need help with proper heating of smoker and max meat temps

[kiyotei]

Hi All.  I've been using my smoker for about year now.  I always preheat it to about 250F.  I've checked the internal temp with an oven thermometer and its correct.  Once I place the meat in it, the temp takes hour plus to climb back up to 200F.  Is this typical?  I am not putting in that much meat.  Usually I will smoke 6 large chicken breasts, or one 6lb brisket, or perhaps ribs.  I put the meat in cold.  I do this mainly because the longer the meat stays below 140 the more smoke it absorbs.  This also allows me not to have to run the smoker at lower temps and monitor it as much.  I have a digital meat thermometer that I plug into the meat while its in the smoker so I can monitor the meats temp with out opening the door.  I find that chicken will heat to about 155F in about 1.5 hours.  At this point it seems to STOP heating.  I've watched the temp for 20 mins after that point on numerous occasions and it just does not go higher.  I know the digital thermometer works fine.  Any ideas?  How is that possible?  I noticed that the cooking guide says chicken is ready after temp is between 140-160.  I always thought chicken had to be cooked to about 180?  The meat defnitely looks done.  Can meat look done, clear juices, but still not be hot enough to kill all bacteria?

[hillbillysmoker]

I usually preheat my OBS for one hour prior to the smoke with hot water in the bowl.  I find the extended time really helps.  Another thing I do is preheat to about 40-50 degrees hotter than I plan to use for the smoke to make up for heat loss when the door is open.  The third thing I do is place an old time flat iron in the bottom of my smoker to absorb additional heat (some use a brick).  I find this also helps.  I pull my chicken at 160 degrees and it is well done. By the way welcome to the forum.  It is nice to have you.

Bill

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum kiyotei!

There are a number of reasons why it could take time for the box to return to temp.  Probably the largest factor is cold meat being introduced.  If you are smoking while it is climbing, I doubt if germs will be a problem.  You should probably let the meat sit out of the fridge for about and hour before putting into the smoker.

With chicken, if you have the skin on, there will be a lot of moisture in the cabinet.  Make sure your vent is at least 1/2 open.  This may help on getting the meat temp higher.

There are more qualified members on here that should chime in after they see your post, especially on the bacteria portion of your questions.

[kiyotei]

thanks guys for the feedback.  I will add the flat iron to my grill.  I've already been thinking about bricks as way of maintaining heat better.   The flat iron will fit a lot better.  I've stopped using the bowl of water, but i do pour BOILING water into the dripping pan.  I was thinking that the water might be a factor cause i always add it when I add the meat, but I add boiling water not cold water so not sure that is a factor or not.  The smoker heats up to 250 pretty quickly, say about 25 min, but once I put meat in, it takes a very long time to heat back up.  I will also preheat my smoker for an hour.  I currently pre-heat about 30 mins.

[LilSmoker]

kiyotei, well i would say use the water bowl.
I always put hot water in the bowl, then preheat the cabinet to a higher temp than required, if a lot of meat is being cooked then an iron or a brick as mentioned is usefull. The meat really does need to be allowed to get up to room temp before placing into the BS, otherwise the temps can take a while to climb.

This is how i do chicken, i always brine chicken as i like it moist, brining will also help to keep bacteria at bay.
Preheat the BS as above, once the chicken is at room temp in it goes, when an internal meat temp of 165-170f (depending on personal taste) is reached, that's it done, if you want the skin crispy, you'll have to finish on the grill or in the oven at a higher temp. As Wildcat mentioned with chicken especially brined there will be a lot of moisture, so keep the vent open at least half way, i usually have mine open 2 thirds, if the vent isn't open enough the moisture will keep the temp down, so the vent is very important.

Hope this helps.............LilSmoker

[Habanero Smoker]

Others have given good advise about the cabinet temperature, and the problems with chicken with skin. For chicken breast 150°F-155°F is good; I would never go below this. I've never seen any reputable guidelines that would suggest anything below 150°F for chicken/turkey breast. For the dark meat you should go to 162°F-165°F. So at 155°F, to me they are perfect; if your probe is correct. When you see clear juices it is an indication that it is done, but you can also have red/pink color meat in breast, especially around the bone, and it is done. You should always rely on a thermometer.

What I don't understand is why the chicken breast would not go beyond 155°F, when your cabinet temperature is at least 200°F. I've never had chicken stall for any length of time. Occasionally, you may see it drop 1°F or so, but this is generally for a very brief period. I would have to questioned the probe. You should always have an instant read thermometer available as a second source to check the meat's internal temperature.

