Where did I go wrong


 

W Terry

New member
This was only my 4th cook on my WSM 18.5. I have done 2 smokes of ribs and one of a boston butt and they all came out great. No real issues controlling temps and keeping it around 225 (from the weber temp guage). The first three cooks I used water in the pan but after reading a lot on this forum I decided this time I would go with just a foiled water pan for ease of cleanup and less fuel wasted.

I also received this week my maverick et-73, and my auber auto temp control unit so tonight I was going to attempt an overnight cook of a 6.5lb boston butt. I did my usual routine, K-comp full ring, 6 pieces of apple/hickory (3 each). light 30 K-comp in the chimney started and spread everything around. well after I assembled everything the WSM shot up to 350+ and I was having a **** of a time getting it down so I resorted to filling the water pan which has helped. What I don't get is my probes (1 from the et-73 clipped onto top grate and 1 from the auber auto temp control unit clipped on top grate both show about 270 now) they were 350 earlier. My weber lid thermometer shows about 225 so I'm confused as to what temp to believe or go by. If I am trying to cook low and slow at 225, wouldnt that be at the grate level? What can I do next time so that it doesn't sky rocket to 300+? I really want to get away from water so maybe light fewer pieces in the chimney?

I have the Auber ATC set to 225, so hopefully eventually it will burn down to that level and it will turn out ok. This is my first cook using all these fancy temp control units and et-73. All the other cooks I used the built in lid thermometer to try to stay around 225 and it worked ok. Help this poor confused soul. Much thanks in advance.
 
Hi Terry.

The water acts as a heat sink. I've cooked with both many times. If I have time I use water 3 racks of ribs will take me 5-6 hours at 225-250. If I don't have time the pan remains empty and cook the ribs at 275 and they are done in 3 hours. No foil in either scenario, I don't spray like many do. I find that managing the temperature with water is a lot easier then managing the temperature without water.

If you have added water to the pan expect your temperature to get to 250 which is not that far from 270. I would have choked the WSM and closed the top vent to half and played with the bottom vents to get close to my target temp then I would have thrown the meet on which would act as a heat sink. You should have had a good 30 degree drop once the butt went on. Your target temp is 225, if you are using the Auber set it at 225 with a 3 degree offset so that the fan kicks in and minimizes overshoot. Open the top vent and close all of the bottom vents with the exception of the vent that you are hooking the blower to and tape off the other two. Rely on the Auber and ET73 probes, don't worry about the Weber thermometer. You have the built in safety of water and the Auber temperature control unit. I've seen postings on here where people claim to have the same temperature at the top of the dome and at the grate and some have had a 60 degree change. It's gonna take you around 10 to 13 hours depending on your butt and weather. If you were running such a hot temp you could have done a 5 hour butt especially at 350.

I actually purchased the Auber unit recently, I plan on using it next weekend, I did some testing on it this week to calibrate it. Its a nice piece of equipment, very sturdy fan, what are your thoughts on it?
 
Well the Auber is working perfectly. I dialed it in at 225 once I finally got my temps under control and put the boston butt on about 9:30pm last night. Dogs woke me around 6am to go out and it was still reporting 225 on the PDI. Went back to bed and at 9:30am it is still at 225. I am running low on fuel though so I had to add a few more pieces. I think that is because of running so hot in the beginning. Still a few more hours I think since the meat is only at 168 right now.

I think next time I try no water in the pan I need to use fewer coals to light it and bring temp up slowly. 30 pieces fully light just went crazy on it. I think I also messed up because I was focused on the Auber install and forgot all the other vents were open 100%. Should have had them all closed. Live and learn right.

For the price I think the Auber is an awesome addition! well worth the money to be able to sleep not worrying about the temp. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other units, but my ET-73 has dual probes so I got that covered. It does what it advertises and it is a local company here in GA so I like to support local companies.
 
