My first q-view

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Just got back home from work and I had to check on the outcome...

Ya done great!!!

The thing about smoking meats that most folks don't realize is, when you get a fire lit and things are going the right direction, drop a chunk of meat on the grate and the simpler you keep your process the more easily things will come out in the end. Injections just complicate things, IMO, as the temp/time rules change and become more difficult to achieve...I like simple.

Even the simplest of dry rubs will help you to create a masterpiece. It's all about letting things ride out slow and easy, a few light wisps of smoke from the vent on occassion, keep the temps within an acceptable range (which is actually a pretty broad range), and, when it's done, it's done...no pressure, no worries. And, as was mentioned above, keep the lid on and let the smoker work it's magic...open lids loose heat and create added cooking time. Just trust your temp probes and let it all come together.

When I start prepping for a smoke, it's time to relax, slow down and enjoy life for the what it is...free and easy. Things could could be alot worse, or faster paced, but when the thin blue smoke starts, little else matters to me.

Keep on smokin'!

Eric
What Eric said,

Plus make sure you have good remote thermometers, so you can tell the internal temp without opening the door/lid.

Looks real good,

Bear
 
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I do not know why my probe was being influenced so much by the grill temp. I worry about the internal temp thing because I dont want anyone to get sick, I think we can all understand that. I never inject my meat just a simple dry rub, love the taste. It was a discouraging day in all for me. I made a few more mods to the smoker and it was soooooo easy to maintain temp, but the meat not raising in temp was really pissing me off. It was hardly raising temp at all, just real discouraging. 

On the flip side everyone loved the pulled pork, me however was not happy. The vast majority of the meat did not pull apart but I know why, they were all rushing me so I had to pull the meat before I was ready. 

My dad and brother were raving about it and my mom couldn't stop talking about it. I didn't see what the big deal was with it, 2 things however I kept a light blue smoke to it all day anytime it got a little heavy I took the piece of wood out that was starting to catch. So I had a nice flavor without the bitterness of the smoke. I was pleased with the flavor of the cherry and my dry rub. I'm still learning but like I said that whole internal temp thing was bothering me.
 
If you didn't stick the meat with anything prior to starting the smoke, and it's bone-in meat, the whole muscle meat rules apply and you'll be fine @ anything over 200* smoke chamber/grate temps. The outer 1/2" of the meat is all that needs to pass above 135* in the first 4 hours...that only takes an hour or less at the temps you're running. I don't inject any of my larger cuts of meat just for that reason, I prefer bone-in, and I don't insert a temp probe for the first several hours.

You're on track, so keep things rolling...it'll be just fine.

The plateau/stall will pick your brains at times...just let it happen...when the meat wakes up the temp will slowly start climbing again. I've seen many large cuts actually take a drop in temp (6-8* or more) as they hit the stall...weird things can happen like that, just don't get excited over it.

Eric 
Hey sorry I didnt see this post yesterday I was so worked up I went right over it, LOL. Thanks but got a quick question, I shouldnt probe my meat for the first several hours? That was my biggest distraction yesterday, that stupid thermo I should have just unplugged it and continued reading my book!!! As it stands I only got halfway through my book and I could have finished it if I would have just let it ride darn it!!!
 
It all ended up fine.

The part that pizzed you off can be fixed by next time.

Find out what is wrong with your probe.

You might have to get a new one.

It should in no way change as much as you said when you open the lid.

Maybe the cable is damaged.

Bear
 
It could be the cord it is just silicone maybe need to find a stainless steel braided one, maverick makes a nice one huh?

Oh yeah and btw WE ARE.....................
 
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It could be the cord it is just silicone maybe need to find a stainless steel braided one, maverick makes a nice one huh?

Oh yeah and btw WE ARE.....................


There are other good ones, but I love the Maverick, as many here do.

"WE ARE"...................?
 
Hey sorry I didnt see this post yesterday I was so worked up I went right over it, LOL. Thanks but got a quick question, I shouldnt probe my meat for the first several hours? That was my biggest distraction yesterday, that stupid thermo I should have just unplugged it and continued reading my book!!! As it stands I only got halfway through my book and I could have finished it if I would have just let it ride darn it!!!


