Smoking on the OTG

[R. Hutchins]

I have been doing more and more smoking with my 22.5" OTG. I use my MES electric only for its ability to handle more food. I've been having trouble getting and maintaining temperature. While I'd like to have it run at 222.5°F for the whole period, Mother Nature says otherwise; so I come here seeking wisdom from the tribal elders.

Last week I smoked a Boston butt using the ring of Kingsford blue around the kettle with chunks of hickory for the first 90° of the circle arc. The idea was to use only as much hickory as the meat would absorb in the first few hours. That worked fine to flavor the meat; but I found that while the wood chunks were burning, the temperature rose too high. I had the top vents wide open and tried to control the heat by closing down the lower vents. I got very mixed results and found myself constantly adjusting to keep the temp between 215° and 230°. I got the pork to an IT of 200°; and it was very good, tender, and moist but not fatty. The problem was the more or less constant attention. I had a similar experience doing a STL rib slab using 3-2-1 steps. It too came out great (thanks to Jeff's rub and sauce) but demanded constant attention.

I used a Maverick ET-733 to monitor both the OTG and the pork butt temps. I had the probe for the smoker in the middle of the rack under the meat, not over the coals. I had a tray with water beneath the meat to keep a moist cooking environment. In smoking the STL slab, I used only the smoker monitor probe, not the meat probe and used mesquite blocks for flavor. My lower air supply vents were never open more than 50% and were mostly at 25%. Much of the time, the temp was above 230° and ranged even higher for brief periods before I got to the OTG and removed the lid.

Observations: I think the mesquite burns hotter than the hickory and gave me trouble for that reason. I think I might have used too much K'ford blue for the ribs. I was careful to have only 3 or 4 briquettes around the circumference when I did the butt, but used more for the ribs. Too much charcoal and hotter mesquite, were part of my struggle, I think.

Questions: Am I trying to make an OTG do more than it was designed for? What is wrong with my approach? Are there rules of thumb for how many briquettes per hour should burn to keep a steady smoking temp? If so, what does that translate to in terms of the number of briquettes in the ring? Do you have any advice on regulating the vents? Any other advice?

Thanks for listening.

 

[Enrico Brandizzi]

You have the 22 and I have the 26. But for long period I smoked using my 26 with the fuse / snake method with great results. Not such soo good as yours. You were able to maintain T in 15F range for hours. That is a great result IMO.
I suggest you to start using ALSO the upper exhoust vent but be careful: very little closing great great effects. And you risck to choke off the fire and get dold smoke

 

[Greg Y]

A lot of guys will disagree with me, but I make almost all of my adjustments with the top vent (bottom vent wide open). I've tried it the other way, but found temperature control to be very difficult. The temperature tended to run away (too high) regardless of the bottom vent position.
As far as the temp spiking when it hits a big chunk of wood, yes that will happen. I like to use lots of wood chips, with only a small chunk here or there (I split them up into smaller pieces).

 

[DaveW]

I think you are too hung up on precise temps. Heck, I'd wager that your MES doesn't even stay within a 15 degree range for the entire cook.

That said, how are you arranging your coals exactly ? I did some baby backs on one smoke and a sirloin tip on another using a 2x2 snake with hickory and the temps stayed pretty consistent the entire time.

 

[W Tyler]

I think you are too hung up on precise temps. Heck, I'd wager that your MES doesn't even stay within a 15 degree range for the entire cook.

I agree with Dave here, especially with pork butt which is so forgiving on temps. It can withstand a wide range of temps (at least 300 degrees on the high end) and still yield excellent results. Brisket (and particularly ribs) you'd want to be more temperature conscious, but don't go for the hype that the temp gauge needs to stay in "one place" for the entire cook.

 

[Rich Dahl]

I think most will agree a kettle can be a little difficult to keep at a constant temperature, much easier in a WSM. But as stated don't get hung up on an occasional temperature spike as long as your 10-20* either way once in awhile you should be fine.

