Should humidity affect cooking times/temps?


 
PeterD

PeterD

TVWBB Super Fan
Today's one of those dull, cloudy days with high humidity but cool temperatures (in the upper-60s).

I first noticed something amiss when I fired up the charcoal chimney, in that the coals were taking a very long time to come up to temperature when using cooking-oil-soaked paper towels as starter for about 20 Kingsford briquettes. 20 minutes or so, and they just started ashing over. I'm using the minion method and had a full chimney of unlit and included 5 decent-sized chunks of hickory in there, a bit buried by unlit briquettes.

My next clue that something wasn't right was that the grill temperature wasn't climbing very fast (using an ET-73 clip-mounted). With 2 of the 3 vents open, I was hovering around 225 or so, which is very unusual. Normally, after 20 minutes like that I'd be nearing 300 if I didn't close off the vents. Well, I put the meat on (since it was right at my desired cook temperature), and 20 minutes later it was holding nicely or maybe a bit lower (218-220 or so). No biggie, I though. Well, I opened the side door and noticed that not a single one of the hardwood chunks had even begun to take light and the originally-unlit briquettes weren't lighting all that fast either. Again, extremely unusual. Since the meat, by that time, was up to 160 or so, no amount of smoke was going to add flavor.

Finally, I'm now 4 hours in. Internal food temp varies from 225-255 depending on where I put the probe into the two racks of baby-backs, and the smoker temp is 255. The ribs are nowhere near "done," as they're not yet bending very much, the bark is tough and not penetrable by a toothpick and the meat hasn't really pulled back off the bone-tips.

I guess the question should be how do you handle weather like this? How does it affect your cooking procedures, times or temperatures, and if I have to Q again like this, how should I vary my procedure? I have a feeling that we're about to eat two expensive racks of unsmoked and very very tough ribs once I pull them off in about 1/2 an hour. Thoughts?
 
Foiling will speed things up....

Humidity increases the water content of the K I would guess making it harder to light and burn. Just a guess but I too have noticed that the coals are more difficult to light on a humid day.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">to eat two expensive racks of unsmoked and very very tough ribs once I pull them off in about 1/2 an hour. Thoughts? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You won't if you pull them off when they are tender--not when some notion of time has elapsed.

I cook in very humid conditions often. Yes, there is a difference in that coals take longer to get going, as Don notes.

Do what is right for the cooker and the conditions. If the temps aren't climbing very fast and you have 2 of 3 vents open then open the other vent. Why keep it closed?

It does not matter one whit if the meat was 160 -- or 170 or 180 -- smoke will adhere to the meat regardless of its temp. Wood can take longer to combust is conditions are humid -- get your heat up in that case.

Imo backs are better cooked at higher temps. They can be cooked lower but one then has to be mindful of moisture loss due to slow cooking. I don't see the point as they are not very fatty to begin with.

My two cents -- and welcome to the board!
 
OK, dinner post-mortem. Definitely not the best I've had and I think they were over-cooked. Yes, the meat had pulled back from the bones but they were very dry compared to what I usually get. I also used a new rub recipe (Memphis Magic Dust -- I normally use the BRITU rub) and I don't if that contributed to the end result.

My usual procedure is to try and adhere to the BRITU time/temperature recommendations. For the most part, I give 'em 2 hours at 225 and 2-1/2 hours with full-open vents (usually by then about 260). I generally ignore meat temperature so long as it's above 190, but today I don't get it. I have no idea how I should have compensated for conditions.

Bryan you suggested getting the temps up--how high should I go when it's ooky out there, and what's a good cook temp (in your experience) for baby backs? My wife and I both find St. Louis ribs a bit too fatty, so backs are the only thing we do on the WSM for now. Maybe a brisket if we have company over someday!
 
It's not the heat it's the humidity...sorry couldn't resist

I always start with all vents wide open ...the top always stays open and I might close down one of the bottom ones if needed.

I have found that cooking with the vents wide open at higher temps has little effect on ribs, butts,chicken or turkey...they just get done sooner.
 
Peter,

One other thing to check is the fuel itself. If you're in a very humid environment, then you might consider alternate storage containers. I live in a very humid area, central TX, and I can notice when my charcoal has absorbed moisture (due to humidity). Some people use plastic containers with tight fitting lids.

Paul
 
I store my charcoal in one of those new Kingsford plastic pails that nicely hold a bag, which I keep indoors in the garage. I'm also going to consider switching from K to Royal Oak lump and see what the difference is there.

With regard to running vents wide-open, that will give me temps approaching 300 degrees. Doesn't that go completely against the "low-and-slow" philosophy??
 
Peter,

Both lump and regular briquettes should light and burn well. Your storage system should pose no problems. I don't even seal mine up and rarely have any issues. You could have had a bad batch...

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> With regard to running vents wide-open, that will give me temps approaching 300 degrees. Doesn't that go completely against the "low-and-slow" philosophy?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What I would suggest is open all vents to 100% when you start. As soon as the coals have been lit (but not up to target temp) put your meat on. IMO, there's no need to wait for the target temp. As the temp rises, it is doing so with the meat in the WSM which is acting as its own heat sink. This allows you to more easily set your target temp because it's easier to catch the temp on the way up as opposed to bringing it down. You mentioned that normally you're close to 300 with in 20 mins using your method, however if you want low and slow, you've already exceeded your target temp. Also, unless you have a serious wind issue, use all 3 bottom vents equally to facilitate an even coal burn. If you're opting for low and slow, getting to 300 in 20 mins may indicate you're starting with too many lit coals. Check out Chris's link on the Minion Method for details.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by PeterD:
Bryan you suggested getting the temps up--how high should I go when it's ooky out there, and what's a good cook temp (in your experience) for baby backs? My wife and I both find St. Louis ribs a bit too fatty, so backs are the only thing we do on the WSM for now. Maybe a brisket if we have company over someday! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Peter, I cook baby backs 95% of the time. The lowest I go is 250º cooking grate temp. That'll get you about a 265º-275º top vent temp. Briskets I do high heat these days. 325º-350º cooking grate temp. Here's a link to the High Heat brisket thread.
 
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