You know, I recall having some concerns when I was smoking my first couple of larger cuts myself. It's easy to get wrapped up in things and become consumed with tons of questions as to wether or not it will be safe, and if what's happening is normal. Every smoke will present you with something a bit different than the last. It's part of what I think makes smoking meats so interesting...every smoke will teach you something new. And, yes, during my first larger cuts, I was watching my plateau very closely, and there's nothing wrong with doing that...it's pretty interesting to see what may be going on inside that hunk of meat while it's being transformed into your dinner. Just don't let it drive you crazy, 'cause the probe readings can actually drop quite a bit after the stall hits. You may have seen this to some extent yesterday.

If your probe readings were changing with the lid being opened, something's wrong there. For the past 2 years, I've been using Accurite single-probe digi-therms with count up/down timer, time of day, and a temp set-point alarm which is adjustable from 32* to somewhere around 400* (390 something). I routinely use the probe for smoke chamber and meat temp monitoring, so I do wrap the cable with foil to protect it. The count-up timer will run for 24 hours before starting over, if I recall, and it has a braided stainless probe cable, for $22.49 at our local hardware store. The only problems I've had with these were caused by my own lack of attention causing the head unit to drop and break the cable plug-in, or I got one wet from rain and it hasn't worked since. These aren't the best or the most expensive (thankfully), but they serve my purpose very well, so I'm getting a nice & loud bang for the buck. Speaking of the count-up timer,  I can't remember ever going over 24 hours on a smoke, though I know I've come close with the 17lb and 18lb beef briskets (full packers) I smoked-up last summer for a family gathering, and there were a few others before that as well. That's going to extremes, but it does happen, and this digi-therm was right there with me all the way from start to finish.

I know it's not easy to do for someone new to the low & slow method of cooking (I've been there too), but there's no real need to probe the meat for quite a while after it's in the smoker. You may want to start your timer just so you have an idea how long it's been smoking as a reference, but as far as the actual internal temp (with whole muscle meats), it's not a critical issue. I guess if your chamber temp were running wild and you didn;t know it, then your I/T will come up faster than we would expect, but otherwise, I see no need to probe something in the first hour when it takes 10 hours to get to a foiling temp, for example.

If you wait for a few hours to probe the meat, that allows you to follow the intact whole muscle time/temp guidelines. If you were to probe too early (within an hour), inject the meat or otherwise insert anything into the meat, it must be treated as non-intact meat. This is where the 4-hr guideline gets more critical.

Also, if you have a bone-less cut of meat, the intact whole muscle guideline just got thrown out the window. One exception I can think of would be if you were to open the roast to expose all the knife cuts so they will begin cooking right away, and leave it this way at least until the internal temp was over 140*, IMO. Doing so would basically get you back to the intact whole muscle meat guidelines. In otherwords, every part of the meat which was contacted by anythying must be exposed during cooking to be considered intact whole muscle meat.

Hope that didn't confuse you even more than you may already be...anyway, the first time out of the gate, a horse can be a bit skittish, and being new to smoking is no different. I think you did quite well considering the circumstances with your temp readings, etc. You had concerns and they were justifiable. Better safe than sorry is a good rule to live by
icon_cool.gif


I get pretty long-winded at times, but I hope this gives you some enlightenment, even though you may not fully understand it all right away, just give it some time to soak in, OK?

Smoke on, my friend!

Eric
 
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@forluv thanks for the info, it really does make sense to me, I smoked 2 pork shoulders about a month ago and at the 6 hour mark my temp started going haywire in the smoker. It dropped all the way down to 150 in the smoker and I probed the meat at the start that time. Luckily I had hit 140 3 hours into the smoke so my worries were not there, but I burned for 12 hours and used 40 lbs. of charcoal. Nothing but problems that first smoke...........but it turned out great! Now this smoke I got my smoker modded and tweaked perfectly, no worries about smoker temp. But I had the meat issue which I guess really wasnt an issue. The good news is this time the meat tasted better and it wasnt as bitter as last time. I kept light blue smoke on it the whole smoke and just let the wood smolder.
 
LOL--Shoot--Little slow in my old age. Also unusual coming from Ohio.


Nope not this Ohioan, diehard Penn State fan. I can't stand Ohio State and really dislike Notre Dame. My dad and aunt graduated so I have been brainwashed from a young age, made my first trip to State College when I was 3 and go there every year now. 
 
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