Thanksgiving WSM stuck at 299


 
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Doug Parizo

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Hi all,

So, I broke the rules and attempted my first WSM Turkey on Thanksgiving.

On Cape Cod, we had rain and wind, so I started off by erecting the big tent. Once that was set, I got to cooking.

Problem is, I couldn't get the temps in the WSM above 300. I started with two chimneys, then three, but still couldn't top 300.

The guru was blowing it's 10-cfm motor full time, and all the coals were glowing, but still just 300. Finally, I opened all the vents and the guru kept blowing. No improvement.

In the end, I let it smoke at 299 for 2 hours, then finished it in the oven. I'm puzzled as to what's going on. My leading theory is that my charcoal was damp -- I mixed an old bag with a new.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

Doug
 
Doug,

I had a similar circustance this past week with a 12lb bird. Ran a dry pan and two chimneys of charcoal. My WSM hit 310 and settled out at 300 with all vents wide open. I thought about transferring the bird to the oven but decided to let her smoke. Did a temperature check at 2 3/4 hours into the cook and got 163 in the breast. Pulled the bird and let it rest for 30 min. Turned out very moist and tender. Did the thermometer test which showed it to be accurate. I think the smoke residue (is there a name for that stuff?) inside the WSM absorbs heat thereby reducing the internal temperature. Just my guess, since with each consecutive smoke my cooking temperature is getting lower. I don't clean or scrub the inside of my WSM. I just hose the ash off afterwards.
I hate to think of scrubbing that residue off after getting it seasoned.

Terrell
 
Doug
I broke the rules too, and did my first turkey on Thanksgiving. I had no problem with temps (sand in pan), in fact I forgot to check it while I was getting other stuff ready and went over by about half an hour (guess), so it was a bit dry.
It was cold and rainy (and England!) so it was 5*C (~40*F) I used a whole lit ring, it initially went to 450*F for 15 minutes then down to 280*F then after an hour it hung at 350*F and stayed that way until the end.

Wind may be the issue.

morgan
 
Doug,

Sounds like we had the exact same cook.
The only thing I did differently was to turn the door upside down to increase the air flow. The temps climbed to around 340°-345°. As soon as I turned the door back around the temps went back down to 300°-310°. All my fuel was new and dry.

Bit of a pain to babysit. I thought the Guru with the 10cfm fan would do the trick. Oh well.

I think I'll stick to my gasser with a packet of chips or pellets for turkeys.

Al
 
I started my turkey cook running the 10 cfm Guru at 250F to get some smoke time in. This cook was done using fresh Kingsford. Since this was an immediate follow on to a butt cook, I did not change the pan so I had about 1" of sand in the pan plus the pig drippings.

Around 2 1/2 hours into the cook (14 lb bird) I dialed the Guru up to finish the turkey. I had a 20F increase in 6 minutes. The next 20F took around 40 minutes, with the Guru steadily blowing.

By comparison, on a previous cook (6 lb bird) using mixed lump and Kingsford, after 1 1/2 hour, I had a 34F increase in 12 minutes dialing the guru up from 300 F

Based on severely limited data, I think that the Kingsford, after an initial quick increase, takes much longer to increase the temperature in a limited air environment, possibly due to a combination of thermal mass and lots of ash.

Net result, I will probably use Kingsford for my long Minion Method cooks with no planned temperature increase. Will use lump for short and/or high temp cooks (with standard method start). I am reconsidering the step method (starting at a lower temp to get a longer smoke time.)
 
Hi Steve -- I was measuring temps with the guru. I inserted the food probe into the breast, and then I clipped the alligator clip of the pit probe to the food probe about 1" away from the bird. I think the probe is recessed about 1/2" from the tip of the clip, so that means the tip of the pit probe was hovering about 1 1/2" above the bird. Make sense?

I suspected a probe problem, but they both subsequently passed the boiling water test.
 
Try using lump. I did my Thanksgiving bird with a full ring of lit Royal Oak lump and an empty pan (no Guru) and I had to dial it back a little to keep the temps around 325F.
 
I'm with Garrett, I did my first turkey with a mix of lump and briquette, no water pan at all, and had no problem keeping it at 350, came out great too!
 
My guess is thermometer placement. Next time you cook, check two thermos in boiling water. Then place them in different locations during a cook. I have seen a 35* difference measured on the top grill compared to measured with a thermo dropped thru a top vent. The proximity to the meat can effect the temp too.
 
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