Smoker vs. Oven


 

John Neuser

TVWBB Fan
History: I'm a long time smoker, years wise, but amateur when it comes to amount of meat and fish. I usually only smoke two for three times a year. I'm using a 22" WSM and have smoked ribs, chicken, butts, brisket and salmon. I don't use water and don't have an ATC but have been trying to justify buying one for a couple of years. Any how....

Question: Is there any real difference between smoking meat to completion in the WSM or finishing in the oven? I'm particularly interested in long cook things like briskets and butts. While I'm not a purest and have no problem finishing in the oven I am after the best finished product I can make. Seems to me that, if the meat only absorbs smoke for three or four hours, then the other eight hours or so are only for heat to cook, so why not wrap and shift to the oven and not worry about adding coal or shaking down the ash. To put the question more simply, "Is 250 - 275* in the smoker any different than same temp in the oven?"

Thank you for reading and keep on smoking.
 
Meat will adsorb smoke as long as you keep laying it on. Smokering formation supposedly stops around 140ish or a few hours depending on your target temp.
If you are gonna foil, then yes, heat is heat and there is no real reason to waste charcoal and you might as well finish in the oven.
I do this often when I have to abort ( weather, rain , cold) But on a nice day I finish on the smoker.

Tim
 
One thing I like about BBQ is that I get to make my own decisions. I have finished in the oven but usually don't because I live in Florida and the oven makes the A/C work harder. Since I usually foil a lot of my meats I finish the cook however I feel like it. AND I have my wife's permission to say that. ;)
 
I sometimes use the oven when I foil, especially if my charcoal is running low or crappy weather, but I always finish it on the grill. I’ve never noticed any difference in the final product.
 
The difference is whether or not you can look at yourself in the eyes in the mirror. I won't judge you.

Totally get it but I don't care how I get to a better finished product and I've realized that I'm a "temperature worry wart" which is why I'm trying to talk myself into a temp controller. Tough when you only Q three times a year.
 
A lot of smokers may run tighter temps than your oven lol

You've got that right.

My wife loves to bake. She's continually frustrated by our much too expensive oven that can vary by as much as +/- 50 degrees. From what I read when looking into the problem, that's pretty common.
 
You've got that right.

My wife loves to bake. She's continually frustrated by our much too expensive oven that can vary by as much as +/- 50 degrees. From what I read when looking into the problem, that's pretty common.

I don't want to generalize but most ovens over-shoot then under-shoot just to minimize the times it switches on/off. +/- 50o does seem excessive though.

They also may be hotter in one section/corner than another is why they suggest rotating product in the oven every "once in a while"--depends on how long something is in there. Muffins may only need one rotation where as something else that takes several hours may need 2-3 rotations. If you choose to do so.
 
I’m lazy. I’d only move the meat to the oven if I was running out of charcoal and didn’t want to mess with adding charcoal. Otherwise, it’s easier to just leave the meat on the WSM.

Regarding the oven temperature. I once put my pit probe in the oven and I was surprised to see how the oven actually works. It doesn’t hold temp like my WSM, which is very stable. It shoots for an average. I forget the fluctuation range, but it was significant. Probably +/- 10 to 20 degrees. It was an electric oven, so maybe that makes a difference, but it would cycle on and off going higher than the requested temp and then shut off until the temp dropped well below the requested temp. Rinse and repeat. Try it some time. So, to the original question, that is one difference between the WSM and the oven. Whether it matters or not is another matter which I’m not sure about. I doubt it matters.
 
so why not wrap and shift to the oven and not worry about adding coal or shaking down the ash

extend your coal ring a little bit and you will never ever have to worry about adding coals. Added automatic temperature controller and you really don't have to worry about much of anything. Mine will take care of itself for 20 plus hours.
 
I too debated on an atc and as I usually do, way over did it. I bought the cyberq cloud and a 22.5” wsm. Coming from a 18.5” wsm that was used to the point the valves stuck shut I will say a couple of things. I wish I had bought another 18.5”. While it’s nice the couple of times I smoke a brisket the fact that cooking anything on it seems to consume an entire bag of Kingsford blue is frustrating. As far as the atc is concerned, when I can sleep 8 hours straight knowing my phone will ding if temps are too low or meat hits temp is nice, I would probably buy a Digi q next time. The WiFi and extra temp probe just isn’t worth the extra 130 bucks.
 
I guess every WSM operates somewhat differently from each other.
My 22" WSM holds 230-240 degrees with the lid vent 100% open and one bottom vent open about 25% (other two vents closed).
With a 20# bag of charcoal it will run 16+ hours with very little fiddling.
It is the very rare occasion when I think ATC would be nice to have, but in my case any ATC device would have to be able to regulate the minimum air input as well as the fan boosted air input.
So, depending on how your particular WSM operates make sure the ATC has the ability to regulate the airflow appropriately.
 
I was not aware that ATC's introduce nor reject air intake; I thought they merely fan the existing fire as-needed.

The way an ATC works to hold a temperature is by being the only intake on the cooker, and that way they control introducing or restricting oxygen as needed.

That's why some of them come with heat-resistant tape on a WSM kit. You need to have the vent the ATC is connected to fully open, but the holes that don't have the fan on them closed.
 
Nothing wrong with finishing in the oven after wrapping, but I can count on one hand how many times I've done it. No ATC either. Guess I'm just set in my ways.
 

 

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