Using Your Oven's Calibration Feature into Tricking It into Being a Warmer

[Michael_in_TX]

While watching a brisket video this evening, the narrator said that after the brisket is done, place it wrapped into your oven at 155 F for 6-12 hours. Of course, I immediately, thought, well, the lowest my oven goes is 170 F and it ends up being quite a bit higher than that.

Then he remarked that on his oven he uses the calibration feature to "trick" the oven into heating at 155 F. On his Frigidare, he can go +35/-35 degrees from the set point. So he sets it to -35 and sets the oven to 190 F, which gets him 155 F.

I just checked and my GE Spectra also has this calibration feature! (Of which I have been entirely ignorant for twenty-three years!)

Has anyone tried this for resting a brisket? It has been awhile since I've had a temp probe in my oven, but I remember it having fairly large temperature swings, but maybe warmers do as well.

(The video was by Ant's BBQ Cookout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iDin2WgdAQ)

[Jerod Broussard]

Have not. I just keep saving up for a mack daddy warming oven.

Temp swings are a given in electric. I'm only worried about the average.

[Michael_in_TX]

It's the amplitude of the swings that I'm wary about for brisket. I need to investigate again with my temp probe....I forgot how large they are.

[Jerod Broussard]

Michael_in_TX For 170 I'm 190 down to about 155. Just keep the probe in the brisket. Sinusoidal be darned!

[Smoker_Boy]

Have not. I just keep saving up for a mack daddy warming oven.

Temp swings are a given in electric. I'm only worried about the average.

No temp swings in a gas oven??

[Waiting for the Worms]

There are swings in a gas oven too. Outside of industrial ovens, I don't know of anyone using proportional valves on consumer grade ovens. I did briefly contemplate adding one to my gas oven, but the GF nixed that plan pretty fast. Not sure why. The fire department is only a mile from my house.

[Smoker_Boy]

Waiting for the Worms - I was being somewhat of a smart-ass.

Actually more than "somewhat".

[dpearce]

There's temp swings in my gas oven. It's a Kenmore and only about 7-8 years old. +25 to -20, when graphing it with my Signals unit, but usually settles down after a half hour or so, and is closer to +15 to -15

[RonB]

I haven't posted this in several years, but if ya haven't calibrated your oven, you should at least check it. The simplest way is to cook some canned biscuits. Bake at the recommended temp for the recommended time. If the biscuits are too light, your oven is running cool. If too dark, it's running too hot.

If you have a leave in thermo, use that and adjust so that it swings the same amount over and under the set temp. That's not perfect, but should get you closer.

To make the adjustment, go to youtube and search for how to adjust your model.

[Michael_in_TX]

Of course, having cooked with my oven as-is for 23 years, if I calibrate it nothing I cook will come out right lol.

[scottranda]

Yep! I did this about 6 months ago! Here is my method:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/the-pit-mastery-program/misc-or-general-food-discusison/1665123-lonnnng-rest-time-technique-in-a-kitchen-oven

[Michael_in_TX]

Yep! I did this about 6 months ago! Here is my method:

Thank you, Scott! Excellent write up! I may also incorporate your turkey baster and water idea.

Apparently, I had seen your thread, but totally forgot about it:

[captainlee]

I know nothing about your contoler. If you do that calibration trick I would definitely monitor the temps closely. It could have large temp swings and also not knowing the software supporting that lower temp. On the other hand it may work great, just keep your eye on it.

[Michael_in_TX]

I decided to do the oven calibration experiment this evening. Thankfully, over the last two decades, GE really has made only three types of control panels on ovens, so it wasn't hard to find the procedure to adjust mine. The maximum adjustment was +/- 35 degrees. I set it to minus 35 degrees.

I placed an oven rack in the middle and put two temperature probes on it, each one about a third of the way away from the sides of the oven.

I set my oven to 190 F, which in a perfect world, should have got me 155 F. No, absolutely not. After an initial surge, the oven settled in at 215 F, with minor swings.

Okay, I then adjusted it to 170 F, the lowest my oven can go. Even after allowing it quite a bit to cool down, it settled in to 185-190 F. In a moment of frustration, I thought that maybe my oven was wired backwards and set the adjustment to + 35 degrees. Oops, that caused the temp to shoot up to 250 F!

I turned the oven off and cooked dinner. I then tried again with scottranda's trick of prying the oven door open just a bit. I used the handle of a wooden spoon.

Check this out:



You can see the initial surge, but then it levels out with barely any swings at just below 160 F for an hour. I'll take it! I think I found my brisket warmer!

[scottranda]

Awesome! So glad you used that method and it works!

[jfmorris]

You’ve found what I did a few years ago. Most ovens are only calibrated for 350F. Above and below that they are hit or miss. And they have a crazy amount of swing. More than most of our grills.

[Michael_in_TX]

You're right...I tried to calibrate the oven for real after this experiment.....it hit me when I was getting such different graphs at different temperatures. This is not linear at all!