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Chet Johnson

TVWBB Super Fan
Does everyone on this forum use electronic thermometers, thermostatically controlled fans, and other technology? Whatever happened to "seat of the pants"? I'm not competing in BBQ regionals. I'm just cooking for me. I am starting to wonder if I am taking this temp control thing way to seriously.

Is there anyone out there that just watches the amount of smoke rising, keeps the pan full, and still smokes great Q?

I'm thinking we need a whole new section of the forum, at the same level as "Barbecuing", just for those of us that like a more touchy-feely experience.

Are there are other amateurs like me out there that just bought a WSM to smoke dead animal flesh on my back patio?

Pure, simple, and basic.
 
I have a WSM, a Weber chimney, a Weber 9815 replacement thermometer to measure top grate temp, a Taylor digital probe thermometer, and an instant-read digital thermometer. I own a few other miscellaneous things, don't consider them necessities, and probably wouldn't miss them if I didn't have them.
 
Chet,

I try to keep it simple. I have a Taylor Digital probe through the top vent, a Weber replacement therm just below the top grate, and another Taylor Digital probe for the meat.

I could do away with the Weber Therm, because I know when my lid temp is 240-250, I'm at 225-235 at the top grate. I really don't use the other Taylor probe now until about an hour before whatever it is I'm cooking "should" be done.

I think things like the guru are great, they're just not for me. I truly enjoy all nighters and checking on the cooker a couple of times whenever nature calls.

I have always been a subscriber to the KISS method.
 
Doug,

Your advice is always so terrific. Don't you ever want to give up the technology? Just listen to your nose? Something in the Uber competetive tone of all of this is rubbing me the wrong way. I haven't sorted it out yet, but the notion of simplicity has some kind of appeal that keeps drawing me down another path.
 
Bruce,

Thank you. Can it be done without even a bimetal therm?

I'm doing a rib smoke tonight out of protest without the benefit of anything more than what came in the the Weber box. I have no clue if it would compete with the "best of the best", but I am looking forward to the outcome. the meat is pulling back from the bone and it looks mighty tasty.

Something about this is pretty appealing to me. I was wondering if I was the only one.
 
The St Louis cut ribs were wonderful. They had just the right "tooth" and gently pulled away from the bone. There was not a thermometer anywhere in sight during the entire process.

The racks began life with a minimalist version of the BRITU rub (I didn't have any cumin and I used raw sugar instead of a mix of the two).

My gauge was a trail of smoke. I lit one full Weber chimney of kinsford charcoal to an ashen state and dumped it in the ring. I added one more chimney full of unlit charcoal on top. I added the equivalent of 6 or 8 tennis ball size chunks of Oak and Apple wood for smoke.

I tried to maintain a 25-30% flume of smoke from the top vent for the first thee hours. I'm guessing that it was somewhere around 250-275 degrees. The ribs were coiled with a bamboo lance holding this to shape.

After 3.5 or 4 hours, they had a lovely mahogony color so I backed off on the temp and let them settle into perfection a little bit.

These are definately worth sharing. My shirt is disgusting with all the drippings that are soaking in, and I have run out of napkins.

Chet
 
How many of us are self-training? I reckon to guess most of us didn't grow up with our Grandfathers and fathers teaching us real Q. I know I didn't. Plus I don't have the time to BBQ 3 of 4 times a week. I use a digital probe for the temp in the WSM and except for ribs I use a probe to keep track of meat temps, even though I do know enough to go by feel when my meat is ready (except for chicken, I'm paranoid about that).

One of these days I think I will be able to Q by feel, maybe in 5 more years, but until then, I need the thermometer. Heck, I'm only 30 and I started learning about real BBQ 5 years ago. If I can Q by feel by the time I'm 35, I think I'm doing pretty well. Still leaves me, what, 40 more years to hone my skills.
 
All I had for my first smokes was the wsm, a chimney and a thru the top vent weber therm ($10 modification). I think that's pretty basic. I got some good food from that. Then I got a ET-73. That is nice because now, once I get the unit steady, I've been putting the ET-73 in the house and I don't need to go outside as often to check on the temp. Still pretty basic (I think anyway). I'm sure I could do real well without any therm if I used water. The way I believe the wsm is designed is to use water, fire blazing and vents wide open. You might have to add fuel and keep filling the water pan, but your temp should come in right around 250 using that no tech method. I think everything I've added is becasue to me part of the hobby is fooling around with gadgets.

Also, I don't know if you've seen this mod, but I just don't know how anyone could be with out this. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

http://www.exit109.com/~mstevens/butt/rain.jpg
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I think everything I've added is becasue to me part of the hobby is fooling around with gadgets. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Truer words have never been spoken

Rath *envious*
 
I use a $5 candy thermometer to monitor the temperature under the top grate, and one (or two) Polder-types to monitor the meat when I'm cooking butts. These give me an idea of how long it will probably take to cook the meat, and when it is probably done - but the cook isn't over until I judge the meat to be ready, based not only on time/temperature, but the appearance and texture. That's not "seat of the pants", but it's as close as I'm going to come to it.
 
I am occasionally a little bit schizophrenic on topics like this. I have an ET-73 and like it. I know that I will end up purchasing a BBQ guru. The main reason for them is when I cook for a large group of friends, I want the outcome to be as predictable as possible.

But a part of me still yearns for a more elemental approach. I did grow up in a family that cold and hot smoked meats. My grandfather built his smoker of red clay brick in his back yard. I don't recall him using any special seasonings other than salt and pepper for a rub but I can still recall the flavors he was able to acheive. He never used a thermometer either. The appearance of the fire, the amount of smoke, and the tenderness of the cook were his variables.

Oh well, time marches on. Technology is increasingly embedded in all we do. And, I am fully aware that I do not want to grab a cement trowel and build a smoker in my back yard.

I'll just go take my prozac now and get that brisket started.

/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Chet
 
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