225° vs 275°

[rwalters]

Which temp do you tend to smoke at and why? If you feel your answer produces a better end result, what is better about it vs cooking at the opposite end of the range? I have long been a 225°ish kinda guy, but am thinking about swinging the other way… lol.

My cookers produce fantastic smoke at both temps, so that is not a concern to me.

For those of you sitting on the fence @ 250°, you’re not gonna be of any help to my question [emoji12]

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Pends what I am doing Salmon at 150 Pulled pork, brisket and ribs 225-235 I do this on my Large BGE

 

[Mikhail]

My PK likes to run about 250-275, so that is where I ride. I can get it lower, but it doesn't last as long. Never had much luck with minion method.

 

[NCGrimbo]

I guess I'm no help since I run at 250 degrees. :sad:

 

[Pog Mo Thoin]

I smoked and stressed over 225 for so long. I needed temp probes on both sides of the cook chamber. I checked the cook chamber temperature continually over the smoke because I had to maintain 225. Next, I started stressing over a 5 degree swing. I had to keep it at 225 because that was the given temp for smoking meat. Of course I needed to get up at o-dark'thirty so I could smoke at 225. The food may be done when I needed it; probably not because I smoked at 225.

What a waste of time. Too much stress. Needed too much beer to deal with it. Or, did I create the problem just to drink beer? Humm

Now, I calibrate the temperature on the lid of the smoker I use. If it does not work I get one that works consistently. I never use pit probes. Too much stress. I find what temp the pit I am using likes to run and that is the temperature I run it at. My stick burner likes 250-275 so I smoke at 250-275. If I bugger it up and it goes up to 300, no sweat, it will come down and ride between 250-275 again. If it goes down to 225, no sweat, feed it and it will come back up to 250-275. If I run my Yoder, always 250-275. Generally a 250 start and adjust up after a wrap or as needed.

In a nutshell, I do not notice any difference in the quality of the meat I smoke between the traditional 225 to a more higher heat like 250-275. The benefits of a faster smoke, less stressful day of smoking, and generally having the meat done with time to rest and have for a meal are perfect for me. I won't go back to 225.

 

[TheHojo]

I smoked and stressed over 225 for so long. I needed temp probes on both sides of the cook chamber. I checked the cook chamber temperature continually over the smoke because I had to maintain 225. Next, I started stressing over a 5 degree swing. I had to keep it at 225 because that was the given temp for smoking meat. Of course I needed to get up at o-dark'thirty so I could smoke at 225. The food may be done when I needed it; probably not because I smoked at 225.

What a waste of time. Too much stress. Needed too much beer to deal with it. Or, did I create the problem just to drink beer? Humm

Now, I calibrate the temperature on the lid of the smoker I use. If it does not work I get one that works consistently. I never use pit probes. Too much stress. I find what temp the pit I am using likes to run and that is the temperature I run it at. My stick burner likes 250-275 so I smoke at 250-275. If I bugger it up and it goes up to 300, no sweat, it will come down and ride between 250-275 again. If it goes down to 225, no sweat, feed it and it will come back up to 250-275. If I run my Yoder, always 250-275. Generally a 250 start and adjust up after a wrap or as needed.

In a nutshell, I do not notice any difference in the quality of the meat I smoke between the traditional 225 to a more higher heat like 250-275. The benefits of a faster smoke, less stressful day of smoking, and generally having the meat done with time to rest and have for a meal are perfect for me. I won't go back to 225.

Amen - my philosophy exactly. My new smoker likes to run between 250 and 275 - sometimes jumps to 300 - but like you said, it will come back down and settle in to its sweet spot. I do enjoy the fact things come off the pit sooner and ample rest time prior to eating.

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

What was all the original hype about smoking at 225*? Was it just the idea of the cook will take longer so there is more time to take on smoke?

I run my WSM at 275ish and it generally likes that temp. Tried 225* when I first started smoking and it seemed like a lot of work to try to keep temps that low. Based on advice from here now I let it run where it likes and that is normally close to the 275*.

 

[NickTheGreat]

Camp 275 for sure. It's faster and I can't tell any noticeable difference in the end result.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I used to run at 225 and I still occasionally do if the timing will work out better. I've kicked up to 275 though for a lot of things. I find that fat renders better at this temperature. For a fatty prime brisket or beef ribs, I think you have to cook hotter.

 

[Mikhail]

I think you have to remember that 275 is still a very low temperature for slow cooking. Even 325 is considered a slow oven.

 

[K-Train]

300. 225 is way to low and waaaay to slow for me. That's just me though, cook at the temp you want.

 

[Greygoose]

I think Pog’s synopsis is spot on,,,
I follow his technique religiously,,,,
And I don’t run out of beer too too often,,,,

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

I think the original idea is that 225 isn't much over the boiling point of water. But that's exactly the problem with it. The stall can be brutal at 225. I've had briskets stall for 6 hours. You get a stall at 275 but it's not nearly as bad.

 

[Bob O Q Shawtee]

I don't find it matters when using the griddles you list but here's what i do with my stick burner. What started as a Texas off-set has been made hybrid by adding tuning plates and a secound stack. Small loads and up to brisket size is usually done conventional offset at 275-300. Heavy loads,large and thick cuts like roast, turkey, ham, and shoulder are done reverse flow 225. To get a rare center rib roast,I go with 325 and shorter cook. Like others,I found it difficult maintaining 225 before adding reverse flow options.

 

[glitchy]

245° on the MAK because of the fan logic, 275° on my WSCG. I’ll let you know where the KBQ lands down the road. I do know I don’t like food off the WSCG smoked at 225 near as well as 275, probably because the WSCG is so efficient and coals really smolder at the lower temps creating more dirty smoke.

 

[robertm]

No idea why, but for traditional offsets many simply seem to like to run at about 275. Since this is where the cooker likes to be it's the best temp to run.

The only discernable difference I see between 225 and 275 for an offset is time bathed in smoke. A brisket will be smoked longer before the wrap at 225 than 275 assuming both are wrapped at same internal temp. I know some guys will run first 3 hrs at 250 then bump up to 275 just to get extra smoke time.

 

[Smoke Dawg]

I run at 227° unless I want to cook faster then I bump it up to 268°

 

[frayedend]

I go 275. But in my offset it fluctuates and I let it drop to 225 before I run out to add more wood, even lower sometimes. One thing funny about BBQ is how we try to keep the temp perfect the entire cook. But if you put a probe in your oven and set it to 300 you will see it dip and rise sometimes as much as 50 degrees.

I used to think 225 would be better as the meat wouldn't get too hot too fast and lose it's moisture. But I've found hotter actually seems to make my meat juicier.

 

[smokeisgood]

I run at 250 for everything but chicken.

 

[ssv3]

275 to 325. Haven't smoked at 225 probably since when I first started smoking. Better results at 275 as I feel like temps too low draw out the moisture of the meats. Plus it's done faster.