Newbie on the path to smoke


 
Thanks for the reply, Wayne. The smoke before this one, when I was doing 2 whole chickens, I had no problems whatsoever keeping the temps down without water. This last one was a completely different story. Reflecting back, here is one potential cause.

I had all 3 of the bottom air vents open 100% before I assembled the smoker. Then I assembled it, and then I closed them completely. The Weber thermometer was maxed out at this point and would not come down.

I wonder what would have happened if I started the coals with the vents fully closed, assembled the cooker with the vents fully closed, and never even gave it the chance to even begin drawing in air from down below? Maybe that is what I inadvertently did with my chickens? I don't know. Does anyone have any thoughts on this possibility?

As for the difference between the readings of the Weber and Maverick thermometers, I expected them to be a bit off, but not so much that, after about 8 hours, the ribs were underdone. As I mentioned in my earlier post, my plan is to find out what the Maverick reads when the Weber says 225, and keep the Maverick right there.

I would like to get both the water and temp issues sorted out before I try my first pulled pork. We are freezing our pork butts off up here in New England, and will continue to bask in unseasonable cold and strong winds for the foreseeable future. I really want to work on skipping the water during such temperature and wind extremes.

And thank you all for your continued support and thoughts. There is certainly a learning curved involved with this little gem, but this forum makes it significantly less steep. Take care.

NickB
 
I've got 3 whole smokes under my belt so I'm a novice at this. I've been starting with the minnion method and all 3 vents open about half way until the temps hit 230 then shut them down to about 1/4 open or less and the smoker seems to stabilize at the 255-260 mark. This is with a clay pot and no water.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> I've been starting with the minnion method </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's it. Looking back, my successful empty water bowl smoke was started with the MM. The one time I used the MM, I went with a dry, foiled bowl, and the temp control was very easy. The two that shot up required water were started with the regular method. Duh. I was following the posted recipes by rote, and not looking at the bigger picture. Newbie mistake.

So if we generally want to avoid an initial spike, do people "generally" use the MM? Other than wanting a hot start, for something like poultry, etc., why would you not use the MM?

NickB
 
I use the Minion method for every smoke. The only thing I vary is the amount of charcoal and whether I put water in the pan or not.

For butts and brisket, I always use water in the pan. It seems to help me maintain a constant 225-250 degrees in the dome. For poultry I generally foil the pan and leave it empty. I'll use either method for ribs depending on how much time I've got and my mood that day.
 
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