Trouble controlling and measuring temperature


 
S

Steve Tiilikainen

TVWBB Member
So I have a River Country thermometer in the lid of my 18.5 WSM (which seemed to be reading the ambient temperature correctly earlier today) and a Thermapen One. I’m currently in the middle of a smoke (spare ribs).

I have been monitoring the lid temperature, and occasionally sticking my thermapen in the probe slot just underneath the cooking grate. The thermapen seems to consistently register 30 degrees hotter than the lid thermometer.

Temperatures have been bouncing all over the place. First things were too cold, and at one point I got concerned enough that I added another half chimney of KBB. That may have been a mistake. Temperature got clear up to 300ish degrees. I closed off all vents, then it became cold again so I opened things back up.

I’m now 4 hours into the cook, spritzing every half hour and flipping every hour. Things look dry as hell in there. The meat is not yet tender.

What am I doing wrong? Am I being overly sensitive to temperature changes? Is measuring temperature at the grate the gold standard for measuring cooking temperature? Have I ruined this set of ribs? Should I stick it out for 2-3 more hours?
 
I've not used a thermapen as an ambient temp probe. Not sure if it would work well as one or not.

Have you temp tested the ribs in the meat between the bones?

Maybe time to wrap the ribs in foil and add some moisture. Butter, sugar, apple juice is what I add.
 
We went ahead and ate because of how late it was. It was dry. Not the worst I’ve had, but close to it.

I’m trying a different procedure next time.

Temperature of the ribs fluctuated wildly between 160 and 226.
 

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in my wsm 22 there is always a gap of 20 to 30 F between the lid thermometer (the one that comes with the smoker) and the reading of the grate probe, i mean 20 to 30 degrees hotter in the grate.
Steve Tiilikainen said:
Am I being overly sensitive to temperature changes?
Click to expand...
when i use my wsm i am ok with temps between 220 to 245 even 250, usually dont bounce that much, once it sets it stays there during all the cook, if your smoker its new then its normal to temps to fluctuate, with time and use it will become stable.

Steve Tiilikainen said:
Is measuring temperature at the grate the gold standard for measuring cooking temperature?
Click to expand...
in theory yes, you should measuring the temp as close as possible of the food, but as i said before in my opinion a gap of 20 degrees dont hurt.

Edit: i have done ribs at about 270 - 280 F and usually at this temp range they are done in some 5 hours, but if you had temps between 160 and 226 it should take at least some 7 hours to cook
 
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I agree with Brett and Daniel's comments, but in addition, you didn't comment on the weather/wind conditions which can have a huge impact on temperature control... Ambient temperature doesn't matter than much... but winds much over 7 to 8 mph can make temp control very difficult, and rain if you can't keep it off the smoker will rob a lot of heat from your cooker. I also also recommend reading or re-reading these posts. Building the fire the right way and avoiding over corrections is super important. You can get good bbq/smoke flavor with temps between 225 and 275 so when I'm running manual mode I shoot for around 250 and don't make vent adjustments until I'm trending close to 225 on the low side, or 275 on the high side, then I make small adjustments and wait at least 10 minutes before adjusting again.

Here are the two posts I mentioned above. Try hard, believe in yourself, and don't give up!!!! The Q is worth it!!! :)

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Firing Up Your Weber Bullet 2/2 - The Virtual Weber Bullet

How to fire-up the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker using the Minion Method and several variations, including waterless cooking, using lump charcoal, and more.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
and
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Temperature Control Problems: Too Hot, Too Cool - The Virtual Weber Bullet

How to solve temperature control problems when your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker runs too hot or too cool. Lots of useful tips to get temps back on track!
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
Yeah, I’m giving those a re-read. Thanks.

Weather conditions were 65 degrees with little to no wind and no direct sunlight.

This is an old (used) WSM with plenty of break-in. I definitely think operator error is the issue here, not equipment failure.
 
Personally, I don't believe measuring temp at the grate is the gold standard. Measuring the internal meat temp is the gold standard, and when it comes to ribs you can in fact measure between the bones using your Thermapen ONE and by doing the tear test by trying to pull apart two bones.

The temp environment inside your WSM is very volatile, you've got air rushing in at the bottom, flowing around the meat, and rushing out the lid. A sensitive instrument like a Thermapen ONE is going to register every little change in temp...it will never settle down and stabilize! Your lid thermometer, assuming it's accurate (test it in boiling water), is slower to react and gives you sort of an average temp, which is much more useful as a directional indicator of what's going on inside the cooker.

You don't say how you built your fire. I suggest the Minion Method linked above.

I know people think water is a hassle, but it moderates temperature and the WSM is, after all, a water smoker. I would suggest using a gallon of hot water in the pan at the beginning of the cook, then not adding any more.

