heat"[:)] inside and outside while I'm cooking. Michael

Chez Bubba · February 02, 2005, 01:57:16 AM

Michael,

Define very cold & what was the windchill?

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?