DigiQ DX ATC


 
T

Tibor Roczo

TVWBB Member
Recently I purchased a DigiQ DX ATC for my offset smoker.I love my 18.5 WSM, but the unit does not need an ATC, so I wanted to set up my old offset smoker with the DigiQ.

I smoked 3 racks of BB ribs, and I wanted to experiment with the DigiQ to a certain extent...the cook went well, the ribs came out perfect.....and to my great delight the DigiQ performed to my exact expectations...I used the 3-1.25-1.75 method, the temps went to a steady 225 degrees, even though it was windy, the temps settled down quite nicely.

Once I took the ribs out of the foil, I started to increase the temps inside the smoker to 270 degrees, for about 45 minutes, then once I added the glaze I increased the temps even more to about 275-280 degrees. I was hoping to add a certain amount of crust on the surface of the ribs, and the DigiQ did a great job adjusting to the new temp settings. For the first time since I owned the offset smoker, wich is about 2.5 years, the ribs had indeed a crust on the surface. And with that, the offset smoker produced a better tasting ribs than the WSM.

My problem with the WSM is, that at the end of the cooking session, when I need to increase the temps fast, from 225 to 270 the WSM does not respond quickly enough.....make no mistake, the ribs cooked with the WSM are great, and juicy.....but the crust is missing. I'm unable to solve this problem yet....any idea what I'm missing?
 
Tibor:

What steps are you now taking to increase the temps in the WSM, and over what period of time are you talking about (as far as "not responding quickly enough" is concerned)?
 
You should check how much fuel is left in th WSM after, many times there isn't enough to get the temps up. You should be able to do it with the Guru.
 
The amount, and type of rub you are using on your ribs "might" be effecting the outside bark once they are cooked. I'm a newbie myself and I use Texas BBQ Rub Original and it leaves a decent bark on the outside of the ribs. Going over 250 is a pretty high temp but I have done it with my WMS and GuRu for a short period of time and it got there quickly. With that said, I had thd fuel bowl loaded with charcoal and hardwood for a long smoke and I did a 9 pound pork butt for 20 hours. The meat was still not hot enough at about 4 hours before I wanted them to be finished so I cranked up the DigiQ and it helped get the meat hotter pretty quickly, and I pulled the pork butts off at 20 hours and meat at 192 degrees. Turned out GREAT.
 
I'm spoiled. I cannot imagine smoking without an Automatic Temperature Controller. Set it and forget it. I don't care what brand you buy, but they sure make it more easy and hassle free to cook on.

I have a DigiQ 2 Guru and love it...keeps the pit temp within 1 degree if not totally on target.
 
Ditto that, George! Although I have to admit, the use of an ATC system for Q-ing, to some purists, is tantamount to using a 50-foot Winnebago, replete with all the amenities, for "camping out".....
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by R L Bagwell:
Tibor:

What steps are you now taking to increase the temps in the WSM, and over what period of time are you talking about (as far as "not responding quickly enough" is concerned)? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for reply...I wasn't home for the past week, so I'm a bit behind catching up with the replys....but here it is what I'm doing...

The WSM is very easy to control steady temps, so I figured that it doesn't need an ATC .....however, when I use the guru with the offset smoker, after taking the foil off, I use the Stubbs BBQ baste-mopping sauce. At that point I raise the temps to about 275-285, sometimes even hotter, depends on the fire if is strong enough. The BBQ Guru responds accordingly, and kicks in and the temps start to raise and in a few short minutes the temps reach the target. Now here I'm talking about the offset smoker, which is equipped with the Guru..

When I tried to do the same thing with the WSM, I open up all the vents, but the temps are not responding fast enough....it starts to climb to about 250...then stalls. I think, (and I'm speculating here), that once the WSM settles in on a certain low temp, its hard to make it go up fast enough. The faster the temps go up, the more crust or bark develops on the surface of the rib. And that crust is a combo of the mopping sauce hardening together with the surface of meat at higher temps. And it is easily observed, if you try to spray some apple juce on the meat, it falls off right away, signalling the harder surface. Maybe I need to have a fully lit chimney ready to go, when I need the temps to go up in the WSM....I think I will try to add a fully lit chimney of lump charcoal after I take the foiled meat off...that way by the time I put the meat back with the mopping sauce, the temps will be high enough to make it work.

