Hi Everybody-
I have the #1 and have done 4 smokes so far. First three with poultry and 4th with a small (3 pound) brisket. I am happy with my progress with playing with wood types/amounts. My problem is that the meat does not seem to get to the desired internal temperature.
Most recent example, my 3# brisket. I brined it overnight. I figured on 1.5 hours per pound. Put a pan of water in the floor of the box, a regular size foil loaf pan maybe 1/3 full. Used a dual probe ThermaPro and the box temp seemed to be reading correctly. The meat stalled 2.5 hours in at 159-161 for 4 hours! ??? I was determined to let it ride and it did inch up to 175 but I was going for 191 IT. After 9 hours (for a 3# brined brisket!!) I gave up and pulled it and let it rest for 2 hours. It was done and tender in the thick part (where my temp probe was) but predictably dry in the thin part.
The meat not appearing to come to temp is a recurring theme for me. One smoke I did chicken breasts and waited for the temp to read 165 using my ThermaPen. It never read above 160 but I have been cooking chicken breasts forever and knew they were done....pulled them and they were of course done. My ThermaPen has worked like a charm in other situations and I do check it from time to time against boiling water.
Other variables may include the hot weather conditions I am smoking in? N TX summers can be brutal. Maybe I am not probing correctly? The dual probe I used last I simply stuck the end of the probe into the thickest part of the meat. Maybe I need to "tunnel" it into the meat more for greater contact area?
All of my smokes have run way longer than I expected based on the knowledge I have gathered from this forum, which is a real bummer. I'm pretty sure my IT is being hit at a time earlier than I am apparently able to detect. Any sage advice?
I have the #1 and have done 4 smokes so far. First three with poultry and 4th with a small (3 pound) brisket. I am happy with my progress with playing with wood types/amounts. My problem is that the meat does not seem to get to the desired internal temperature.
Most recent example, my 3# brisket. I brined it overnight. I figured on 1.5 hours per pound. Put a pan of water in the floor of the box, a regular size foil loaf pan maybe 1/3 full. Used a dual probe ThermaPro and the box temp seemed to be reading correctly. The meat stalled 2.5 hours in at 159-161 for 4 hours! ??? I was determined to let it ride and it did inch up to 175 but I was going for 191 IT. After 9 hours (for a 3# brined brisket!!) I gave up and pulled it and let it rest for 2 hours. It was done and tender in the thick part (where my temp probe was) but predictably dry in the thin part.
The meat not appearing to come to temp is a recurring theme for me. One smoke I did chicken breasts and waited for the temp to read 165 using my ThermaPen. It never read above 160 but I have been cooking chicken breasts forever and knew they were done....pulled them and they were of course done. My ThermaPen has worked like a charm in other situations and I do check it from time to time against boiling water.
Other variables may include the hot weather conditions I am smoking in? N TX summers can be brutal. Maybe I am not probing correctly? The dual probe I used last I simply stuck the end of the probe into the thickest part of the meat. Maybe I need to "tunnel" it into the meat more for greater contact area?
All of my smokes have run way longer than I expected based on the knowledge I have gathered from this forum, which is a real bummer. I'm pretty sure my IT is being hit at a time earlier than I am apparently able to detect. Any sage advice?