 

[R. Hutchins]

Thanks for the responses.

What ranges do you use for the Maverick ET-733? What HI value? What LO value?

I have to admit that I am a bit to anal about temps. I think I let the range I set on the Maverick rule my world.

 

[DaveW]

Thanks for the responses.

What ranges do you use for the Maverick ET-733? What HI value? What LO value?

I have to admit that I am a bit to anal about temps. I think I let the range I set on the Maverick rule my world.

I'm probably the wrong person to answer this as I'm kind of ambivalent about chamber temps. Sometimes I'll do brisket or butts around 225ish, other times I might crank it up to 300+ or somewhere in between. No real rhyme or reason other than the mood I am in that day.

That said, decide what target temp you want and go +/- 20 degrees or so. One stipulation is that if your target is 225ish, I'd probably set the low at 215 or maybe even 220.


Just as an aside, how do you arrange your coals specifically ? Bonus points if you have any pics showing your setup

 

[Dan A]

Do you have an atc unit that could help maintain your temps for you? I haven't used my party q on my performer yet, but I plan to.

 

[John Sp]

I wouldn't sweat 25-30 degree temp swings too much. You might want to make sure your lid is properly seated. A small crack in the lead seal can lead to temperature problems...

Regards,

John

 

[R. Hutchins]

Again, thanks for the support and suggestions. Here are my current results.

I planned to smoke 2 STL rib slabs using the 3-2-1 approach. The ribs were slathered in yellow mustard and covered with a rub day before yesterday and left in the fridge in a baking pan covered with aluminum foil. Yesterday, I prepared the OTG and placed a row of Kingsford blue in an arc around the perimeter of the coals grate . . . about 25-30 briquettes. I was careful to ensure that each briquette overlapped the one before it. I then did a second row inside the first row, again making sure each briquette overlapped the one before it and the one beside it. I then placed a third row atop the first two, overlapping again. I placed about 4 chunks of hickory along the ring in the direction of burn (clockwise in this case). As I understand it, this is the way it's done.

This morning about 9:00 AM I lit about 15 briquettes in the inverted chimney and set them over a tuna can of lit isopropyl alcohol. The can was about half full of alcohol. The briquettes burned to a white coat before I dumped then on the end of the snake. Took maybe 10 minutes to heat the starter briquettes.

I think I should have placed the hot coals more carefully or used fewer of them. I got too many of them on top of the snake's head. This resulted in the early temps being very hot and difficult to control. I had to release heat and smoke by lifting the lid as temps soared almost to 300°F at times. I left the bottom vents wide open and closed the top vents with mixed results. Eventually, I resorted to manipulating both vents with the bottoms about 3/8ths open and the top about half open. I watched temps using my Mav. ET-733 set with LO at 210° and HI at 240°. The weather here today is cloudy and unseasonably cool at 60°F and slightly windy but not enough to affect the smoker.

During the first 3 hour stint, I had to adjust vents and open the lid a half dozen times or more to to bring temps that were ranging upward of 300° in check. In the last hour I only adjusted once. I forgot to put water in my drip pan. That, and being more careful in placing the hot coals were mistakes that probably caused me the high early temps. After 3 hours I wrapped each slab separately in foil with a bit of apple juice then another layer of foil to seal the juice in. I put them back on the grill in less than 5 minutes. After recovering the heat lost from opening the OTG at the 3 hour mark, temps varied between 225° to 235° for 2 hour period without any adjustments. In the last 15 minutes of the wrapped cook, I got a spike up to 245°. At the 5 hour mark, I unwrapped, sauced and cooked for another hour on the smoker. Again, after recovering the heat lost opening to unwrap and sauce, the OTG maintained temps between 215° and 225° during the last 3/4 hour. The ribs were so well done that I took them off early

What I learned:
1) It's important to lay out briquettes carefully and deliberately to get the 3-row snake, not using too many briquettes.
2) It is all to easy to get too much heat at the start if one is not careful about where the starter coals are placed.
3) Water in the drip pan is a must; otherwise temps can swing to fast and too often (to say nothing of the moisture lost).
4) One must be careful after wrapping to ensure that the rib side is down, not the meat side - DAMHIKT.

