This. And the temp plateau when it stalls out in that 175ish range, that threw me the first time with a brisket, you have to be patient and let it get to that 195-205 range.
Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion
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This. And the temp plateau when it stalls out in that 175ish range, that threw me the first time with a brisket, you have to be patient and let it get to that 195-205 range.
I know it goes up to 350 for sure but not sure if it goes any higher than that (I don't think so though). I set it at a couple of settings, started at 200 for awhile and bumped it up to 250 until I was done.
If there's a con to this particular Pit Boss smoker it would be the temp setting though as they tend to jump in 50 degree increments.... 150° -> 200°, 250° -> 300° & 300° -> 350°. Might be a little better if you could set it in 25 degree increments.
I have an offset charcoal/wood smoker and getting temp to stay steady is a constant battle. Part of my problem is I bought a cheap one and some day will eventually invest in a better quality one with thicker metal and better design. I still get some awesome bbq off my smoker.but takes a lot more work than a pellet smoker to keep the temp in a reasonable range.
Found a big key is using the right kind of woods too. Peach wood goes really well with pork and will throw a little bit of hickory and pecan in with it sometimes to add a little something extra but definitely use mostly apple and peach woods with pork anymore. Much cleaner smoke with less impurities when it burns. Costs a little more to buy peach wood but well worth it IMO.
Got a lot of good info and ideas reading Myron Mixons Smokin book but lately found this guy who has a lot of good videos for those who use offset smokers
I've actually made several mistakes in the past. The biggest though was probably not letting the brisket rest. I was seriously close to throwing in the towel as far as brisket but tried something completely different this time and it was beyond successful for me.
I smoked it until the internal temp was 165. At that point I pulled it from the smoker, wrapped it in butcher paper and put it back on the smoker until the internal temp reach 195. At that point I tossed it into a cooler and left it for about 2 and a half hours before bringing it out and slicing it up. Not only was it tender and juicy but it was still hot as well which kinda surprised me.
I have one. Mine does tend to run a little hot. Cooked a full Packer brisket on it on vacation, barely fit, and what I expected to take about 16 hrs took less than 10, was still delicious. It ran about 50 degrees hot all night unknown to me, and I woke up to the brisket already done. Wrapped and rested in a cooler until it got a little too close to the danger zone temp, about 5 hours, I then put it in a warm oven until time to eat.
Works best at home when I am not motivated enough to fire up the Green Egg for short smokes. The portability is pretty great, but if you aren't buying it for that purpose, I would get a different one.
Me, exactly. Mine was like $200. Lots of gaps and leaks. But I get great results off of it. It just is a high maintenance grill experience, I'm tied to it for 6-10 hours to check/regulate temp depending on what I've got on there.
Good idea on the peach wood, I've never tried it. I always use a combo of hickory/apple/cherry.
I also am perplexed at how a 3 lb brisket took 18 hours at 225F. Just doesn't seem to follow typical smoking logic. Usually it's 1-1.5 hrs/lb.
I was just as perplexed as you are. I didn’t open at all other than to put in, to take out to wrap, to put back in after wrapping, and at the very end. I had a separate wireless thermometer in the grill close to where I placed the meat as this was my first cook and I wanted to see how accurate the Traeger controller was. It stayed constantly between 220 and 230 with a true 225 average.
The internal meat temp was roughly 47 when placed on the grill (sat on counter for 45 mins before putting on grill). When the first stall passed and it hit 165, I quickly took it out of the grill, tightly wrapped in true butcher paper and put back in (out for roughly 3 mins with the grill staying shut during that time).
I’ve never seen anything like it or heard anything like it for that size brisket. I frequent the Traeger forums and similar size briskets typically take 4-7 hrs when going low and slow. That was my expectation with this cut. Clearly it was an abnormality.
pretty sure you defied the laws of thermodynamics on this one and deserve to be in the Einstein thread floating around.
pretty sure you defied the laws of thermodynamics on this one and deserve to be in the Einstein thread floating around.
I made sure to eat every scrap of that brisket - thinking it was either going to turn me into some sort of Middle-Aged Ninja Turtle or be my last meal on earth. So far stuck in between.
I think this was one of those unexplainable cosmic moments like when an image of the Virgin Mary appears in the clouds or something. Congrats.
I've been cutting my racks in half before throwing them on, they were turning out undercooked so this has helped. I blame the blurry on the bourbon.
For pre-seasoned ribs to experiment with, these turned out pretty good. Would have been money with proper seasoning.
What about beef ribs, who here is doing beef ribs?
You are correct. On spare ribs you remove the breast bone and cartilage from the rib section. It takes a sturdy knife.
I just got my Traeger this spring and I've already done 3 rounds of wings. Let them smoke at 225 for about and hour and a half and then crank it up to 350 crisp them up. When I turn it up to 350 I also pull the wings off and sauce them while the temp is increasing. They turn out really well.
I ended up grilling them for a few mins on each side and it worked out great. Got a nice grill char on the outside while the inside was tender and smokey. Will definitely do them again.
