temperature control/progress report

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
ok...i put the ribs in at 12:40 and the vent temp dropped from 240 to 190 in 10 minutes...I figure because of the amount of meat...6 slabs and some extra cartilage/meat cut off in prepping. I opened all bottom vents to boost the temp and its 1:00 and It is 205. I suppose this will set me back 1/2 to one hour right? The temp is very slow to increase...should I just keep vents open till it reaches 230 or so at the vent?

1:20 temp 210...so making some progress
 
You just need to "lead" it a little. I have found that if you want to cook at 240, you need to put the meat on when the cooker comes down to about 320. Opening the WSM will lose some heat energy, and, additionally, the mass of the meat-- even if left off refrigeration just prior to putting it on-- will initially knock the temp down.

Typically, 2 Weber chimneys worth will top out at about 450 on a sunny day right after assembling the cooker. Dropping to 320 takes about 20 minutes, and then it's time to quickly get the meat on and close things back up. The temp typically drops to about 210, but then rebounds to 240 within about 15 minutes.

The same "leading" can apply when opening vents to increase temp, but it's better to make small adjustments and allow the cooker 15-20 minutes to complete its reaction.
 
wish I had known that before..lol.

what kind of damage do you think I have done?

anything I can do now to get it up to par..still 210 @1:30 vents wide open
 
I consider myself fortunate in that I severely shortened my WSM learning curve by mentally doing "virtual cooks" before I got my WSM. I did this by going cook-by-cook in the Cooking section of the website, trying to pay attention to the details in the text of the cooks, not just the time/temp/vents logs.
 
How much charcoal did you use? I'm not saying you don't have enough, but it may make a difference in how long it takes what you have in there to get going with that amount of meat.
 
Brian

I'm sure you haven't done any damage. It just may take a litle longer to complete the cook

The only way I know to increase the temp at this point would be to light a chimmney, let it get gray, then carefully take a pair of long tongs and add hot coals one by one. Probably add about 1/2 chimmney? Then watch the temp because you may need to close the vents some if you see it going up quickly.

PRG
 
ok..thanks, it went up to 218 at the vent at 1:45, so I think its getting there..probably because the meat is getting hotter, but not sure if I am burning up my fuel too quickly or not with the vents being wide open for the last hour..wondering if I will run out.
 
took your advice and added half chimney, got temp to 230 at vent and holding steady...but noticed wood was not completely burned and now it is smoking again....should I take wood out so I don't over smoke it?
 
The smoke is probably caused by the new hot coals you put in. Assuming you put in the usual amount at the start, 3 to 5 chunks, you shouldn't need to remove any wood. I don't believe it should be too smokey. Don't let the temp move too high on you before you make the vent adjustment.

PRG
 
the temp getting too high doesn't seem to be a problem...I can't seem to get it to the target in fact.

I am going to put another half chimney in (that makes two). I used the amount recommended in the recipe to begin with. I got the temp to 230 with the last half chimney, then close the bottom vents halfway and it dropped to 218 at the top vent again, opened them up and can't get it up again.....

am afraid what will happen when I open to turn meat. Will have lit coals ready to go in at that time.
 
Brian,
Deep breath. In ... out ... in ... out...

Look at this recipe for Easy Ribs.

As long as you keep your temps around 225-240* and keep it going until the meat pulls easily from the bone you'll be fine - probably take about 5-6 hours total cook time.

I've quickly learned that the WSM is VERY forgiving. Let it do its thing. The best thing for you to do once you get the temp to where it should be is grab a cold drink, sit, stare and marvel at the domed goddess (um, or go inside and watch TV).

sam
 
well, I threw in the other half chimney and decided it was a good time to turn them as long as I was adding more heat (to make the transition easier). I got to tell you...lol...that is the best looking meat I have ever seen..if it tastes 1/10th as good as it looks, I will be A OK. Temp is back to 230 at vent level. May take longer but seems like it will be worth it. It was just dripping with juices too, I want to eat it now..

