Interesting temperature findings on 14.5 in WSM


 
J

JWorden

TVWBB Fan
I've been using my 14.5 inch WSM for about two years now and I was smoking some baby back ribs this past weekend. When I first got the WSM I always measured the temperature through the side grommet using the temperature probe from my Thermoworks Smoke thermometer. After awhile and a lot of reading on this site I became convinced that the best place to measure temperature was on the grate level. I normally smoke pork butt and I can easily fit a 5-8 lb butt on the top rack and fit the temperature probe so I can get a measurement away from the edge. I haven't worried too much about the dome thermometer. When I smoke ribs I need to cut them in half and lay them side by side. This leaves little room for my probe and I end up putting the probe near the edge which ideally I would avoid.

During my cook I checked the ribs after about an hour. The probe was reading 230F. I noticed that my wood was not burning well and the ribs had no color. I could not see or smell any smoke coming from the WSM (I started with fist size chunk of hickory, cherry, apple). The dome temperature was reading about 200F. I tried an experiment where I put another probe through the side grommet where it also read 200F matching the dome temperature. At this point I decided to switch to measuring the temperature from the grommet which meant I ended up opening the vents to get it to read 225-235F. I checked it again after another hour and I could smell the smoke and the ribs were getting color. For the remainder of the cook the dome temperature matched my measurement from the grommet.

This is the second time now where I've had trouble measuring the temperature at the grate level with ribs. I suspect I'm measuring hot air coming from the sides or radiating off the side walls and for whatever reason it measuring cooler just below the top grate. For now on I'll just measure through the side grommet for ribs. I would still prefer to to measure from the grate level but think I would have more success on a larger WSM where I can properly position the probe away from the edge of the grate.
 
In the past I have, on occasion, clipped the grate probe on the underside of the upper grate if real estate is an issue.
Obviously make sure the probe won't get dripped on, (there's always a little gap somewhere). I've stopped getting bent out of shape regarding chasing the mythical 225. Anything between 230-280 is good for me. YMMV.
 
I started off worrying about the temperature, using probes and whatnot.
These days, I let it go. Very roughly check the dome temp, just to see if it is going up or down.
Then check with an instant read thermometer before pulling it off. Esp with chicken.
And yes, I will open the smoker occasionally. No harm done. The meat lags behind.... And temp changes are minimal.
If I would use anything I would stick it in the meat.
Have a drink, relax, and let it go..
 
From about 225-275..... It all cooks the same The only difference is time. It's just not critical.

It is nice to know how long it's going to take though. I've had briskets that cooked in 9.5 hrs, and 21 hrs. Guess which one I did at 225....... As far as I'm concerned there's no need to cook anything under 265-275. It just takes longer. And chicken and turkey I do at 350. Those are more like cooking in oven.

Be consistent with probe placement and your times will be consistent-ish
 
I'll just measure temperature through the side for ribs and at grate level on pork butt. Pork butt I got the times figured out. Ribs is a bit of a challenge. My wife likes fall off the bone tender. I like tender but not falling off just picking it up.
 
JWorden said:
I'll just measure temperature through the side for ribs and at grate level on pork butt. Pork butt I got the times figured out. Ribs is a bit of a challenge. My wife likes fall off the bone tender. I like tender but not falling off just picking it up.
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To me perfect would be that you can pull it off the bone with the bite. But that it doesn't come off there by itself. It's a fine line. For me, too tender is definitely the side to err on. I hate it when meat is left on the bone that you can't gnaw off. It's going to vary through the rack cuz the size of the ribs vary and the thickness of the meat on them vary, at least for loin back / baby back. I haven't done ribs in a while, not since the prices were insane....I need to do some.
 
Martin, I would be happy with that.

We normally do baby back when they go on sale. My last rack I over cooked. They were in the foil too long and then dried out afterwards. I had to cook them earlier than I planned to avoid possible weather. I'm in Florida so it could rain anytime in the afternoon and it was supposed to rain that day (of course it didn't). I left them on a hour after unwrapping but really they were done after I unwrapped but I didn't want dinner at 3 PM. My needle probe registered 210F after the foil which was 5-10 degrees above what I wanted.

