Just looking for some tips and pointers

[feedingacrowd]

I have a husband and 4 sons. We eat meat, we love meat. :)
Just got my first smoker
Dual fuel 2 door Masterbuilt Pro (it's a place to start...)
Doing the cast iron skillet, really would love some tips on regulating heat (can't get below 250-300) per door therm, so I know it's hot. Did a full brisket(halved) in three hours.
Any helpful tips appreciated

 

[noboundaries]

Welcome to SMF Feedingacrowd!  Sounds like you have quite a grocery bill around your place.  Nothing like home cooking and smoking to keep everyone smiling.  Someone will be along who can help you with the lower temps, or you can just smoke happily in that 250-300F range, aka hot n fast  Lots of us smoke in that range now as a time saver.  Great result, less time. 

Have fun!

 

[seenred]

I have a husband and 4 sons. We eat meat, we love meat. :)
Just got my first smoker
Dual fuel 2 door Masterbuilt Pro (it's a place to start...)
Doing the cast iron skillet, really would love some tips on regulating heat (can't get below 250-300) per door therm, so I know it's hot. Did a full brisket(halved) in three hours.
Any helpful tips appreciated

Hello and welcome to the forums!  Congrats on that new smoker!  My first tip is to acquire a more accurate thermometer than the stock one in the door or your rig...those things are cheap and unreliable, and it's pretty important to have a good grasp on your cooking temp.  I use a Maverick ET-732 digital, dual probe remote in my smokers, but there are plenty of very accurate and reliable digital thermometers on the market.

Once you have an accurate temp reading, if you discover that your smoker is truly burning hotter than you want, there are some things you can do to make adjustment.  You didn't say, but I'm assuming you are using gas as the fuel?  If so, the first thing I'd try is limit the amount of gas getting to the flame.  When you open the gas valve on the tank, try turning it to less than full open.  Start with maybe only a single turn of the knob, then experiment with the flame and the valve to see how much you can manipulate the size and strength of the fire.  If this has no effect on your flame size/temp readings, you might look into a needle valve modification.  Here a link several threads that discuss that mod:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=needle+valve

If you are still struggling with temp control after trying these things, another thing to keep in mind is your smoker is charcoal capable as well...you might see if it's easier to maintain your desired cooking temps by burning charcoal instead of gas.

Hope any of that helps...if not, just ask and you'll get plenty of advice.  You've found a really helpful and friendly place to learn about all things BBQ.

Have fun and happy smoking!

Red

 

[gary s]

  Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a pretty nice day in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary