first smoke...low temp


 
C

Chris C

TVWBB Fan
Well I finally spoiled myself and got my 22 1/2 today, doing 2 pork butts for first time. minion method loaded to hilt with about 50 spread over top, been smoking for 1 hour and temp on lid says 225 and holding..no spikes. top vent 100% bottoms 50%,50%,15%. added boiling water to pan at beginning. will get down to around freezing tonight here in Idaho,wind break is built and around it. 2 questions, should I worry about adding more water, should I be worried that temp is only reading 225 or is that a good start point? thanks for all you professional smokers helping us greenies make our first adventure a good one.
 
225 sounds good to me for an overnighter, but I'm pretty new to this myself. If the water is near the top of the bowl when you go to bed, I think it will be good until you check on it in the morning.
 
Update: 3 hours temp is holding steady 223,water is almost gone. Don't think I will fill again unless temps start rising bottom vents 50,50,10. Feeling like I can get a good 4 hours of sleep in. Have my maverick alarm set.
 
I recommend temping at the top vent, the factory guages are usually low by 25-40 deg which sounds like the case if you boiled 3 gallons of water off in that amount of time. I don't recommend running the pan with no water unless you cover the top with foil to catch drippings. If no water the fat drippings will burn in the empty pan and leave you with a bad flavor.
 
Thanks Glen, pan is well foiled. Temps have been steady between 225 and spiked around 246. Went out closed all bottom vents and it's held steady at 240. Meat temp reads 167 and I have not opened lid (something I will liken to being a kid alone in a house with a room full of Christmas presents) looking forward to checking it around 190 degrees.
 
So you have an air space between the foil and the bottom of the pan? Remember temp is only a guide for done, start checking for tender around 180-185. Once you reach this point opening the lid won't hurt anything because the vast majority of the cook is over.

At 167 you are in the stall portion of the cook, so you have awhile yet to go.
 
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