Smokin in Oregon

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oregonnewbie

Newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
7
10
Hello to all,

I just started smoking but have been a long time fan. I'm a Michigan Native that moved to the Carolinas and fell in love with the Q. I ended up in Oregon and have been looking for the goods ever since.

I have a Brinkmann upright, just got it two weeks ago. I'm having trouble getting the temp above 200. Switched from regular charcoal to lump and that worked for a bit but could not maintain the temp. Any suggestions???
 
I usually can't get it above 200. Last weekend got it to 250 and put the meat in and it never rose above 200 again. I'm thinking the thermo on the smoker is no good??
 
Welcome to SMF! Many stock thermos are inaccurate. Confirm yours temps with a digital probe thermo.

Hope this helps!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey
 
I'm going to try get a new thermo this weekend. I want to do a whole chicken. I'm just not getting the "crust" on the outside that I'm looking for.

Thanks for the advise. This site rocks!!
 
Welcome to the SMF. Check out the "Charcoal Smoker" section and you will finds tons of info for modding your smoker. Hope you learn as much here as I have.

Dave
 
Welcome to Smoke World
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IMHO most all factory thermo's are inacurate. First beacuse they are usually mounted to high and not at grill level. I use a digital with a wired probe placed in a drilled piece of wood chunk at grill level..the Brinkman stock thermo on mine at 250 with the digital is at the D on the first IDeal in the lower range of iDeal range.
 
I have a Brinkkman also and it will always be a favorite of mine. I also have had trouble maintaining higher temps. I use a chimney type charcoal starter. I light one chimney full, put the water pan in, let it heat up and start another chimney of Lump. After putting the second load of lump in, i put the meat on. If I need to raise the heat, I find that cracking the door on the body by an inch or two will raise temps 20-25 degrees.

I use an oven thermometer that sits right on the grate. They are cheap and accurate. I use a digital probe for my meat. Like a previous post said, once you know what temp it is inside your smoker from an accurate therm. you can somewhat use the low-tech therm. in the lid.

Keep practicing and you will definitly get better. The better your tools, the better your results will be.
 
I'm in the Western part of Oregon. Welcome to the site. I'm a noob myself, but I was curious what brand of lump you are using and where you are getting it. The best I have found has been Big Green Egg at a stove store. Hope all is well.
 
Welcome to SMF and to Oregon. If you can get past the liberal politics this is a beautiful state. Lots of good Q around here. Not being a well known Q area like North Carolina, Texas, KC or Memphis we are more a NW blend. Lots of great seafood and plenty of red meat including buffalo (yum!). Hope you enjoy it here!

Happy smokin'
 
Wwelcome to SMF. This is THE place to be. Put HOT water in your water pan from the start. Research the subject here in search. Lots of help here. I am sure someone more knowledgeable about this will be along to help. Good luck.
 
Glad to have a Q fanatic with the SMF. You'll have some good feedback from some great folks. Good Luck.
 
I'm using a brand of lump char called Cowboy Brand. I got it at Jerry's, there are two stores in the Eugene/Springfield area. Have you smoked in the winter with all the rain and wind yet?
 
I tried the Cowboy and Kingsford Charwood. I didn't really like either of them. The Big Green Egg is more expensive but burns a lot longer and more consistently (IMO). I'm in Dallas, so I know the rain your talking about. I just started this smoking thing this summer. I got a Silver Smoker as a Father's Day gift and have done three smokes. I have done ribs, pulled pork and a pot roast (the pot roast was not worth the time/effort). The rain is going to make things interesting seeing as how from November to May it rains about everyday. Hope the smoking is going well.
 
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