Temperatures?

[browngd]

I was wondering if someone could tell me how critical temperature variances are?  I am curious if say the temperature goes up to 234 or down to 220 if that will cause any problems.  I'm guessing that a 5 or 10 degree difference isn't going to matter a whole lot as long as it is within that range.  Is this a correct assumption to make?  Right now my smoker seems to fluctuate from around 228 to 232 degrees.

 

[humdinger]

Browngd,

To me that's "peanuts" for hot smoking meat. Has zero effect. Most of us here on SMF have seen 40-50 degree fluctuations during our cooks, with no effect on the finished product. The important thing is to correct the fluctuation ASAP. If your cooker temp spikes to 300 and stays there for hours the meat may finish quicker and not be as tender.

Lastly, it will depend on what you're cooking and how much of it is in there too. Butts and briskets are big and take a lot of time, so sometimes even big temp swings will only mess with the finish time, not the quality of the product. I used to low and slow cook at 225, but as time wore on and I got more experienced, I found I like 240 best. It will jump to 250 and drop to 230, but I tweak it a bit and then it settles back in at 240.

 

[browngd]

Browngd,

To me that's "peanuts" for hot smoking meat. Has zero effect. Most of us here on SMF have seen 40-50 degree fluctuations during our cooks, with no effect on the finished product. The important thing is to correct the fluctuation ASAP. If your cooker temp spikes to 300 and stays there for hours the meat may finish quicker and not be as tender.

Lastly, it will depend on what you're cooking and how much of it is in there too. Butts and briskets are big and take a lot of time, so sometimes even big temp swings will only mess with the finish time, not the quality of the product. I used to low and slow cook at 225, but as time wore on and I got more experienced, I found I like 240 best. It will jump to 250 and drop to 230, but I tweak it a bit and then it settles back in at 240.

Thank you!  My average temperature is 228 but it has dipped as low as 221 and went as high as 234.  Based on what you are saying then, I should have nothing to worry about.  Some of the times the temperature will correct itself (maybe because of a gust of wind) and other times I have to slightly adjust the damper.  I am hoping to use what I learn in my dry run today to smoke a fatty tomorrow and then maybe a brisket this weekend.  I am so excited that all of my mods have worked so well I can't wait to try a brisket!

 

[ba cyclone]

I completely agree with Humdinger.  I personally have had smokes where I had a spike of 50-70F over my target but I am in the habit of checking every 30 minutes or so, so it gets corrected.  Especially on a long smoke, it won't make too much difference if you correct it relatively quickly.  I never worry about swings +/- 10 degrees or so, but more than that I might adjust the dial a touch.  The point is to keep it cooking slowly and that is your real concern with monitoring temps.  The meat is pretty forgiving.

Wind will be your biggest culprit, for sure.  If you can figure a way to minimize wind to your BBQ area, do that.  My 'smoking spot' is in my driveway so usually I park my truck near the smoker to help block wind.  If I ever graduate to a patio I will put in some kind of fence to block wind even better.

My other culprit to temp is my chunks catching on fire, happened the last couple times.  I fix it by pulling some chunks out, and/or pull the pan out altogether and douse it and reinstall.  I probably should consider wrapping chunks in foil, but that seems like a hassle!  If it keeps happening to me I will try that and see if it helps.
 

 

[smokingfrank]

I have a 22 in weber smokey mountain an 5-10 degrees do no make a difference. I try to smoke at 250F. The biggest culprist are sun and heat. So check the temp every 30-45 minutes or use a wireless temp probe such as the Maverick 732.