I was using a 321 recipe at about 225-235F but next time I'll try 221.
 
JWorden said:
Martin, I would be happy with that.

We normally do baby back when they go on sale. My last rack I over cooked. They were in the foil too long and then dried out afterwards. I had to cook them earlier than I planned to avoid possible weather. I'm in Florida so it could rain anytime in the afternoon and it was supposed to rain that day (of course it didn't). I left them on a hour after unwrapping but really they were done after I unwrapped but I didn't want dinner at 3 PM. My needle probe registered 210F after the foil which was 5-10 degrees above what I wanted.

I was using a 321 recipe at about 225-235F but next time I'll try 221.
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I've never used the recipe for time.
I cook them until they get bark.... Which is about 160 f just like a another piece of meat.
I cook it about 250 to 265. To low temp doesn't make bark easily.
Then I wrap them and finish cooking.
Start probing temperature when you think you're getting close.... Easy to just stick the probe through the foil. Like you I'm looking for about 200 F.

Then I take them off , glaze with barbecue sauce, and let thm rest in the foil for 20 min udually.

If you're going to put them back on the grill to cook that barbecue sauce on them.... They probably need to come off and out of foil at 190 or so.
 
Hi Martin,

I think your approach sounds reasonable. Do you have an approximate time it's taken to cook an average rack of baby backs using your method? I would like to practice ribs more but I can't justify the price and I would like to time them with the rest of dinner. Sometimes I need to start something else prior to the ribs getting done.

Unfortunately, I had to step away for a bit during my last cook and the temperatures got of hand and I wanted to try a standard recipe just to have baseline so I just went with it.
 
JWorden said:
Hi Martin,

I think your approach sounds reasonable. Do you have an approximate time it's taken to cook an average rack of baby backs using your method? I would like to practice ribs more but I can't justify the price and I would like to time them with the rest of dinner. Sometimes I need to start something else prior to the ribs getting done.

Unfortunately, I had to step away for a bit during my last cook and the temperatures got of hand and I wanted to try a standard recipe just to have baseline so I just went with it.
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Well, whenever I make them for dinner we end up eating about 9 pm. It always takes longer than I think it's going to. I lose so much heat and time when i wrap. I think it's going to take 3 and 1/2 hours and sometimes it takes 4 1/2-5. And the prep time takes a lot longer than I anticipate too.
 
Ribs...
Caveman style. I like a good bite on them!
Definitely not falling of the bone and not sweet either. Plus not sauced!!!
Needless to say, I'll never order them in a restaurant. Apparently my preference is a bit different from most other people
 
Anne M. said:
Ribs...
Caveman style. I like a good bite on them!
Definitely not falling of the bone and not sweet either. Plus not sauced!!!
Needless to say, I'll never order them in a restaurant. Apparently my preference is a bit different from most other people
Click to expand...
I honestly cannot remember the last time I had barbecue in a restaurant that was even halfway as good as my own. Several times I've got brisket that I wouldn't feed a dog. Ate at a restaurant that I used to stop at while traveling often a few weeks back. It was horrible. New owners apparently. New owners that knew absolutely nothing about barbecue or brisket. The best part of the meal was the macaroni and cheese. I don't usually leave bad reviews on Yelp, etc.... But I left a scathing one. What they served for brisket was inedible... Sliced wrong, undercooked, tough and fatty. The ribs weren't much better but at least I could eat those. This place had been serving up good barbecue for about 15-20 years....... All ruined by somebody that didn't know what they were doing. Knew something was different when it 20 minutes to get food and there was nobody else in there..... And I watched a girl struggle trying to slice brisket.
 
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When you take a bite of rib meat it should come cleanly off the bone. A little more done is falling off the bone. An awful lot of people love ribs falling off the bone, so good for them. I never temp ribs, judge doneness by amount meat has pulled back and the color. You can also wiggle the bone and see if it seems to separate. After years of smoking I no longer use sauce--you may be covering up the best meat you've ever had!
 
I've read too many recipes online. I teach science at a local community college so I tend to fixate too much on numbers. I need to pay more attention to what's actually going on.
 
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