[kiyotei]

Hi All, thanks for more feedback.  I'm actually on my second thermometer.  They both give the same results.  I also have a instant read one which I did not bother to use this weekend.  I always brine the chicken for a couple of hours to make it more moist.  I have not tried leaving the vent open.  I've always kept it closed because I thought that would help keep the internal temp of the smoker hotter.  I found that the Bradley smoker manual refers to chicken being done between 140-160, though I have trouble believing 140 is done, unless the chicken has been brined for a few days to cure it (which that recipe does not mention doing).  How long do you guys typically have to leave a chicken breast in the smoker for it to hit 160+, and at what temp is the smoker set to?  As I said, I preheat to 250 and do not change the temp setting after putting the meat in.

[Habanero Smoker]

I can't give you times on how long it takes for food to get up to the internal temperature. I rarely smoke/cook small loads, I usually have a mixture of different meats, and two smokes never turn out the same.

If I understand you correctly, it sounds like you don't adjust the slider after loading the BS. If this is correct, that will definitely slow your recovery time down. After loading you should move the slider all the way to the right. Some say then back off 1/8", or the heat will cut off, but I've never had that problem. Once you get back up to 250°F or what ever temperature you want to smoke/cook at, then move the slider to the left to hold the temperature.

Also, I would stay with the 155°F internal temperature, at least not go over 160°F for breasts. The type of brining you are doing is for flavor, not for preserving food. Even with cured chicken, I've never seen a recommend temperature as low as 140°F.

[kiyotei]

I set the temp slider most of the way to the left and leave it there.  I never need to turn the heat down.

[Wildcat]

Sounds like your problem with not getting the meat temp up is too much moisture.  You indicated that you keep the vent totally closed and this could explain that problem.  You may want to completely clean the insides of your smoke generator if you have been doing this for a year now.  With moisture and smoke backing up into the generator due to having no other place to go is going to gum up the moving parts.  Just a matter of time.

[kiyotei]

thanks for the cleaning advice.  I would hate to have the smoke generator break.  I really smoke mainly in the summer and fall months.  I live in Seattle and its very wet during the winter (not good for an electric smoker).  One of my favorite smoking sides is bell peppers.  I don't eat them straight, I keep them in the freezer and add one to my various pasta dishes, tomato sauces, and gumbo's.  They add amazing flavor to any dish, soup, stew, etc.  I smoke em along with the meats (on the top rack so not raw meat drips on them).  I usually smoke them for an hour and then toss them in the freezer.

[kiyotei]

Hey guys, just a quick update here for ya.  I smoked some chicken and a pork roast this weekend.  I added a cast iron bread pan to the oven and smoked with the vent about half open.  It was actually hard to find anything cast iron what was not too wide to fit in the smoker.  I think the cast iron pan really helped to stabilize the temp, particularly when I would open the door to spritze the meat.  The BS would reheat much quicker than before.  I don't know if the open vent helped or not.  BS tech support also suggested I widen the heat vents on the drip shield to help the heat flow better.  I did this as well.

[smokin stu]

I preheat for about an hour at about 30-50 degrees hotter than I need, and tune down when the meat goes in.  I also notice it takes sometime 2 hours to get back to the right temp.  I like the idea of using a heat sink like a brick.  What kind of brick?  Should I cook it in the BBQ for awhile to burn off any food-unfriendly stuff that may be part of it? ???

[West Coast Kansan]

I think the key here as Hab S has taught many times is keeping the vent open with skin on chicken.  The moisture must escape or the heat will be absorbed trying to deal with the moisture. Hab S set me straight on this some time ago.   :)

In general always keep the vent open enough to prevent any smoke being visible at the opening between the generator and the tower.  I then give mine just an extra tweak more. Wildcat is right on target.  ;)

S Stu, any brick or whatever will do.  All that is happening is you are adding mass to the smoker - during the pre heat the mass warms up and then gives off heat when you open the door to spritz. Giving you an extra pop on recovery times.  ;D Silly thing seems to help  :o

[kiyotei]

one more update.  A couple of weekends ago the heating unit went out on my smoker.  Fortunately I did get it back on but the slider only worked in the max on position.  I got a new thermostat board from Bradley.  My OBS seems to heat up hotter and maintain heat better now.  So I think some of my heating troubles were because of a defective circuit board.  Unfortunately, the new board only turns the smoker on if I slide more than half way so I think it has an issue was well.  I'll be calling them this week.  The great news is that I'm able to smoke.  I did two pork loins today, yummie.