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Low and Slow Temperatures....And how to not drive yourself crazy while smoking.

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    Low and Slow Temperatures....And how to not drive yourself crazy while smoking.

    I know I still want to post the results of my Memorial Day Brisket. Let me say this before getting into the heart of the matter. Perfectionism is a first cousin to procrastination. So I want to do a good report, and I've been busy, so I am procrastinating! I'm giving myself a deadline of before this weekend is over.

    Speaking of perfectionism, I just read a great deal of the recent stream regarding Last Meal Ribs. I have tried and repeated this method more than any other recipe here on this website. I have had awesome results and sometimes not so great results. But never, ever did the ribs go uneaten! I believe that some foods are really hard to ruin.

    What I am attempting to share here is not the secrets to consistently awesome LMR, but some peace of mind with dealing with grill fluctuation. Like many of you, I also have the Maverick Ready Read System. I have watched the meat grate temp bounce up 10 degrees, and I have bounced up and closed down my air intake fins on my Weber Gold a smidge. Then I have seen the temp continue to rise another 10 degrees and I continued to make another correction. Then all of a sudden the temp falls and I bolt out and open the intake fins back up two smidges, and so on.

    What I have learned from reading* and recent experience is 225F may be the ideal temp to cook low and slow at, BUT we should all cut ourselves some slack and find a comfortable temperature range for our cooking/smoking. It can be as broad as 225 to 300F and still yield great results. Left alone, a properly set up fire box should self regulate to it's sweet spot...somewhere between 225 and 270F. It is way more enjoyable to sit back, pour yourself one of your favorite beverages and watch the numbers bounce up and down (within a reasonable range) than it is to micro-manage minor fluctuations in temperature. Just leaving it alone and watching the fluctuation and then the eventual stabilizing is like approaching nirvana.

    Technical note: my Maverick has high/low alarms that can be set if you do not wish to keep a close eye on it. This should be helpful to any grillmeisters seeking good smoked meat and an enjoyable cooking experience without a watchful eye on the Ready Read..

    If you are not able to hit that range with your fire set up, consider altering how you fuel your fire, with both quantity of unlit charcoal/wood as well as the amount of charcoal or wood embers that you use to get things going. Once you find a good air intake setting, stay with it using it as a way more of correcting for weather changes than for minor corrections in grill temp. I have had many frustrating events caused by using to little as well as too much charcoal/wood.

    Remember there is a lot of room for fudging the serving time if you use a faux cambro and rest your main course for whatever time it takes to get the rest of the meal ready to eat.

    *Raichlen, "Project Smoke," p24, "True barbeque, 225-300F, Brisket, ribs, pork shoulder, mutton" Sorry, Meathead. I hope to have my own copy of your book by Father's Day this year.

    #2
    Thanx Jim - very well said. I am the type that runs to the smoker to make changes, but have been successfully, (well - mostly ), fighting that urge. Adding a temp controller that I have come to trust has helped a bunch.

    Comment


      #3
      Perfect is the enemy of excellent.

      Try this sometime, especially if you have an electric oven. Set it to 350*, let it warm up, and then put an oven temp probe in there. Your oven will drop down to about 315*, then it will soar up to 380*, then drop to 320*, then go to 375*, then drop to 310*.... But have you ever had a problem with the lasagna, or the chicken, or the Thanksgiving turkey, because of that? Nope.

      Comment


      • HouseHomey
        HouseHomey commented
        Editing a comment
        Well said sir!

      #4
      - Friend, do I understand your frustrations with temp fluctuations! I had a Weber 22" Performer until just recently and it never held temps as well as my kamados. There are a great deals of technical reasons that aren't germane to your note, but those temp fluctuations drove me crazy! (I'm now completely bald!)

      To reduce those temp transients, I'd suggest that you add some (thermal) mass to your kettle. This is easily done by laying a few fire brick down in the bottom of your Weber kettle before you get everything buttoned up for the cook. They will absorb a lot of heat and they will tend to even out the temperature transients. That always worked for me. Besides, fire bricks are one heckuva lot cheaper than controllers. I've got a controller and it is the least used $300 piece of BBQ equipment I own.

      As to your "philosophical" tenor and tone, your post is spot on. Obsessing about a 50 degree temp swing from ideal isn't going to ruin most grilled or BBQed items one little bit. If 275 works for you, the so be it. After all, while there is a great deal of science in BBQ and grilling, there is a great deal of art. as well. It is in knowing your specific cooker, how it reacts to weather changes over the course of a cook, where the hotspots are located, etc. that separates the good backyard cook from the truly inspired chef who can produce great cooks irrespective of the attendant circumstances.

      Besides, I've found that my guests are always quite happy to sit, drink my alcohol, eat the hors d'oeuvres, watch the big screen while things back on the patio settle out!

      Relax, enjoy, and opt another top!

