Thermometer compaisson - confused and need advice

[jomadav]

Here is where I am at.

I bought a new (used) Masterbuilt Pro Dual fuel (gas/charcoal) and the burner is spot on. I can dial it in within 10 deg. of desired temp. and hold it there. It is very accurate so far.

My problem is this : I don't trust my brand new Maverick ET-732 thermometer set. ( Amazon- 2 months ago)

I cooked with it last week - it read 225-240 and my ribs came out way under cooked. - it was my first smoke on this smoker and wasn't sure who was wrong - the Tstat or the smoker adjustments.

Temp held fine on the thermometer the whole time, so the smoker wasn't fluctuating, but I trusted the Maverick - bad idea?

So, tonight I did a proof test on all of my thermometers and found this:

....sorry for the pic, scanner isn't working.

Will someone please look at it and tell me what the heck is going on? From the tests, the maverick is OK, but from the cook it was way off.

Please help. Trying to smoke pork ribs tomorrow and don't want the same results as before. JD

 

[pc farmer]

Your true temp and the mav are close.

How did you check the ribs? How long did you cook them?

 

[jomadav]

Your true temp and the mav are close.

How did you check the ribs? How long did you cook them?

Beef ribs. I used the Maverick barbeque probe only - just watching the air temp. It showed on the display of the receiver 220-240 depending on the wind that day - generally held closer to the 240 the whole time.

Smoked for 3.5-4 hrs, mopping good once an hour along the way.

 

[radioguy]

Trust the Mav. Probably probe placement of Mav. I played around with bq probe placement until I found a spot that worked for me. Temps inside can vary a lot depending on conditions. Then throw in a cold piece of meat. Play around, take notes you'll find something that works.

RG

 

[jomadav]

Trust the Mav. Probably probe placement of Mav. I played around with bq probe placement until I found a spot that worked for me. Temps inside can vary a lot depending on conditions. Then throw in a cold piece of meat. Play around, take notes you'll find something that works.

RG

I am trying not to adjust to the Mav. Hence the "tail wagging the dog".

 

[JckDanls 07]

if not adjusting to the Mav.. then what are you adjusting the smoker to ?? Also.. where was the probe for the Mav placed ??

 

[jomadav]

if not adjusting to the Mav.. then what are you adjusting the smoker to ?? Also.. where was the probe for the Mav placed ??

During the smoke, the probe was dead center between the slabs. see picture,

The adjusting I did was "averaging" - just that. I took the 3 temps and averaged them to get an idea where I was at,

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I think your Mav probes are fine. The reason your ribs came out under cooked is because you didn't cook them long enough. Beef ribs take close to 6 hours to cook. Look at the 3-2-1 method for beef ribs and give that a shot.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139185/3-2-1-2-2-1-blast-off

 

[noboundaries]

  As soon as I saw 3.5-4 hours, I cringed. 

 

[themule69]

Case has you covered. 

Happy smoken.

David

 

[smokinmate]

I am fairly new to the electric side of the smoking business. I have found out that you can not rely on the temp probes that come with the MES units. Your Mav probes are probably OK. I have also found out that it is somewhat of a challenge to use a temp probe on ribs. I am not saying that some people can not have success with the probes on ribs but I have not had much luck doing it. I pretty much stick with St. Louis cut ribs and use the 3-2-1 method with excellent results. I sometime have to adjust the last time frame a little. Try to learn how to use the bend of the slab and the pull back of the ribs from the bone to judge when they are finished. I am confident that you will master it.

 

 

[jomadav]

I now know that I probably didn't smoke the beef ribs long enough - newbie mistake. I am going to do a whole chicken this weekend and check the thermometers again. I suspect the Maverick will be the same - if so, I need to let it be and move on.