Second smoke and lower than expected temps

[vintner]

Did a Costco 4 pack of thighs that I had brined in PS Seasonings Maple Cure.  I like their products.
Couple things I have learned or am concerned about:
1) Still need to cut back on wood.  It was very close to being right, but a little less would have been better.
2) Need to make sure temp probes are inserted or placed where they work most accurately.
3) Concerned about the low temps.  It never did get up to 250 deg during the smoke.
4) Thighs got a little dried, surprised since it was brined, even in a weak brine it should have been better.  Thinking it is a) probe not placed right so didn't get a good reading, b) temp not getting high to get the food cooked more quickly.

I need to learn this quickly, Thanksgiving is soon approaching.  Since it is a smaller group this year, I am planning on a turkey breast for my contribution.  Sure would be nice if it was good.

BTW-first smoke were chicken wings.  They were pretty much throw away, way too smoky and not done right.

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[old sarge]

I am familiar with too much wood/over smoked meat. If you were looking for crispy skin you would need to put on a grill or under a broiler. Regarding the low temp you experienced, all I can say or ask is make sure the unit you are using to measure temperature is accurate in that it accurately reflects the temp of boiling water and the freeze temp for your location above sea level. Elsewhere on the site are instructions for adjusting your temperature control limb. Good luck.

[vintner]

Thank you for your input, that helps.

I will check my temp probe reading, and will check the placement.  I will also look into adjusting the smoker temperature control.

[old sarge]

Here is the link to adjusting the controller. I hope this helps. http://www.smokin-it.com/v/vspfiles/files/HeatControllerAdjustmentInstructions.pdf

[Nhseacoast]

What I still do not understand: if you have the knob turned as far as it will go to the highest temperature and you still aren't reaching the max temp, ie to the stop of the rheostat, how will adjusting the knob help with improving the max temp? 

[vintner]

I think, if I understand this right (and when I actually do it, I will verify) there is a stop built into the knob.  Reset the stop, and the rheostat goes a little higher or at least gets set the correct temp.

The other thing I am finding out from research on this site is that this is very slow to adjust to the temperature setting.  So if you are starting out at 225 and reaching that temp, and then move to 250, it isn't a 5-10 minute rise, it takes a lot longer.

[DivotMaker]

Don, your problem is not the smoker, or the knob; it's time.  Unless you pre-heat the smoker (which we discourage, but I know some do in certain circumstances), you will not reach 250 in the time it takes to smoke a few thighs!  Surely your smoke of 4 little thighs wasn't longer than about 45 minutes to an hour, was it?

You need to smoke something more substantial, like a good 4-5 lb chicken, that will take several hours.  You are attempting to make a judgment on the accuracy of the smoker's capabilities with a very short smoke.  If you smoke a whole chicken or turkey, I can almost guarantee your results will be fine!

And, seacoast, you are correct.  Adjusting the knob will not make the rheostat go higher; the stops are internal, not in the knob.  All this does is make the temp range more accurate.  When I upgraded my #1 from a 300w element to a 400w, and had to adjust my dial so 225 was right.  It doesn't let it go higher than the mechanical limits of the rheostat itself.

[SconnieQ]

Thighs are very forgiving. They can cook for quite a while and still stay moist. It's kind of hard to overcook them. I disagree with Tony on thighs taking 45 minutes to an hour. They wouldn't be fall off the bone tender at that point. I usually go about 2 hours at 225 for thighs (depending on the size of the thighs), and they are still moist. You want the internal temp to be about 175-180, but it can be tricky getting the probe in a good place without touching bone in individual thighs. I don't brine thighs. They are so naturally moist and flavorful, I don't think they benefit that much from it (and I brine just about everything). Brining would get salt into the meat which is good though. My #1 definitely gets well over 250. I don't think it takes that long to get there either. When I set it to 225, it used to get to 260 on the high end of the temp swing. I've never measured the box temp when I set it to 250, because I'm doing poultry or something, so I just crank it to the max and assume its getting to 250 or higher. Next time I do a 250 smoke, I'll measure the box temp and let you know how high it gets.

[vintner]

Thanks all.

I will be doing a 5-1/2 pound chicken on Sunday, so will be sure to put the probes in the right locations.  Guess I was too used to the masterbuilt, that would get the temp up much quicker.  Hadn't used that in a while as the digital control was the weak point on that.

Now I have a little guy that, well, on shorter smokes I won't really know what the temp is.

Oh well, part of the learning curve.
Took a while to learn the Big Green Egg too.  Model 1 is still challenging me.  And so I do wings, then practice on thighs and hope to get a good meal when the chicken comes out.

[SconnieQ]

I've never had a smoke so short that the box didn't get up to temp. Not even close really. The shortest smoke I do is hot smoked salmon at 200 degrees, and it still gets up to temp long before the salmon gets to 130. I'm still wondering about the accuracy of your ambient probe. Make sure you test it in boiling water and see if it registers around 212. Have you tried just turning it up to 250 with nothing inside except your ambient temperature probe (put a couple probes in there if you have them)? How long does it take before the light goes out on top? And what temperature does your probe show when the light goes out? Have you tried taking out the smoke box, turning it to 250 with the door OPEN. Does the element get red? I don't know how red mine gets to tell you the truth, because I've never looked. But I assume it should get red, and it should be spread evenly.

[vintner]

Update(s)
1) Probe temp testing: Boiling water-214 deg, ice water-39 deg.
2) Empty box temp test (no smoker box or shelves) at 45 minutes in, 289 deg.  That seems to be high, may tick up, but settles around that temp.  That must have triggered the high point, started dropping as I have been writing this.
3) Chicken going in at 1pm (ish).  Using maple chips that have been soaked.  Came from a good source, but about a year old.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

[SconnieQ]

Update(s)
1) Probe temp testing: Boiling water-214 deg, ice water-39 deg.
2) Empty box temp test (no smoker box or shelves) at 45 minutes in, 289 deg.  That seems to be high, may tick up, but settles around that temp.  That must have triggered the high point, started dropping as I have been writing this.
3) Chicken going in at 1pm (ish).  Using maple chips that have been soaked.  Came from a good source, but about a year old.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Sounds like your ambient probe (or was that the food probe) runs a little on the high side, but nothing to be alarmed about. It's close enough. And your box temp getting to 289 when empty sounds about right too, so it doesn't sound like anything is wrong with your element or dial. Let us know how the chicken goes, and what your temps end up doing.