      Comment


      • HouseHomey
        HouseHomey commented
        Editing a comment
        Yes sir! Some nibbleys and beverage always do the trick

      #5
      im nowhere near the caliber of the above but I completely agree and here's why. Last Friday I was ill and have hardly eaten since dreaming of a cook yesterday. Still not 100% well, but fine, I was a little lazy (ok a lot) but was craving fatty pork something fierce. So I fired up the 26" kettle with mu usual 35 KBB coals and we were on. The temp was low as compared. I fired up some more and we were ok. Then as the butt was on I'm at 300. WHAT!! I didn't care I quickly realized I was not in the mood and should have bought my pork from a BBQ shop. I fluctuated from 275 to 325 most of the time when I always cook at 225 or so. THE PORK WAS AMAZING! I don't know how, perhaps my taste buds and desires. It was a 7.5lbs-er pre salted the day before with way too much salt. Then I just added pepper. No rub. I even left most of the fat on. BOTTOM LINE: I think much has to do with expactations. Yes there is a science and a "what's best" but I think it's a personal thing (not the science). I learned a long time ago. "When you go to the drive thru, sometimes you get cold fries." If my pork is a little darker, wetter or firmer it's still delicious. not all we do is a great success and sometimes it just don't matter. Unless you are making stock, just don't boil your ribs.
      Attached Files
      Last edited by HouseHomey; June 4, 2016, 08:59 AM.

      Comment


        #6
        Originally posted by CeramicChef View Post
        those temp fluctuations drove me crazy! (I'm now completely bald!)
        You mean the mane in your avatar is not yours???

        Comment


        • HouseHomey
          HouseHomey commented
          Editing a comment
          Yes, I believe it!! Some one replaced the supermodel me in my Avatar with some big fat guy. Jeeze, people these days.

        • CeramicChef
          CeramicChef commented
          Editing a comment
          Yno - no! That mane is completely mine! I bought it, I paid for it, it is completely mine!

        #7
        I have a 22" Weber kettle and use the SnS with the PartyQ (old habits die hard) and I usually don't have any temp fluctuations at all. Same thing on my WSM with the PartyQ as well, using the Soo donut method

        Comment


          #8
          I subcontract my temperature control to the DigiQ Dx2 controller for ALL low & slow cooks. I like sleeping for 8 hours knowing when I get out of bed my BGE will be at exactly 225°.😎👍

          Comment


            #9
            Amen! I was thinking about this just the other day. I have been cooking professionally for 44 years and I don't recall anything else frustrating me as much. And I thought to myself "you know the basics" could all that monitoring make that much of a difference? I think not! Thanks, good to know its not just me

            Comment


              #10
              Sad. No easy button for bar b que. : (

              Comment


                #11
                My personal low & slow range consists of two tiers:
                Tier 1: 210-240
                Tier 2: 200-250.

                I always aim for Tier 1, but if I slip into tier 2 on occasion during the cook I don't worry much. I only worry & react when I nudge out of my tiers. I strongly believe if you MUST maintain exactly 225 during a cook 'or else', well then that's either a lack of full understanding of what matters while cooking, or simply a personality quirk. Neither is cause for too big of alarm....as long as the meat's good.

                Comment


                  #12
                  Nice!!

                  Comment


                    #13
                    Great comments from one and all! I now understand that other grilmiesters share the same obsession with dialing in the EXACT temperature for their anticipated meal. Let's all get over it and enjoy the summer grilling/smoking season that is upon us!

                    Comment


                      #14
                      Originally posted by CeramicChef View Post
                      - Friend, do I understand your frustrations with temp fluctuations! I had a Weber 22" Performer until just recently and it never held temps as well as my kamados. There are a great deals of technical reasons that aren't germane to your note, but those temp fluctuations drove me crazy! (I'm now completely bald!)

                      To reduce those temp transients, I'd suggest that you add some (thermal) mass to your kettle. This is easily done by laying a few fire brick down in the bottom of your Weber kettle before you get everything buttoned up for the cook. They will absorb a lot of heat and they will tend to even out the temperature transients. That always worked for me. Besides, fire bricks are one heckuva lot cheaper than controllers. I've got a controller and it is the least used $300 piece of BBQ equipment I own.

                      As to your "philosophical" tenor and tone, your post is spot on. Obsessing about a 50 degree temp swing from ideal isn't going to ruin most grilled or BBQed items one little bit. If 275 works for you, the so be it. After all, while there is a great deal of science in BBQ and grilling, there is a great deal of art. as well. It is in knowing your specific cooker, how it reacts to weather changes over the course of a cook, where the hotspots are located, etc. that separates the good backyard cook from the truly inspired chef who can produce great cooks irrespective of the attendant circumstances.

                      Besides, I've found that my guests are always quite happy to sit, drink my alcohol, eat the hors d'oeuvres, watch the big screen while things back on the patio settle out!

                      Relax, enjoy, and opt another top!
                      As to your "philosophical" tenor and tone, your post is spot on. Obsessing about a 50 degree temp swing from ideal isn't going to ruin most grilled or BBQed items one little bit. If 275 works for you, the so be it. After all, while there is a great deal of science in BBQ and grilling, there is a great deal of art. as well.

                      Thanks for the endorsement for cooking within a rage rather than trying to hold a certain temp. Have a Great Summer.

                      Comment

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