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.
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.
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