Smoker temp. spike

wickedbbq'r · Aug 31, 2009

Had another practice run yesterday, as we are getting ready for our first competition. I was about 2 hours into my pork ribs, when I added additional wood chunks into the fire box. The temp. normally would go up a bit, but this time it jumped from 225 to 300. I closed the vents and cracked the lid, but it took longer than I would have liked for the temp. to go down. As a result, the ribs finished earlier than when they normally should have. What should I do if this happens again? Thanks!

Lake Dogs · Aug 31, 2009

For about 10 minutes after adding wood you really need to watch the thermometer close. We also did a run though this weekend on a new cooker to us and I had a new
team member working with us. He was surprised to see how quickly it can jump.

Otherwise, you did fine. Choke 'er down.

Lake Dogs · Aug 31, 2009

Early on teams want to get sleep during BBQ time. You'll want two people awake the whole time tending the fire, CLOSELY.

Best of luck.

MilitantSquatter · Aug 31, 2009

If it spikes way too high,and you don't think you can recover the temps in reasonable time period, you can remove some of the lit coals/wood with proper equipment (ex.ash pan, gloves, tongs, small fireplace shovel etc).

Divemaster · Aug 31, 2009

MilitantSquatter said:
If it spikes way too high,and you don't think you can recover the temps in reasonable time period, you can remove some of the lit coals/wood with proper equipment (ex.ash pan, gloves, tongs, small fireplace shovel etc).

The only problem is that you would also have to keep the fire box open which is going to give it more O2 and therefore kick up the heat even more...

If it is early enough on the cook, you can also remove the ribs part way through the cook and then put them back on... Dangerous but it has worked for us in the past....

The Pickled Pig · Aug 31, 2009

Douse the coals with water or beer to bring temps down in a hurry.

musicmanryann · Aug 31, 2009

The Pickled Pig said:
Douse the coals with water or beer to bring temps down in a hurry.

Seriously? Wouldn't one be afraid of creosote/ash tainting the meat?

Since we use WSMs if a cooker gets away from me by that much I will either switch the meat to a different cooker (if available), or add ice water to the water pan. It brings down the temp real quick.

The Pickled Pig · Aug 31, 2009

musicmanryann said:
Seriously? Wouldn't one be afraid of creosote/ash tainting the meat?

It depends on the type of smoker and would be less of an issue on an offset.

If you're concerned about it, take your meat out of the cooker when you douse the coals.

musicmanryann · Aug 31, 2009

The Pickled Pig said:
It depends on the type of smoker and would be less of an issue on an offset.

If you're concerned about it, take your meat out of the cooker when you douse the coals.

Ah that makes sense. Thanks.

wickedbbq'r · Sep 1, 2009

Thanks for the tips. The smoker normally holds and maintains the temperature very well. I think I left the vent open to much after adding the chunks. I'm just glad it happened in practice. Now I have some ideas on how to handle it if it happens again. Thanks!

Smoker temp. spike

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