I usually start with 20-25 lit charcoal lit over a full charcoal ring, I leave the vents open until I get to within 10 degrees of my target temperature and then put on the meat, it always settles nicely, the fire is gonna wanna keep burning but the meat will act as a heat sink. I always leave the top vent 100% open and I will reduce the bottom vents to 1/3, even less if wind is an issue on the vent that's getting the wind. I continue to monitor the temp for an hour playing the vents as needed depending on where the temp is going. Usually my temps are stable after an hour. It has been my experience that when I do butts I go to bed when I'm steady at 245-250, when I wake up the next morning I usually get a 15-20 degree drop, I will then play with the vents again until I am the desired temperature. I can't wait to use my Auber. Did you use the alarm function to notify you that your temps are low? Did you calibrate your unit? I was off by 2 degrees and calibrated, now its spot on at 212 when I boil water.
 
I checked it against boiling water and it was off by 1-2 degrees so I figured I'd roll with it. I may calibrate it down the road, but 1-2 isn't much. I am also using a Maverick et-73 1 probe in the meat, and one on the top rack. I get 3-5 degree diff between the et-73 and Auber for pit temp. I think the maverick is off though. It was over 212 when I dunked it in boiling water. I will probably calibrate that one for sure.

I usually light the grill the same way you described but this was the first time I tried w/o water in the pan - just foiled over the entire pan and the temp immediately went over 300. Settled around 350, once I realized I had left all the vents open I shut them all down and about an hour or so later I got it down to where I needed. With the auber you will have all the vents closed and the two holes on the side you install the Auber will be taped over. It really does a fantastic job controlling temps. I just went out and ramped it down to 200 as my meat temp gets closer to 190. May take some time for it to drop that low, but I'm getting ready to go run some errands and don't want it to go above my 190 temp.
 
The first two butts I did I pulled at 190, wrapped in hd foil and towel and placed it in a cooler to hold for a couple of hours and noted that it was mushy like tuna fish, I now pull at 183-185 and let it sit for a couple of hours and its perfect. I like my pulled pork stringy but with some texture not mushy. I cam e across a link where someone used electrical cover cap that pits perfectly over the holes in the vents, its better then using the tape but more permanent. If I come across it I will send you the think, it looks really good. I'm not sure if I came across it on tvwbb. I plan on getting the new ET732, I wonder if the 300 feet of range is accurate as advertised. Before buying the auber I reached out to Suyi with Auber and I asked him if they were working on a meat probe and temperature control control system like the stoker, he did not deny it, so I think its in the works.
 
That would be awesome, especially since they are right down the street from where I live. My butt is about ready to come off, took a little longer than I thought but it was 6.5lbs. Hope it tastes as good as it looks. I have to admit I am very impressed with my first use of the Auber.
 
Just pulled it off and it looks amazing. Pulled it at 185, wrapped in HD foil, two towels and it is sitting in a cooler for a few hours. Can't wait to pull it. Will get to try my new Bear Paws.
 
Let me know how the pulled pork turned out. I'm interested to see what the consistency of the pork is. Make sure to take pictures. I need to get me some bear claws, I've always liked pulling it by hand.
 
I will no doubt. I picked up 3 more slabs of baby backs today and a flat part of a brisket. I am ready to keep on smoking!
 
By the way the plugs are called Knock Out Seals, they snap right into the openings into the vent. If I find the picture with it applied to the WSM I will forward to you. It looks nice & professional and less then $2.00 and you don't have to mess with the tape. Just measure the diameter of the vent hole and get the ones that match the size. Here is the link http://www.homedepot.com/Elect...0051&catalogId=10053. Don't forget Home Depot has a sale on K blue bag, twin pack of 20 lbs or 40 lb total for 10.97, less then .30 a pound. Stock up unless you think they will be cheaper for Memorial Day.
 
Did you measure the opening vent holes? I measured mine and they 3/4 of an inch, and I have a WSM 22. Here is the link for the knock outs they also go by metal hole plugs. The link shows that he used 3/4 inch plugs as well on his WSM 18 like yours. It looks good. How did your butt turn out? Do you have picks of your butt?

I'm sorry for giving you the wrong name of the plug. If you bought it at HD you should able to return them.
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...0069052/m/3530019885
 
No problem, already returned. Will try to track the other ones down. I forgot to take pictures which is a shame because the bark was the best I have produced to date. I will be doing ribs and a brisket later in the week so I will remember to take pics of those. Everyone said it tasted awesome so that is a good sign. We made a homemade South Carolina style sauce to go ontop of it which was excellent as well.
 

 

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