I cook on the Pit Barrel Cooker and find it hard to keep the temp down at 225 without some serious tinkering. It naturally wants to run about 240 - 280.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Thanks to this site I monitored my GMG grate temp and found areas 15 degrees hotter than controller read out so I've been starting slow cooks @ 180 for the first 1-3 HR, then increasing to 225, sometimes 250 to power through a stall.
Doubt I'd master stick & charcoal cookers well enough to be able to do that. Definitely wasn't able to due that on my old vertical Brinkman.
Cookers:
Weber Kettle (used/fair condition; a gift).
Grilla OG.
Pit Boss 3-Burner Ultimate Lift-Off Griddle.
SnS Kettle.
Everything Else:
Sous Vide equipment.
Instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Royal Oak Lump Charcoal, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
BBQr's Delight Hickory & Apple flavor pellets, propane torch, 6" smoke tube.
Grilla apple & hickory pellets, Royal Oak charcoal pellets.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church, Meathead.
Rubs without salt: SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef.
Rubs home-mixed: None at this time.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
Before I found this site, I cooked at whatever temp my kettle decided (two zone). When I finally put a grate probe on there, I realized I was cooking at 325 which explains why my chicken always came out awesome. Now I have the Sns and I will adjust to whatever it is I'm cooking. low n slow, reverse sear, etc. My PBC cooks at whatever temp it wants to and I have yet to be disappointed.
Ok... I'm an old guy. I've been learning about BBQ for 40 years.
Before I found AR I had already figured out that big clods of high fat meat needed to be smoked at low temperatures for a long time. I didn't have the desired temps or the times. I didn't know there was such a thing as a meat thermometer. I didn't know about dry brining. I bought rubs off the shelf. I bought BBQ sauce off the shelf.
Basically I had no clue about what was going on in my smoker. When I read Meathead's first article about the Stall, that was a head slapper.🙈
But... Here's the deal, the way I see it.😉
The ESSENCE of BBQ, the WORD's that define it are... Low and slow!
At the end of the day... Those that find a need to reinvent the essence of BBQ by speeding it up, turning a 16 hour cook into an 8 hour cook, I say your mission is admirable but... I have NO INTEREST in going there.😳
The way I see it personally... The ONLY thing I need to know before I start a low and slow cook is, when do I want to serve it?
I've smoked enough meat to know about how long it's going to take at 225°. I also know that EVERY clod of meat is different. I also know that pulling meat off of the smoker hours before you want to serve it is MUCH better than being an hour late.
So... Those that fail to plan a cook properly are forced to turn up the heat or wrap it in foil. Then there are those that chose to defy the concept of cooking it slowly thinking it will taste just as good. Then there are commercial enterprises that CAN'T allocate 12 to 18 hours to serve great BBQ.
My method for PLANNING a low and slow cook is fail proof, for me.😎
Most pork butts are about 8 pounds & most full packer briskets are about 12/15 pounds. I know those clods of meat at 225° are going to take ABOUT 14/16 hours give or take an hour 1 way or the other.
I also know that wrapping those clods after pulling them off the smoker and putting them in the faux cambro for 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours makes the meat better.ðŸ˜â€
So... To figure out WHEN I should start the cook based on when I want to serve it I just back it off 18 hours.👠if the cook takes 14 hours I'm ok. If it takes 16 hours, preferred, I'm good.
Remember... I'm old, I don't bother wearing a watch anymore and I never get in a rush.ðŸ˜Â
My logic is... It takes EXACTLY the same amount of preparation time and the same amount of hands on time in your smoker no matter how long it takes to reach 203°.
Waiting is the majority of smoking big clods of meat.😉
Last edited by Breadhead; January 13, 2016, 10:54 PM.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
I smoke at 225°. I don't ever wrap my meat during the smoking process. I've never powered through the stall. I read about all of those techniques and I understand them clearly but I have no desire to utilize them unless I must.
It's become much easier to adhere to the low and slow concept with the invention of very accurate temperature controllers. I used to stay up late to monitor my cooks. Now a days I comfortably sleep through the night without worrying about my smoker maintaining an accurate temperature. I don't worry about going about my business during a cook while running errands or meeting friends for activities.
I do most of my smoking on a BGE with a DigiQ Dx2 so there is no need to spritz or fiddle around with the meat during the smoking process. I never need to add lump or wood chunks.
The key is I know my smoker. Rarely do I get surprised. Cooking on the same device for 5 years gives you great familiarity.
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