Run the cooker around 250*F. Don't worry if it fluctuates +/- 25*F. With water, I think you'll have a hard time getting much above 275*F.

Don't worry about bringing the cooker up to 250*F before adding meat. Light using the Minion Method, add the water to the pan, add the meat, open the vents fully and then start closing the bottom vents partially as you start to reach 225*F, shooting for and maintaining 250*F. Spareribs trimmed St. Louis style should take 5-6 hours. They'll be done when measuring between 180-195°F between the bones with your Thermapen ONE, and confirm with the tear test.

Good luck!

-----

An example of my spareribs cooked in the WSM...this article tells how I setup the cooker. It says I used cold tap water, but if doing that cook today I'd use hot water.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Spareribs - Sugarless Texas Sprinkle - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Pork spareribs prepared St. Louis style, seasoned with Sugarless Texas Sprinkle Barbecue Rub, and smoked in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

spareribs-sugarless-texas-sprinkle-9.jpg
 
What Chris said, don’t chase the ten degree fluctuation, also open and spritzing all the time is going to play hell with stability.
I set it up, light is up and leave it alone! Every time you open it up it gets a massive fresh air input which will clearly spike temps. Learn from this one, and move on, it gets easier the more you do it.
 
Like Chris said....

My first couple of cooks, I kept checking temperature at the lid, and in the wsm & inside the meat.
These days, I just use the thermometer in the lid. And I don't care much if it fluctuates. Most meat is allowed to sit between 100 & 125 oC (212 & 260) Under 100 (212 F), I act and open a vent slightly.
Over 135-140 (I275-285) close a bit.
Chicken is allowed much hotter.
Thats just my way. I can be real lazy.

One big thing to remember is: meat is done when it is done. Every slab of meat is a bit different.

Back to chicken:
My best one was probably the one I forgot as I was chatting and generally having a good time. Never realising the wsm temperature had dropped big time. The chicken took ages, but was beautifully tender & just right in smoke (or maybe it was the beers I had ;) )
 
Anne M. said:
Like Chris said....

My first couple of cooks, I kept checking temperature at the lid, and in the wsm & inside the meat.
These days, I just use the thermometer in the lid. And I don't care much if it fluctuates. Most meat is allowed to sit between 100 & 125 oC (212 & 260) Under 100 (212 F), I act and open a vent slightly.
Over 135-140 (I275-285) close a bit.
Chicken is allowed much hotter.
Thats just my way. I can be real lazy.

One big thing to remember is: meat is done when it is done. Every slab of meat is a bit different.

Back to chicken:
My best one was probably the one I forgot as I was chatting and generally having a good time. Never realising the wsm temperature had dropped big time. The chicken took ages, but was beautifully tender & just right in smoke (or maybe it was the beers I had ;) )
Click to expand...
Interesting how the cocktail hour can let one’s mind wander, isn’t it? Happens to me now and again, probably to more than many others will admit too.
 
Steve Tiilikainen said:
My used WSM didn’t come with a water pan; it had a fire dial. Is that going to control temps enough?
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I don’t believe so. It makes sense now to me from your rib pics. Your ribs are too dry which indicates direct heat above 300° for prolonged time.

Read the reviews to see if you can glean more info on how to use your fire dial. I am not familiar in cooking with this product. I always used the water bowl.


IIRC I’ve read on these forums of people using clay pots as water pans or round trays (pizza pans?) as deflectors. You can use a pizza pan and place an aluminum pan with water in it to help regulate temps more.

Idk if Weber sells the water bowl directly but it’d be worth looking into. I used to heavy foil my water bowl with 5 layers of foil.

After a rib cook, I’d peel off the greasy layers and add back in new foil to aid easy cleanups.

With some sort of heat shield you’ll improve your rib quality lots. To tender and juice ribs.

Here’s some WSK ribs from this Memorial Day cook. You can get the same results in your WSM, just a little extra time will be needed.

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I used to try and put the temp probe on the grate --- but it would always get in the way of the meat..... Then I realized that you can put the probe holder UNDERNEATH the cooking rack and not lose cooking area. That has some problems with juices dripping down on it tho....

Thats when I finally realized that the silicone grommet has a hole..... now I just stick my probe in the hole so that it measures ~3" in just above the lower rack - it holds it really nicely. With a dry foiled water pan or heat deflector you're out of the 'ring of heat' around the edges. THATS the temp I go by nowadays and the wireless probe allows me to keep an eye on temps and set an alarm if it starts to runaway. Lid temp is sometimes higher or lower --- I haven't figured out why and have just given up caring - just a visual indicator from a distance now. As long as the 'barrel temp' is 225-300 ---- everything turns out fine - its just a matter of time at that point.
 
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