catching temps


 
C

Chad Adcox

New member
i am sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else. i have only done one cook with my 22wsm and i keep seeing the term "catch" the temp. are you suppose to close the vents down when you reach your goal temp? i had a very difficult time sustaining a constant temp in my first cook.
any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
"catch" means to adjust vents as it approaches the target temp but not close them.

The amount and timing of the adjustment is relative to how fast/slow it's approaching the target temp.

Like driving a car from a stop to the speed limit - lots of accelator pedal to get it up to speed then a lighter steady pedal to maintain.

Each WSM is different and it will take a few cooks to learn how yours will react to the adjustments.

My first 18", would hold ~240º with each vent open only about the thickness of a dime. My current 18" will hold ~250º with each vent open about the thickness of a nickel. At startup, vents are wide open. Once it crosses 225º, vents are closed to "nickel" and it'll coast up to target temp.
 
Chad if using water in the pan close your bottoms to 1/3 when your 25 deg from your target temp. If using clay or dry foiled pan method close to 1/8 when your 40-50 deg from your target. Wait for 1hr then adjust slightly if needed and wait at least 20 min before readjusting. Only start with 15-20 lit.
 
Chad, Welcome to the forum. Most folks try to maintain a relatively constant temp for most of the smoke. The reason we try to "catch" the temp is to prevent it from exceeding the desired cooking temp. It is generally easier to bring your temps up than to bring them down. One other thing to consider and this has some disagreement out there. I personally like to keep things as simple as possible with as few vents to open and close, especially early on. I frequently will close 100% 1 or even 2 vents and use the 3rd to regulate the smoker temps. This applies to low heat cooks. There have been many times when I closed all the bottom vents 100% to keep the temp low and then only opened a minimum to facilitate enough air flow to keep the coals from dieing. All this has to do in part with how many hot caols you start with, as Glenn mentioned. I have found that less hot are better if cooking low and slow.

Mark
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by chad adcox:
i had a very difficult time sustaining a constant temp in my first cook.
any advice would be greatly appreciated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

When I first started with my wsm, I thought people were crazy saying that the temp held stable on a wsm. Mine was either going up or down throughout the cook. After a few cooks (5 to 10), I started to better understand how to control the temps and I think the wsm got a little tighter. Now I can hold temp rock steady for hours (like 8 - 10) as long as it's not windy.

I wish I could impart some knowledge that would make things go better for you, but I think there's a learning curve that you just have to go through. A couple things that I can say that I think will help are:
- Take at least a half hour between vent changes and watch what happens.
- Try to work within a range (say between 250 and 300). Adjusting vents every time the temp goes up or down 2 degrees will drive you crazy.
- Cook a butt. It takes a long time so there's plenty of practice and a butt is very forgiving. About the only thing that will change if you cook it too hot is that it will get done a little quicker.
- Relax
 
Chad, Jerry's advice is simple but true. Catch the temp on the way up. Don't worry if you're a few degrees off. I've been as much as 20 degrees off from where I wanted to be. That's ok. You may finish a little earlier. Do remember, the tenderness of the meat determines if it's done NOT necessarily time.
 
And make sure your thermometer is reasonably accurate. If your thermometer is low by 20 degrees and your on the low side of where you want to be by 20 degrees, now your low by 40 degrees and that will start to matter. Your meat may never get done if the temp is that much too low.
 
I'd add that hopefully, your wsm doesn't have a significant "out of round" issue. If so, you'd probably have trouble keeping temps low, even with the vents shut. Check it out for proper fit, and be encouraged that it should get better after it's well seasoned.

Also, I didn't catch if you mentioned water, but not all of us here have quit using a 212 degree heat sink for low-n-slow cooks.
icon_wink.gif
.....and the only other thing I can think of that hasn't been suggested already is make a good wind break.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by chad adcox:
did a brisket over the weekend and was able to hold 250 degrees for over 6 hours. thanks again for all the advice. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Chad, sounds like you had the low-n-slow down. Any problems w/ the rest of the cook?
 
no everything went pretty smooth. that was my first cook with K briquettes. i usually have used lump, but thought i would give K a try.
i have done some BB's and Ribs and some briskets, but i can never seem to get the brisket as tender as i would like. any suggestions?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by chad adcox:
i can never seem to get the brisket as tender as i would like. any suggestions? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not assuming the "six hours" you mentioned was the whole cook, but it did make me wonder about the rest of the cook since that's only about half the time it takes for a typical brisket to cook low-n-slow. Anyway, you cook long enough at 225-275 and it should eventually get tender, but look up the high heat method if you want it tender in six hours.
 
this was a really small brisket (3lbs) that i got from costco. i have done others and it took a lot longer, but still not as tender as i would like. still good flavor, just not as tender
 
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