So I did my first smoke in my 18" WSM... I did the BRITU ribs and they turned out very good. That said, I had some odd temp issues and would love your thoughts.
My temps were too low according to the built-in thermometer in the lid. It was reading 190 - 215 pretty much the whole time. I thought the thermometer may be off, so at the 3 hour point when you turn the ribs, I removed it and did the boiling water test... and it read 211 in boiling water, so dead on.
I also put a meat thermometer (Taylor brand) that really only has readings to 200, but you can guesstimate temps when the needle goes past 200. Through the lid via cork, that was reading 30 degrees higher than the lid thermometer. It too calibrated in boiling water properly.
My ribs were well cooked after 4.5 hours and actually tasted very good, especially for my first BBQ.
Note: The reason for the low temps (I believe) was my improper setup of the initial fire in the smoker in the beginning. To get the final 260+ readings for the final 1.5 hours, I had to wedge open the side door. In setting up my fire, I didn't wait for the 2nd chimney of unlit coals to light properly before assembling the cooker.
Question is... Should I trust the lid thermometer? I don't think Costco sized ribs would be done after 4.5 hours if the first 3 hours was done ~200 degrees. But the fact is that the thermometer does calibrate properly.
My temps were too low according to the built-in thermometer in the lid. It was reading 190 - 215 pretty much the whole time. I thought the thermometer may be off, so at the 3 hour point when you turn the ribs, I removed it and did the boiling water test... and it read 211 in boiling water, so dead on.
I also put a meat thermometer (Taylor brand) that really only has readings to 200, but you can guesstimate temps when the needle goes past 200. Through the lid via cork, that was reading 30 degrees higher than the lid thermometer. It too calibrated in boiling water properly.
My ribs were well cooked after 4.5 hours and actually tasted very good, especially for my first BBQ.
Note: The reason for the low temps (I believe) was my improper setup of the initial fire in the smoker in the beginning. To get the final 260+ readings for the final 1.5 hours, I had to wedge open the side door. In setting up my fire, I didn't wait for the 2nd chimney of unlit coals to light properly before assembling the cooker.
Question is... Should I trust the lid thermometer? I don't think Costco sized ribs would be done after 4.5 hours if the first 3 hours was done ~200 degrees. But the fact is that the thermometer does calibrate properly.
