Temp problems last cook


 
B

Brian Trommater

TVWBB Super Fan
I used sand and new kingsford for the first time last cook. Could not keep temp below 280. I was cooking butts so it did not hurt me to much but I am doing brisket and ribs this week and am a little worried. I have never had this problem before. I filled fire ring with charcoal and put a half of a chimney of lit charcoal on top. I guess I need to cut down on the amount of lit charcoal this time. If temp gets away again what can I do to get it down?
 
Half a chimney is too much. Use maybe 12 lit briquettes.

Sand can be a problem because if allowed to get too hot it'll stay that way for some time. I'm not a fan of it (I use water or nothing in the pan, depending what I'm cooking) but I understand its allure. You really must be careful of your heat rise so that you don't have to fuss with overshot temps: don't let it get high by restricting air earlier in the game (and, of course, by starting with fewer lit).

If temps get away from you there's not a lot you can do short of removing coals. Of course you'd already have closed vents--the temps will come down eventually--but the heat build-up in the sand can take a while to dissipate. However, a 280 temp is not going to negatively impact brisket or ribs. I've cooked both from start to finish at that (and higher) temps. It does narrow your done window, but unless you overcook the meats will be fine.

If you give sand a go again start with less lit and be on top of closing vents early in the game as temps rise. You can always cheat a vent open a bit more to up the temp a bit; closing after the temps get too high works but can be frustratingly slow, as you've discovered.
 
When using sand, one of the drawbacks is bringing temps down should they get too high.

Keep the sun off the wsm if you are cooking exposed to the elements. I live in Orlando, and have to provide shade (EZ-UP tent) this time of year during the 12-5 afternoon hours.


You could probably get by with using a large umbrella.

How much sand are you using?

If that doesn't work, and being in Texas, you may just want to reconsider using water, or an empty pan altogether.

This time of year and until the late fall, I start all of my cooks with very little water and add water to the pan to hold temps, or to bring temps down (I've even had to add ice before).

The tropical sun here is blazing hot and makes temp control difficult at times.
 
I’m curious as to why you could not get the temps down below 280. Did you close all bottom vents? If so, the temps should of dropped accordingly. If all vents are closed, and the temp remained above 280, then additional air is getting into the WSM. Check the tightness of the door, the bottom vents, and the seal between the various sections. Also, as Craig said above, sun can be a factor. Also, how often are you opening the lid? I’ve had problems in the past when rotating and basting, if I take too long the temps jump up very quickly.

In the past when temps get too high I’ve done the following to drop the temps quickly:

Stage 1: Completely close all vents.
Stage 2: Put ice water with ice into the water pan.
Stage 3: Completely close all vents, top and bottom, and point a large fan at the WSM. If you’re WSM does not seal tightly, this will not work. Mine seals tightly, and when I do this it drops the temps very quickly. Just remember to turn off the fan if you open any vents or you’re back to square one before you know it. I would only use this method if temps are very high.

I really feel that the best temp control is not let the temps get high to begin with. When I use the MM I do the following to maintain temperatures

1. Don’t put a lot of hot coals onto the top of unlit coals. Start the process 1 to 1.5 hours in advance of when you actually what to start barbequing and bring the temps up to the desired temperature. I used to try all of this within a much shorter time frame and I would cause myself more problems and frustration than what it was worth. It’s been much more relaxing by taking more time to bring the temperature up.

2. Don’t open the lid or door very often. If I cooking butt, I don’t even open the lid the first six hours.

3. When I want to flip and baste the meat, and I have a lot of meat in the WSM, I’ll shut all vents off about 5 minutes before I open the WSM. Otherwise, if I don’t, during flipping/basting, the temps will jump up to 250-300 after I return the lid and then I’m in the battle of having to drop the temps again. When I shut off the vents five minutes before, temps drop quickly down to around 190. When I’m done flipping/basting and return the lid, I set the vents to where there were originally, and I’m back at 225. If I have just a little meat, I don’t shut down the vents; I just open the lid, baste, and return the lid very quickly.

Hopefully this helps out.

Ken
 
There is obviously some great advice given above. But no matter who you talk to you are bound to get differing opinions. For myself, it is always lump and sand in the pan (make sure you have only about 1" of sand). As for the lighting definitely use less lit (approx 12 as Kevin suggests). I always put my meat on immediately after I have reassembled the WSM. I do this for a couple of reasons: 1. Might as well use that good smoke coming off early in the cook and 2. I don't want to have to deal with the temperature drop after the meat goes on. All bottom vents are fully open at the bottom. Once the temperature gets to 125º - 150º I start closing the back vents (perhaps 50%). As it nears 200º the back vents will be almost fully closed and the front vent will be closed to 50%. I keep this setting until it settles into the temp range I want and then completely close the back vents with the front vent just open a crack.

This system works for me 99% of the time. Also, with a hot sun shining on the WSM it is a great idea as suggested above to keep it in the shade somehow. Fortunately I have a BBQ shack that I built which keeps water and sun off my cooker.

Good luck.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I have the pan all most full of sand. I will take some out. Everything seems to fit tight. The door could fit a little better but I will work on it. I usually do not open it at all while cooking. This was the first time I had any trouble and have used it many many times. The only thing I did diffentent was the sand and new charcoal. I will start with only a few lit this time and get the vents closed a little sooner.
 
Got the door to fit a little better. Took out about half the sand I put in. Put in a half of fire ring of charcoal. Lit 12 coals and put on top of charcoal. Smoked a brisket and 2 racks of baby backs. Was a little worried about the brisket. It was a large trimmed brisket and when I turned it over all the fat was trimmed off. Temp was slow to come up so I took the door off. Thank God for remote temp's. Was in kitchen when alarm went off. Did not take long for wood to catch fire. Put door back on and everything settled out fine. Was able to keep temp around 225 whole time. Foiled brisket and ribs at 4 hrs. Took ribs off an hour later. They where very good. Let brisket go until total of 9 hrs and let set for 2 hrs. It turned out very good and tender. Fire was still going. Not bad for a half ring of charcoal. Think I like the new Kingsford.
 
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