As I said in my OP I don't use the Guru on the WSM....I tried to do it manually, and I was a bit surprised when the temps weren't rising fast enough after I opened all the bottom vents. I consider this a bug, which needs to be figured out, cause I love that thin crust, or bark on the surface of the rib. Maybe I do need to use the guru with the WSM too....all I need is the adapter which is around $20...so is not a big deal.

I also need to explain why this is important for me...so bear with me for a little bit.

I noticed that using the 3-2-1 method, although yelds great tasting ribs, the outward appearence is not what I'm looking for. To me, the color is too brownish. The meat is tender & juicy, but the color should be a bit more exoctic.....or should I say lighter.

I noticed in some of the pictures Jim Lampe, and Kevin Kruger posted here...their ribs are looking great. What I'm most impressed is the redish collor which is a lot more pleasing to the eyes, than the brown color. I call that exotic ribs, they could easily win a prize at any competition if they make ribs like that.

So in order to achieve that, I shortened the time the ribs are in early...from 3 hrs, to 2 hrs...the result is a lighter rib, which after foiling up stays light colored. I use about 1,25-1,5 hrs to keep it foiled, depends on the strenght of the fire.

Once I take the ribs out of the foil, and apply the mopping sauce, the temps in the cooker should be around 280-even highr...around 310....That's the time I like to add one chunk of apple wood, for smoking of the meat. I try to keep to just one chunk of wood, for my objective is not to darken the meat too much, but still have the smoke flavor.

The higher the temps, the faster the mopping sauce hardens, and keeps the color of the rib more redish, than brown...that's my objective here. For me, it is important to have a better looking rib, which tastes just as good as a more dark brownish looking rib.

I hope that helped about the method I'm using....

Thanks to all of you who replied...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by George David:
The amount, and type of rub you are using on your ribs "might" be effecting the outside bark once they are cooked. I'm a newbie myself and I use Texas BBQ Rub Original and it leaves a decent bark on the outside of the ribs. Going over 250 is a pretty high temp but I have done it with my WMS and GuRu for a short period of time and it got there quickly. With that said, I had thd fuel bowl loaded with charcoal and hardwood for a long smoke and I did a 9 pound pork butt for 20 hours. The meat was still not hot enough at about 4 hours before I wanted them to be finished so I cranked up the DigiQ and it helped get the meat hotter pretty quickly, and I pulled the pork butts off at 20 hours and meat at 192 degrees. Turned out GREAT. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I also use the same rubs on the ribs..I fell in love with that rub, and that's what I use too.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

I noticed in some of the pictures Jim Lampe, and Kevin Kruger posted here...their ribs are looking great. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tibor:

Would that we could ALL manage to duplicate Jim and Kevin's dishes!
icon_smile.gif


That said, I don't understand what, based on your description, is causing your temp issue, other than possibly you're not using enough charcoal to begin with; if that's not the case, then I agree with your (1) adding a chimney's worth of lit charcoal to the fire bowl prior to un-foiling - that may resolve the problem; or, (2) consider taking the ribs off and (gasp!) try finishing them off under your oven's broiler; (3) ask yourself if you really NEED to foil those bad boys, and (4) finally, as I've not had the issue, I would opt for your considering the purchase of another adapter (I'm thinking of doing the same with my OTG - I'm having one heckuva time maintaining constant temps with it)....

Finally, both those racks look darned tasty to me!
 
Well, one more way. I use the DigiQ 2DX and I close all my vents except the top one. I normally only open it 1/4 to 1/2 open. I have never opened any of my bottom ones. The DIGI Q goes to work as it uses one of the three holes in one of the bottom vents. The fan goes to blowing and I'll admit, I have opened up the top vent to almost full open but have never had to. The 18 inch WMS gets hot for me with the DIGIQ 2. Just have to experiment with the top and then then bottom vents. Just sharing what I do and how it's reacted.
 
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