Up to temperature


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Anthony G.

TVWBB Super Fan
It seems to me it takes a long time to "get up to temp". I am using the Minion method and starting with all vents at 100 percent. It's been about 45 minnutes and the temperature hasn't passed 200 degrees.

Am I being impatient?

Conditions: Slight rain (I'm under cover)..Ambient Temp=82 degrees...no wind.
 
I have found waiting to fill the water pan (with very hot water) until the cooker comes up to temp on these types of cooks to be helpful in speeding things up.
 
Anthony

You're being impatient
icon_smile.gif
. It often takes me from an hour to 1 1/2 hrs to get temp up to target range. Maybe one day I'll try Doug's trick, but in the meantime, just pop another "cold one".

Paul
 
Granted I'm very new to the WSM, but in my experience, it depends on the amount of meat I have in there. However, in my first couple of smokes, I had trouble with getting the temps too high too fast (no food on the grates and I left the vents open too long), so I like to just take it slow and easy up to temp and then cut it back when it gets there (1/2 hr to 1 hour for me). Much easier to wait a few more minutes than have to try and fight a hot smoker for a couple of hours.
 
Curtis, you are right. It's much easier to control the temp on the way up than try to bring it back down.If it gets way to hot, you can add some ice to the water pan to help cool it back down to the desired temp. I also add hot water to the pan. Later Bryan
 
I have done two cooks and my experience has been the opposite. Using the MM and 20 or so hot coals (using sand instead of water) my cooker is hitting 200 + in 15 to 20 minutes. As others have pointed out , I have ended up battling to keep temps down 2 to 3 hours into the cook, as the WSM seems to settle in the 270-280 range. This is with all 3 vents closed, and having to shut down the top vent to get things back to the 230-240 range.
I'm doing two 8# butts tonight, and will try the MM w/sand one more time . As has been discussed in other post I'm going to drop back to 15 hot coals to begin with, with 2 bottom vents closed, and the 3rd at 50%. (Top vent open 100% ) and hopefully make adjustments to hold or increase temp on the way up .
Any insight that you might shed on this plan, I would appreciate.
After 2 cooks my comfort level with my WSM is increasing, yet I am defiantely in the learning curve.
But it sure is fun !
 
Scott,

Remember, when your lid temp or your ET-73 is at 190 to start shutting down the vents. If you let it get over the 220 mark it will be a battle to get the temp back down!

I haven't experienced the long ramp up time for the WSM to reach temp. Usually within 45 minuets or less with all bottom vents wide open to start.

I also use sand so Anthony, you might want to give that a try and see if that helps to speed up the process...and Scott, make sure you watch the temp on the way up carefully!! Try less lit coals 12-15 instead of 20 or so!!
 
I am currently cooking a 6lb brisket, using the Minion method. I did not shut the vents until it reached 240 and then it just kept climbing to 270. During the climb I closed ALL the vents to see if this will help reduce the temp, but it did not. So I finally decided to add ice to the water, and now the temp at the top grate is 236. I took the meat off the grill during this battle, I had the meat on for about 45 minutes when the temp seemed to stay around 250.

I seem to have a hard time keeping the temp at the top grate at 230 to 240. I am using the ET-73 thermometer. The meat is now reading 116 after 60 minutes on the grill. Keep in mind that the meat is only 1 inch thick.
 
Mikey

Your pit temp didn't get high enough to cause you a problem with the cook. As you now know, you should have started adjusting the vents to slow the rate of assent around 200 or so. Sounds like you now have it stable and it should be fine. Some people foil at 170, with a little liquid, and take it on to around 200. This would speed it up some and might not be a bad idea with the 1" thick meat. Probably help avoid drying out which can be a problem.

Good luck.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Doug D:
I have found waiting to fill the water pan (with very hot water) until the cooker comes up to temp on these types of cooks to be helpful in speeding things up. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I stumbled onto this one as well. It works well, I just wanted to add (as suggested by Paul G), you can accomplish practically same thing but perhaps a little safer by adding at least a little water initially. Then you're not risking putting water into a screaming hot empty pan. Seemed like a good idea to me.

Temp: if your internal therm is touching or maybe if it's really close to the cold meat you put in that could throw things off for a while.

I think I've had better luck waiting for the coals I'm adding to be ripping hot AND piling them together in a slight depression in the middle rather than spreading them around on the unlit briqs.
 
By very hot water, I mean the stuff that comes out of the laundry sink that's 3 feet from the hot water heater. Coupled with a foil-lined pan, there's not much of a sizzle, if any.
 
ok, thanks Doug, I was worried about steam scalding if I forgot about it for too long but I guess it's not like it's running at 800F or something
 
follow up to my original post. THe brisket came out awesome. I took it out around 172. I then wrapped it in foil and placed it in the oven until 200. It came out tender and tastey. It did not have the nice smoke ring in the meat, but that is another problem.
 
I wasn't impressed with my smoke ring either....the brisket was great though. I started with about 7 good size hickory chunks, then added about three more about half way through the cook.

Think I should be adding more?

Iv'e always heard you should let the meat cook a little while before adding smoke...any suggestions?
 
The smoke ring forms while the meat is below 140*, so the best bet is to hit it with smoke as early as possible.
 
Even though I understand that brisket is my evil nemisis, the perfect brisket smoke ring will only be about 1/4"-3/8" or so. It's not going to look like corned beef.

Was it tasty? Was it juicy? No, don't tell me. I don't want to know. It just hurts too much.

*** still tryin' to get it right ***
 
No matter how low you smoke a brisket, I doubt it will be below 140* long enough for the smoke ring to penetrate deeper than that.
 
There ARE ways to make SURE that you get a very definite smoke ring that have nothing to do with smoke, if you want to cheat a little for cosmetic's sake. That's why the presence or absence of a smoke ring is not considered in KCBS judging - too easy to create one artificially.

Keri C, smokin' on Tulsa Time
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top