Terrible Smoke Today

[Alan F]

It was a simple plan. Two racks of ribs, 275, no foil just let them ride. Wow, everything that could have gone wrong did.

The only new thing I did was foil the top grate about 2 inches around the perimeter to let the racks extend all the way without being overcooked. Would this dramatically restrict airflow?

There were ique problems.

The wsm was preheated to 275 before putting the meat on. While the temp started to stabilize around 275, it seemed to be by accident because while the unit was set to 275, it had been showing a solid red light (meaning it's over temp by 10 degrees) since about 250.

About an hour into the cook, with the unit still set at 275, the temp was getting high (287) but much worse, the unit was flashing green at this point (it's thinks it's more than 10 degrees under temp). This makes no sense.

At this point I turned the temp down to 250, and got a solid green light (meaning the unit thinks it's within 10 degrees of set point), while the grate temp was at 283.

At the end I couldn't get temps above 240 with all three vents open and the ique disconnected. I then put another probe in the wsm to check my readings and the readings were confirmed.

I was so frustrated at the end I took the mid and bottom section off to see what the coals looked like. The ring was filled with lit coals.

What happened here? I'm using an empty pan.

 

[Jack Bordeaux]

Your 2 inch ring of foil around the perimeter was most likely your issue.

I've always had the ends of my ribs go to the end of the grates and never had a problem where I thought they were burned.

You can always roll your ribs or cut them in half to fit more in the middle of the grate.

I'm guessing your top vent was 100% opened, if not, it should be.

 

[Alan F]

Yes, top vent was completely open. If it was the foil, I have a respect for the weakness of the airflow in these things. With a ring of lit charcoal, all three vents open, the temp wouldn't get above 240. Wow.

 

[Scotty W.]

If the 2" piece of foil extended almost to the cooking section's interior all the way around then you effectively put a damper on the rising hot air. Kind of like closing the top damper. Learning things the hard way can be frustrating. I know from experience.

Scotty W.

 

[Dave Russell]

Love it when folks post about trying new things, and this one makes me feel like a little less of a bonehead for trying the same thing a while back, so thanks.

T Bounds recommends foil under the ends of the ribs ONLY and here's his pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53819382@N07/

 

[Jeff Langer]

Don't sweat it brother... Learn from it and move on. If your like me, you are stubborn and are planning your next smoke!

 

[Dwain Pannell]

I appreciate the info. I've never used foil around the perimeter ...and now I know not to.

 

[Mike P.]

Alan, The inexpensive rib rack is a Mighty thing on my 18" WSM. While this pic does not show it, The ones I did yesterday were leaned into the rack at a similar angle. I used the top rack handles to fold and hold the ends in place.

This pic was of an earlier attempt and I cut a couple off the end of each rack. Don't worry about the ribs being flat when your done. They will relax after the fat is rendered.

In regards to the temp control problem, What was the outdoor temp you were in? Much wind? and do you think the smoker might not be tight yet adding air drafts that made the coal hotter? Last thing is do an ice bath and boil test on your probes for accuracy.

Good Luck!

 

[Frank Eriksen]

You may already know this, but I talked to John at Pitmaster IQ - I have one and no problems - your top vent should be closed at least 3/4 of the way or basically only open enough to get the temp probe in there if you wanted. The bottom vents without the fan should be 100% closed and the vent where the IQ fan is attached should be closed about 1/2. He's always willing to talk if you have questions.

 

[Alan F]

No wind or anything else could have caused the problems.

I really don't want to close the top vent however. It's never needed it before.

 

[Jim H.]

Glad to see posts that didn't go as well as planned, because I think I learn more from those than picture perfect posts. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jason U]

I had the opposite problem last week when making ribs...I foiled them after 3 hours and some of the foil got caught under the the dome lid where it meets the middle section causing it to not be sealed. My temps shot up to 330 in a matter of minutes.

My fault for drinking a few beers and not paying attention. This happened on the back side of the smoker away from my view. Luckily the ribs still turned out fine.