Pics of the finished ribs and snake.
Ribs
More Ribs
Remaining Snake - maybe 5 briquettes

 

[DaveW]

Again, thanks for the support and suggestions. Here are my current results.

I planned to smoke 2 STL rib slabs using the 3-2-1 approach. The ribs were slathered in yellow mustard and covered with a rub day before yesterday and left in the fridge in a baking pan covered with aluminum foil. Yesterday, I prepared the OTG and placed a row of Kingsford blue in an arc around the perimeter of the coals grate . . . about 25-30 briquettes. I was careful to ensure that each briquette overlapped the one before it. I then did a second row inside the first row, again making sure each briquette overlapped the one before it and the one beside it. I then placed a third row atop the first two, overlapping again. I placed about 4 chunks of hickory along the ring in the direction of burn (clockwise in this case). As I understand it, this is the way it's done.

This morning about 9:00 AM I lit about 15 briquettes in the inverted chimney and set them over a tuna can of lit isopropyl alcohol. The can was about half full of alcohol. The briquettes burned to a white coat before I dumped then on the end of the snake. Took maybe 10 minutes to heat the starter briquettes.

I think I should have placed the hot coals more carefully or used fewer of them. I got too many of them on top of the snake's head. This resulted in the early temps being very hot and difficult to control. I had to release heat and smoke by lifting the lid as temps soared almost to 300°F at times. I left the bottom vents wide open and closed the top vents with mixed results. Eventually, I resorted to manipulating both vents with the bottoms about 3/8ths open and the top about half open. I watched temps using my Mav. ET-733 set with LO at 210° and HI at 240°. The weather here today is cloudy and unseasonably cool at 60°F and slightly windy but not enough to affect the smoker.

During the first 3 hour stint, I had to adjust vents and open the lid a half dozen times or more to to bring temps that were ranging upward of 300° in check. In the last hour I only adjusted once. I forgot to put water in my drip pan. That, and being more careful in placing the hot coals were mistakes that probably caused me the high early temps. After 3 hours I wrapped each slab separately in foil with a bit of apple juice then another layer of foil to seal the juice in. I put them back on the grill in less than 5 minutes. After recovering the heat lost from opening the OTG at the 3 hour mark, temps varied between 225° to 235° for 2 hour period without any adjustments. In the last 15 minutes of the wrapped cook, I got a spike up to 245°. At the 5 hour mark, I unwrapped, sauced and cooked for another hour on the smoker. Again, after recovering the heat lost opening to unwrap and sauce, the OTG maintained temps between 215° and 225° during the last 3/4 hour. The ribs were so well done that I took them off early

What I learned:
1) It's important to lay out briquettes carefully and deliberately to get the 3-row snake, not using too many briquettes.
2) It is all to easy to get too much heat at the start if one is not careful about where the starter coals are placed.
3) Water in the drip pan is a must; otherwise temps can swing to fast and too often (to say nothing of the moisture lost).
4) One must be careful after wrapping to ensure that the rib side is down, not the meat side - DAMHIKT.

Pics of the finished ribs to follow.

Sounds like you have things figured out. Placement of the lit coals is definitely important as it dictates the starting temp. If you dump at the very front, you only have the 15 or so lit coals and only the first row of the snake is getting started. If you dump over the coals at the beginning, you'll have more lit coals. If the wood lighting up raises your temps, you might remove 1 or 2 briquettes from the top layer and put the wood in their place. BTW, when I do a 2x1 snake like that, I have the bottom vents almost completely closed. Couldn't begin to tell you what fraction, just barely open.