Hey all - When I put a large cut of meat on, there is an expected drop in ambient temperature (I've observed this to be about 15-30 degrees, I'm not sure if there's a standard drop to anticipate). This is normal, correct? Do you guys make immediate adjustments to try to get the ambient temperature back up to your target? do you let it naturally come back up? do you preheat the grill to be a little bit above your target? Curious whether I should be doing anything differently. I usually make immediate adjustments. I use a
WSM.
The temp drop is absolutely normal. The large cut of cold meat is a "heat sink." Think what would happen to the chamber temp of your smoker if you put a 10 lb chunk of ice in your smoker. A 10 lb cut of meat at 34-39F isn't much different.
Everyone probably has their own method of accounting for the drop. Personally, I look at it two ways. If I'm into the smoke for the long haul, say a 225-250F smoke, I don't worry about the drop. I'll reach my target temp, let the smoke turn TBS, then load the meat. The chamber temp will eventually equalize as the meat heats up in the first hour or two.
If I'm planning on a hot n fast smoke at 325-350F, say a turkey, double whole chicken, etc, I don't load the meat until the initial chamber temp has overshot my target by about 25F and the smoke is TBS.
Now, as a disclaimer, I do have a temperature controller, which hurries things along, but what I described above is what I did even before the controller. I haven't changed with the controller. That said, the controller will over-stoke the fire with the temperature drop, resulting in a chamber temp above what I have set, but it comes back down with time to what I have dialed in.