BTW: the link to lazy ribs post was a big help..made me realize just how hard it is to mess up....then seeing them has really calmed me down...thank you very much for your help.
 
I think you'll be happily surprised when you finish. The chicken will be good. It's hard to mess up and I've certainly given it every opportunity.

When you adjust the vents, make smaller adjustments than 1/2. Perhaps 25% or even less.

Given the circumstances it probably is good to have extra hot coals ready. Add them if you need them. If it goes up too fast, and it doesn't sound like that will happen, make a small adjustment in the vents. If it were to get run away hot you can take a few coals out.

It shouldn't be this much trouble. When you finish, take a look at the entire cook and then make adjustments for the next cook.

PRG
 
I have to agree that it shouldn't be this much trouble...I have read every post on here for two weeks and this was unexpected. I will evaluate when finished and let you guys decide what happened. I full on expected to have trouble keeping the temperature low not the opposite.

Guests are here and are already commenting on how good they smell....funny thing is I can't smell a thing, I guess thats because I have been around them too long.

follow up to come
 
You never did say how much charcoal you started with initially. Also, did you happen to check your thermometer in boiling water for accuracy?
 
I started with one full lit weber chimney, then added one unlit chimney just like the recipe said to do with the wood on top. I calibrated the thermometer yesterday when smoking and did not calibrate it today...now I think I will because the ribs (at least the ones on top most of the time) came off on time and were great and the the ones on top (that were on the bottom the first 3 hours) came off a half hour later, even better. So I suspect the thermometer was reading low today. will let you know if that was the case...however, once I took the bottom rack out the temp rose from 210 to 250 on top vent in 15 minutes. I had a total of 15 lbs of meat in the cooker. There seems to be plenty of coals left over (should be after adding 7lbs extra).

Bottom line I guess is, They came out looking and tasting great! Everyone loved them. I didn't taste the salt at all on the ones I used the whole rub recipe on, in fact they tasted the same as the ones I used 1/2 the salt in.

I think I might dust them a little more next time. I decided I would like a different BB sauce. Wife liked KC/honey, but too sweet for me. I took pics and will post them soon.

You're calming influence is greatly appreciated...I was worried for nothing, this thing is truely a magician to make a cook out of me. One down, the skies the limit.
 
suspicion correct...15 dollar thermometer I bought (special BB therm I got a Wal Mart) has just read 190 at a boil. I didn't calibrate before todays cook because I just did it last night and it was fine. I guess I just keep on learning. I only bought it because I couldn't find a candy therm. that wasn't a glass tube. So I was at 230-240 most of the time (after adding first set of extra coals) and not knowing it. Thankfully I was able to get them off at the right time.

So to review...two mistakes I made and learned from..1) put meat on at too low a temp for the amount of meat I had, and 2)Always, Always, calibrate the thermometer before using.
 
Sounds like things came out well and you diagnosed the problem. With the amount of meat you had, you should have put it on when the temp reached 320. It would then begin to fall and you could adjust the vents to hold it around 240 at the lid. Of course you'll now have to either apply the formula to your thermometer or get another one. It does seem unusual that it was reading correctly the night before ? I certainly would not have thought about checking it again.

I believe you learn from encountering and then solving probs. You've had a good experience.

PRG
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian Campbell:
[qb]

Bottom line I guess is, They came out looking and tasting great! Everyone loved them.

[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Nothing else needs saying .... except "Good Job Brian" /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Cheers!!!

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
WOW!
This is getting more fun every Day! I have been watching the site for a couple of weeks now and am getting close to buying. Then the wife asked me to wait for my B-day. Aug 15th. (She bet me I could not wait!) I was a little bummed but I?m thinking look at all the extra time it will give me to research.

To all who work on this site helping "US" out It sure turns it into an exciting new hobby.

-Eric
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top