I know this has probably been covered a dozen times before but I couldn't really find an answer in the search.
I was smoking last Sunday in Ohio, it was sunny and in the low 50s with minimal wind, and trying to do 2 racks of baby back ribs. I have a large (22.5") Weber Smokey Mountain, brand new, and the water bowl was about half full (I don't completely fill because I don't have a garden hose on hand and also I found that setup/cleanup is harder when it's all the way full -- this was only my second cook and I was experimenting). Top vent was 80% open, bottom vents were all about 20% open.
Most everything I've read says that the dome temperature should be a little bit higher than your top grate temp, and the top grate is a little higher than the bottom grate temp.
However my dome temp was showing about 250 degrees, while my top grate was at 300 degrees. Now I'm not one to fuss over small details, but this just seems way off of expectations.
I gauged grate temp using two Maverick Redi-Check probes. I calibrated them after the cook in a cup of half ice and half water and both were reading at 39 degrees (I also had a regular non-digital probe thermometer in there that was showing the same), so it seems like these are accurate. However I should note at the start of the cook both of the probes, which were clipped to the grate and right next to each other, were about 50 degrees off. (I did not put them through the rubber grommet. Rather I just ran the wires underneath the lid and kept the transmitter on the lid handle). The temperatures came together over the course of the cook (both between 280 and 300), but I wonder if there was some thing off about them because of the fact they were so far off to begin with.
I used the minion method with Kingsford professional charcoal.
It was only the second session on the WSM, and I experienced the same "issue" the first time (also baby backs).
Can anyone explain why this might be happening? It seems like my personal experience is so far off of the expected experience that I read about on the internet. I've heard that dome thermos can sometimes be inaccurate, but this seems way too far off.
By the way, I smoked the babybacks for 3 hours until the bark was to my desired level (a good golden brown, not looking burnt or black or anything), then an hour in foil, then another hour on the grate, and still I needed more tug than I hoped for to get the meat off the bones. They were very meaty which I think explains it, but is it possible I overcooked them? 3-1-1 for babybacks at 300 degree surface temp seems a long time for them to still be underdone.
Thanks for any insight.
I was smoking last Sunday in Ohio, it was sunny and in the low 50s with minimal wind, and trying to do 2 racks of baby back ribs. I have a large (22.5") Weber Smokey Mountain, brand new, and the water bowl was about half full (I don't completely fill because I don't have a garden hose on hand and also I found that setup/cleanup is harder when it's all the way full -- this was only my second cook and I was experimenting). Top vent was 80% open, bottom vents were all about 20% open.
Most everything I've read says that the dome temperature should be a little bit higher than your top grate temp, and the top grate is a little higher than the bottom grate temp.
However my dome temp was showing about 250 degrees, while my top grate was at 300 degrees. Now I'm not one to fuss over small details, but this just seems way off of expectations.
I gauged grate temp using two Maverick Redi-Check probes. I calibrated them after the cook in a cup of half ice and half water and both were reading at 39 degrees (I also had a regular non-digital probe thermometer in there that was showing the same), so it seems like these are accurate. However I should note at the start of the cook both of the probes, which were clipped to the grate and right next to each other, were about 50 degrees off. (I did not put them through the rubber grommet. Rather I just ran the wires underneath the lid and kept the transmitter on the lid handle). The temperatures came together over the course of the cook (both between 280 and 300), but I wonder if there was some thing off about them because of the fact they were so far off to begin with.
I used the minion method with Kingsford professional charcoal.
It was only the second session on the WSM, and I experienced the same "issue" the first time (also baby backs).
Can anyone explain why this might be happening? It seems like my personal experience is so far off of the expected experience that I read about on the internet. I've heard that dome thermos can sometimes be inaccurate, but this seems way too far off.
By the way, I smoked the babybacks for 3 hours until the bark was to my desired level (a good golden brown, not looking burnt or black or anything), then an hour in foil, then another hour on the grate, and still I needed more tug than I hoped for to get the meat off the bones. They were very meaty which I think explains it, but is it possible I overcooked them? 3-1-1 for babybacks at 300 degree surface temp seems a long time for them to still be underdone.
Thanks for any insight.