New WSM owner/ slight problem


 
Rick Body

Rick Body

TVWBB Pro
I just got my 18.5 and love it except for one small problem....

I did a couple of smokes to season it and then took on a boston butt. I have a thermoworks dual probe thermometer and kept the temp at the grate between 225 and 240. It took 11 hours for a 5.5 lb butt to get to 193, which is not too bad, except it wasnt tender enough to pull. Ok, no problem, first time using it.....

But then I did a rack of baby backs. Same temps, even wrapped them for around an hour for texas crutch. They still took 5.5 hours. I notice that the thermo on the smoker kept reading lower than my TW. Temps stayed level with the minion method

Third smoke, did some more baby backs and purposely kept it around 240. Used both probes to meaure grate temp and they both were the same, but again the smoker thermo read lower the whole time. Again it took 5.5-6 hours to get them done. They were awesome, but I am wondering why everything is taking so long. From everything I have read the built in thermo usually reads higher if off, now lower

Anyone have this problem or any suggestions. Is my new TW thermoworks off or am I doing something wrong? I only lifted the lid to put the ribs in foil then take them back out an hour later.

Any help for a newbie is appreciated:confused:

oh yeah, I used a clay saucer in the pan (great trick from you guys) for the butt and second rack, and water pan for the first rack
 
I use a "2 hrs per lb rule" then add 2 hrs for a fudge factor for pork butts. They're easy to hold warm until eatin time. Using this formula, your 11 hrs is in the range for me however, I like to go to 200* to 205* finished temp for pulled pork so I'd have probably gone closer to 12 hrs.

Baby backs usually take me about 5 hrs but I usually use St Louis cut spares and cook at ~275* for 6 hrs. You can use the crutch for a little longer if you want them more tender.

I don't think you're doin anything wrong. Some critters are just a bit more stubborn than others.
 
Thanks Dwain. The only reason I pulled it when I did is because it was getting close to 7pm and the guys at the fire station were getting antsy. I put it on at 7:45 ish am and figured 2 hours per pound at worst. Guess I will try that 2 hour margin of error next time. I bought a cooler to keep it warm just in case.

I thought baby backs would only take around 3-4 hours so maybe I was just a little anxious. Just trying to make sure my thermometers are jibing (jiving?)
 
Drop your thermometer in a pot of boiling water. It should measure 212 degrees. That will let you know if your thermometer is a problem.
 
My 18" WSM lid thermometer has consistently registered 20 or so degrees lower than my on-grate Maverick probe. I've tested both in boiling water, and they both check-out.
 
Thanks everyone for the reply. I checked my thermo and it seems ok.

I am having another problem, but I will start another thread
 
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