Rookie Errors "What are they"

I had a hard time understanding the fact that a fire will smother if you do not have anywhere for the ash to go. I was also very impatient during the early cooks and opened the lid too often.
 
excellent thread.. Winemaster, thanks, great idea.. Roadmapping this one.





Oh..

Dont soak the wood chunks, chips, logs..

If you do, dont cook chicken over soaked wood chunks... a darker cut of meat would be better at hiding the soot.
 
Too Much smoke seems to be a mistake made by most. Thanks to all who posted so far. I think it helps alot. I want to keep getting better and with all you pro's, there is no need to make mistakes. Thats the way I teach people how to make the best wine possible. Dont make repeated errors and have fun.

Cheers Dan
 
AZPete said:
First mistake I remember making was adding too much wood to my pit. I was thinking what most people do... more wood/more smoke better Que but ended up making some bitter food that tasted like chit.
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I'll second that
 
Beer control which leads to smoke control, wood or charcoal control, and temp control.
 
Some great stuff here...great post!
I remember back when I first started using an offset, One major problem I ran into was not paying close enough attention to the "fall" I had on my pit when I set it up. I had it filled with shoulders on day and all the grease drained into the firebox.....needless to say...."houston we have a problem" I was still pretty green then and it took me a while to figure out I needed to shut off the air to the fire.....I opened the main chamber door of the pit and nearly lost my eyebrows....not to mention alot of good pork:mad:...Lesson learned....the hard way...
Just a year or so ago I had a couple guys I had been training on the smoker (Texas Legend),I was out of town for a couple days and they had about 800 lbs. of Leg quarters on the pit.......yep you guessed it !! I recieved a frantic phone call at about 7:00am saying there was a fire and about 1/4 of the chicken had been burned up!!:eek:.......another lesson learned...Note to self...remember to harp more on the newbies about which way GREASE DRAINS!!!! BTW it drains the same direction as CHIT rolls...If you know what I mean:biggrin:
 
Sticking too much to a recipe or a timeline rather than paying attention to what the meat is saying.

My nemesis is that I'm always putting too much spice in my rubs or sauces, I love things hot, but my guests don't tend to!
 
Um, 3rd Eye and Mista are preaching to the choir.

My strengths: not opening the door, unless I have to release some heat.
Cooler method at the right time. Damn I've been lucky with this.
Nite before planning, rubbing, injecting, and wood soaking.

My weaknesses: thinking I can do too much during a smoke, ie errands chores etc. Whatta dumb chit I can be here. Last weekend I blew a butt something terrible. Like 3rd Eye says, everyones gonna be so nice to you about your q they won't say anything but the positives.
Maybe they all know how fragile I can be......which is why I ain't cookin fer none a you bretherens anytime soon.....
 
Single Fin Smoker said:
Nite before planning,...
Click to expand...

To me that is a big key. Especially if it is still dark, and you have a time to eat plan.
I have everything laid out on the counter, the smoker ready and lined with foil, charcoal all set up, thermometers ready to go, etc.
All I have to do is get up, take the meat out, light the fuel, prep the meat, and put it on.
I start stressing out if I have to run around looking for this or that.
 
Man! I've done all these screw-ups. Probably time was the biggest one for me. An awful lot easier to rest in a cooler for a while than trying to rush things up while you've got 25 people standing around wanting to eat and all the other sides are done and on the table.
 
Ive been making Q for a few year now and it always seems that the first of the season is well lets say "Not My Best" that is why I wanted a refresh now so I dont have to share 25lbs of crappy Q with the neighbers dog that I hate.

P.S. He eats it all Then Throws up. Dont know if its the bad cookin or he is just a puss. Either way I Win.

Cheers Dan
 
Wow,

I'm feeling a little paranoid. Have you guys been monitoring my Q-ing? Sometimes I think that if there's a mistake to be made, I'll be the one to make it :)
 
With "Time" being one of the most seen problems isnt a Butt done at 170 degrees and if pulling or chopping you could extend cooking time in the cooker by 2-3 hours before 190 or so.What Im trying to say is, on a lot of Que, Isnt there a pretty big window from when it gets done, Till the time that its overdone. This said, knowing that your not too hot or throwing any or little smoke to the meat?
 
WineMaster said:
With "Time" being one of the most seen problems isnt a Butt done at 170 degrees and if pulling or chopping you could extend cooking time in the cooker by 2-3 hours before 190 or so.What Im trying to say is, on a lot of Que, Isnt there a pretty big window from when it gets done, Till the time that its overdone. This said, knowing that your not too hot or throwing any or little smoke to the meat?
Click to expand...

I don't know about the 170 temperature. I tend to take mine up to 190-200 or so for pulling (or when the bone will come out clean) and for slicing, maybe 185 or so....not a real precise number for that.

I've also seen butts hang around 160 for alot longer than expected before the temperature starts to rise. I think that's why alot of people will say not to go by just temperature and/or time, but by feel and the way the meat reacts to the touch and how easily a probe will slide in and out. Once you get a feel for that, you can fine tune things.

Each cut of meat cooks at it's own pace and behaves differently than the one before, which is why things like temps and times are a general guide and not precise. I think that has alot to do with it being art and not science....
 
backyardchef said:
Each cut of meat cooks at it's own pace and behaves differently than the one before, which is why things like temps and times are a general guide and not precise. I think that has alot to do with it being art and not science....
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
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