So, following cook times and temps, I will never get the finished temp desired. I put a three pound pork butt in my smoker, set it to 225 and after 9 hours, it will barely reach 165 internal temp. I have to wrap it in foil and bump it to 300/350 for a few more hours just so as to not have to wait 2 more days to eat the dang thing!! Am I the only one? Is it my smoker/grill [which has a mind of its own sometimes] WTH? Anyone got any advice/info? TIA
Finished temp?
- Thread starter MrG
- Start date
Jimsmokes
Well-known member
Which model do you have? Check your grate temps.
PB1100PSC2. Check my grate temps? Never heard that one, but then, I'm a novice at this. I will say my pork turned out awesome last night, but I had to babysit it, so....
Jimsmokes
Well-known member
Ok I have the PB1150PS2. I use a separate probe or oven thermometer on my grate beside what I'm cooking. I then set the grill temp to get whatever I want. If I want 250 I might have to set 300+ to get there.
Keep your temp probe on left clean and after a few cooks. Your temp variations should settle down.
Edited to add I use the Inkbird IBBQ-4T to monitor my cooks.
Keep your temp probe on left clean and after a few cooks. Your temp variations should settle down.
Edited to add I use the Inkbird IBBQ-4T to monitor my cooks.
OK, so you're using your grate temp as your setting? Other thing is, I read a while back that the probes that come with the grill aren't all that reliable. So I have a hand held digital probe I use along with the PB probe. So far, they seem to be aligned. And then there's the random temp swing for no apparent reason. My smoker has its quirks, for sure
Jimsmokes
Well-known member
Yes. My final eating temps are always by hand held instant temp.
All 4 of my PB probes are within 5° of my Inkbird. I just cain't trust the app to drive or notify me when not here or asleep.
All 4 of my PB probes are within 5° of my Inkbird. I just cain't trust the app to drive or notify me when not here or asleep.
Cleaning the temperature sensor will help you hold the temperature and it stop’s temperature swings. I clean my grill after each cook.
Hopefully this helps you
Hopefully this helps you
like a brisket the butt will reach a stall you can wrap it or just let it eat but proper smoking take time sometime you never know when things are going to get done in the smoke process .the saying gos good things come to those that wait
hollrusl
Well-known member
Check on the temp inside your smoker. Check your hot zones inside. The readout may be drastically different than the temp where your butt is sitting inside. Also, it’s not uncommon for a butt to stall at that temp and stay there for multiple hours. In fact, I typically let mine sit in still for 3-4 hours before I wrap them anyway. Just my preferred method. Once you hit that temp, you can wrap and bump the temp as you did if you want to speed up the cooking process. You didn’t do anything wrong.
Tym2Fish
Active member
You can set your smoker to 225 but you still have no idea what temperature it is inside the chamber. There are many variables (improperly calibrated internal probe, soot on the probe, location of protein in relation to the heat source, outside air temp, breeze, etc.) so forget about what temp your smoker is telling you. Put a remote probe in it and note the difference. On my 1150, I set it at 240 and my temp in the center is 225. All smokers are different. You may have set your smoker at 225 and it was actually 210 in the center of chamber. So it's gonna take a while to get meat to an internal temperature of 203 when your smoker temp is actually 210.
I grew up staying up all night tending the fire to hold temp on our offset smoker. These pellet smokers make things 1000 times easier but there is still work to be done. No question wrapping the meat at the stall will speed things up. Hit 160-165, wrap in foil and wait until 201-203 and you'll be good. If you want to tighten up the bark just pull the foil and leave it on for another 30 minutes.
I have a 6 probe remote thermometer. About $50 on AMZ. One probe stays in the chamber to measure ambient temp. Each hunk of meat gets 2. Considering the prices at the butcher these days, it's well worth the $50. It has an app where I can set parameters. I set a max alert temp at 300 (in case it catches on fire) and a min alert for 150 (in case I run out of fuel or the power goes out). It'll wake me if things get weird overnight. Highly recommend for long cooks.
We've come a long ways since my days growing up in South Carolina. Here I am 50 years later sleeping while my smoker holds temp. What a life...
I grew up staying up all night tending the fire to hold temp on our offset smoker. These pellet smokers make things 1000 times easier but there is still work to be done. No question wrapping the meat at the stall will speed things up. Hit 160-165, wrap in foil and wait until 201-203 and you'll be good. If you want to tighten up the bark just pull the foil and leave it on for another 30 minutes.
I have a 6 probe remote thermometer. About $50 on AMZ. One probe stays in the chamber to measure ambient temp. Each hunk of meat gets 2. Considering the prices at the butcher these days, it's well worth the $50. It has an app where I can set parameters. I set a max alert temp at 300 (in case it catches on fire) and a min alert for 150 (in case I run out of fuel or the power goes out). It'll wake me if things get weird overnight. Highly recommend for long cooks.
We've come a long ways since my days growing up in South Carolina. Here I am 50 years later sleeping while my smoker holds temp. What a life...
