Pellet Smoker: Technique Question (Ambient Temp vs. Smoker Temp)

[EZCUSE]

Let me first start by saying that I have no idea where I should be posting this so if this needs to be redirected... feel free to do so. I wasn't sure if it should post this under Pellet Smoker (I have a Yoder YS480), Thermometer (I use the Meater+), or Technique.

Here is my question: I was smoking a picanha last weekend and was realizing how off the temperature on the Yoder was from the ambient temperature that read from my Meater+. I would say that it was a good 25 degrees off. I would set the Yoder to 250 and the Meater+ ambient temp would read 225.

My question is which temperature should I be focusing on? If I want to smoke something at 250... do I wait for the ambient temp to read 250 even if I need to set the Yoder at 275? Do I just set the Yoder to 250 and assume it's 250 (even if the ambient temp on my Meater+ isn't reading it)?

Any and all feedback would be much appreciated.

[Huskee]

My thoughts- 1) are you sure the Meater is correct? 2) Even if it is, no worries. 25 degrees in the realms of 225 to 250 are inconsequential really. I'd say roll with it and don't stress at all. The meat doesn't care, only the human cares about those little differences.

[Bogy]

First, I agree with Huskee, 25 degrees is not a big deal. Second, I go by the ambient temp probe on my Smoke or Fireboard, whichever I'm using. Depending on your controller, you might be able to "dial in" the cooker probe. I can on the controller on my Blaz'n Grid Iron, not on the "ancient" analog controller on my Original Grilla. If it's a big deal to you. Third, how long had the cooker been running? I've found that on both my pellet burners it takes a while for all that steel (and your Yoder has more than either of my cookers, and they aren't lightweights) to really get heated up. When it does, the cooker probe and my ambient probes match up more than when it's starting up. That can take an hour or more, depending on what the outside temp is, and how cold that steel is. I think somebody on the Pellet Burner program last Thursday night (don't remember who) said in competition they start their cooker an hour or more ahead of time to get it warmed up good before they ever put any meat in. That's my 2 or 3 cents worth.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Typically I ignore the difference between grate temp and what the smoker says the temp is. The newer MAKs, and I would assume other brands, now have the ability to move the grills thermocouple anywhere in the grill. I have an older one so the difference between the set point and ambient will be off, but it hasn't made a difference and I've been much happier not stressing about it.

Now when I finally dive into baking on my pellet grill, it will matter. And as Bogy said above my plan is to pre-fire the grill about a half hour before I go to bake something to get the temp as close to right as possible since baking is less forgiving.

Right now I just focus on the internal temp of the meat and enjoy a frosty beverage or twelve while I wait

[Skip]

I've had pellet grills for several years and never bothered to stress over temp variations. IMO 25 degree differences are not that much. As stated already, if baking you may want to dial it in a little closer but remember that your indoor oven can often have large temp swings. I agree with the statements above.

[GolfGeezer]

I'm a bit more OCD about the difference between the setpoint temp (the temp the smoker/grill is set to and measuring) and the ambient temp (as measured by my Fireboard or Signals). That is why I love the MAK's movable thermocouple and its controller (the Pellet Boss as it is called). I never see more than a 2* +/- diff between what the MAK is measuring and holding versus my digital monitors.

Why? Well, I guess when I read recipes that call for a specific cooking temp, I want my cooker to run at that temp. It is interesting to me that recipes do not usually say "225 to 250" or "250 to 275", at least not very often. And yes, i do also monitor my kitchen oven which has remarkably held setpoint temps without the swings up or down most claim home ovens produce.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

PS. I do run my pellet pooper for at least 30 minutes to get to temp before placing any food in it or on it regardless of cooker used (pellets, gasser or home oven).

[Donw]

I have the 640 and where the controller probe is located you are getting an average of the entire chamber, not an exact temperature at the grate level. I also run either a Smoke or Fireboard grate temperature probe right on the grate so I’ve seen the difference but usually it doesn’t matter in the end. You can determine the difference and set the controller to a slightly higher temperature to make up the difference. In the last happy hour video CandySueQ said that she always set her controller at 240 so the grate temperature would be about 225. Also there are differences on the grate itself as there are hot and cold spots. I used white bread to determine where the spots were, but CandySue uses cheap refrigerated biscuit dough so she gets baked biscuits when she is done.

[Troutman]

Marshall McLuhan once wrote that "the package does not make the product". What he meant by that was to not focus on all of the things that (in your case) make up the cooking environment but on the product itself, your resultant pichana. Pellet grills have a lot of swirling air and combustion gases going on so temperatures tend to swing within the cooking chamber. Try doing the "toast test" and learn where your ideal cooking zone is within your cooker for starters;



Once you have that dialed in set it and forget it. Concentrate on the meat itself. A simple temperature probe is really all you need. Learn to cook by touch, feel, with your senses. Cooks have been literally been doing that for centuries. Once you have that down then repeat. None of us gets it right the first time or not all the time. But again, get to know your rig, worry less about he package and concentrate more on the product.

[JCGrill]

On a Green Mountain the ambient transducer probe is over on the far left, and I find that if I keep my Fireboard ambient probe close to that spot, then they are pretty close. But if I move the Fireboard probe around I get different values. Both on different locations around the grate, and also high vs low within the smoking chamber. I've also observed that things seem to take longer when the wind is blowing - even though the trend on my Fireboard stays steady. I've had this theory for a while that all the energy of the pellets is going into rewarming the air in the smoker and not into the meat. Just a theory.

Anyway, my point in all this is that the ambient temp you choose for your smoker is relative to a lot of different things, including what the weather is like, where the meat is set within the smoke chamber, and probably some other factors. And what I find true for my GMG may be completely different for your Yoder. You should expect that when you keep things exactly the same from one cook to the next that you will get the same results, but beyond that, your mileage may vary, and anything anyone says for a smoker temp is just a guideline.

[glitchy]

I don't trust the Meater ambient for that kind of accuracy myself since it's sitting so close to the food. Wouldn't the food, especially at the start of the cook affect the readings since it's next to the cold surface? Sort of like I would think if you set a glass of ice water outside on a hot summer day and laid an ambient probe to rest over the top of the glass (an inch or so above the ice water) it would read colder than a thermometer 6 inches away from the glass. Maybe an experiment is in order.

I also don't sweat 25 degrees too much anymore. Traegers trained that out of me long ago.

[NCSmokin]

I get a lower reading on the Meater ambient as well and I am contributing this to the meat sweating as it cooks. Doing a cook right now on pork butt. Pitboss Vertical is set at 275 and meater is reading 225... additional probe is reading 289 +/- depending where the smoker is reading. Expect fluctuations. I am going to move third ambient closer to PB probe and see where it reads.