- Oct 8, 2023
- 3
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Smoker: pit boss pro combo6.5 hours to reach 135º hmm... seems a bit too long. Lots of details to go through but let's start with these:
- What type of smoker are you using?
- What temp were you smoking at? Was that from the built-in thermometer? They're notoriously inaccurate.
- Have you used a calibrated third party thermometer to verify grate temp?
- Along the same line, what was used to determine the IT of the brisket?
Yeah, I have learned a lot about "waiting to probe". I will be doing that from now on. I am truly a rookie and learn something new every time.If you wipe your probes with alcohol (and you should) it cleans the probe but it doesn't clean the meat where you insert it.
I generally let the meat sit in the smoker for an hour before I insert probes. Meat surface is 'sterile' by then.
If you go low-n-slow that’s not uncommon. When I smoke a brisket overnight I start at 200. After 8 hours it only gets to 145 internal temp. After my morning coffee I raise it to 250 til it reaches 165, then it wrap til done.My brisket was on for 6.5 hours and only reached 135. I wrapped it and raised the temp. The internal temp is now rising. Is the meat still safe to eat. It was probed at the beginning of the smoke.
Briskets, pork butts both really don't care what temp you run them at. Your Pit Boss and others provide more smoke at lower temps ergo their suggestion of 200º. You can get way too far into the weeds trying to diagnose what might be the best. Instead, I'd stick with running at low temp for 1-2 hours then crank it to 275. It's been a good approach for me for many years.Smoker: pit boss pro combo
Smoking at 200, suggested starting temp of the brand for a brisket.
I only used the built in thermometer for both the smoker temp and internal. I really never thought to use my other thermometer, but I will next time.