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J

JoeMFL

New member
Hello guys, I started using my 2015 master touch this month and have done the snake method twice. but I really would like to perfect it.

Any formula to follow regarding how many briquettes and length of smoke @ 250 degrees? eg. 2x2 vs 2x1 vs 4x2 rows. and how long the rows should be?

I have noticed the master touch has the thermometer on the opposite side of the vents instead of 90 degrees to the side. Is this a flaw that I have to live with? because if I put the vents directly over the meats, then the thermometer is over the hot coals. which means it is reading too high? If the reading is at 250, that means the temp on the cool side is actually 200?

do you guys only use half the cooking grate to place meat and not the whole grate?

I cooked pork butt which came out awesome 2x2 rows of charcoal..

Then did 1 rack of spare, 1 rack of back and 1 rack of beef ribs all at once and that one did not turn out as awesome. I suspect I overloaded it with different cuts of meat and the temps werent high enough and the smoke was too much. I used 4.5 chunks of apple. 2x1 rows of charcoal. The spare ribs came out a little hammy and too smokey. The back and beef were decent. I foiled them after 5 hours.

Im open to all suggestions.
 
While the lid therms are a nice convenience, they're generally considered to not be terribly accurate. They give a good ballpark figure, but you'll get a much more "true" reading using a digital probe thermometer (e.g.: Maverick or similar). Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions re: snake method as I've never tried it myself.
 
Thanks I figured as much, I am going to pick up a maverick 735 I think. or maybe if I find a deal on a used cyberQ.

Also, I messed up on the title an I cannot edit it. If a mod could change it for me, I would appreciate it. To maybe, questions about snake method in kettle.
 
Welcome to the forum Joe!
for a consistent 250ºF temp using the snake or fuse method, I find a row of 3 briquettes with two atop those. Wood chucks atop it all.
the length of the snake (or fuse) depends on the length of your cook. I tend to make it a long line, if the cook is done before your coal is fired, I push the unlit coals away from the lit and reuse the next day.

I place the meat to the opposite half side of the food grate.

the accuracy of the therms on the Weber lids does not concern me... ten degrees off one way or another does not harm a cook. We're not baking a cake.

in my opinion, concerning your three racks of spares, backs and beef ribs, I don't think your grill was hot enough... and spares (5+hours) cook longer than baby backs (+4).
Hammy tasting spares tells me these were undercooked.

Good Luck with your next smoke and if you use this briquette formation, please let us know the results.
 
Hi Jim. I used 3x2 this time, and it was only for one rack of ribs and I also could not tend the grill the whole time. So I pretty much set it and forgot it. Top vents 100%, bottom 50%. Ribs ended up being overcooked and dry chewy on the edges of each rib and delicious the rest of it.

Pretty much, I think it ran too hot at those settings. I will experiment some more.

One thing, I always seem to require vent adjustments doing snake in the kettle. It wont hold a steady 225-240. Maybe not enough practice or is this something could be resolved with fan temp control units?
 
half open bottom vents is too much on a one-touch kettle... if you were using an old daisy wheel kettle, only one vent open half way is good...
on the one-touch kettles with all three vents opening, open only to 1/8th (about 3mm) to 3/16ths (about 4.5mm) of an inch.

and.... you're using a kettle, not a WSM. I would not leave it unattended very long.
when I smoke on my kettles, I check temps every hour.
 
Jim Lampe said:
half open bottom vents is too much on a one-touch kettle... if you were using an old daisy wheel kettle, only one vent open half way is good...
on the one-touch kettles with all three vents opening, open only to 1/8th (about 3mm) to 3/16ths (about 4.5mm) of an inch.

and.... you're using a kettle, not a WSM. I would not leave it unattended very long.
when I smoke on my kettles, I check temps every hour.
Click to expand...

I will definitely try it out with only cracking open the one touch just barely. Also, that last part about having check on kettles every hour, is it true even with snake method on the kettle?
 
Well, until you're confident you've got it exactly where you want it...
hanging around is better than eeting over cooked ribs ;)
 
Gonna start up a 2x2 cook today for a rack of st louis style spare ribs. 4 small chunks of hickory. Vents going to be very slightly cracked open and with a pan of water underneath the ribs. Here is what the snake looks like, wish me luck.
xnP7c2T.jpg
 
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