Positioning ET-732 grate probe in a 22.5" kettle...false temp readings.

[Roguejim]

I've been using a 2-2 fuse to maintain a fairly consistent 280-295F temp. I try and keep the dome vent opposite the hottest coals, but am not sure where to put the grate probe. How do I avoid false grate readings?

[Fwismoker]

First keep it away from any cold meat...secondly you can clip it to the underside of the grate to keep it out of the way all together.

[Roguejim]

It's not a matter of it being in the way, but rather keeping it away from the dome vent where temps read cooler, and also keeping it away from the lit fuse where temps read hotter. As the fuse burns along, I also try and turn the dome to keep the vent opposite the fire. Tricky.

[Teleking]

Learn to cook old school

[Roguejim]

Learn to cook old school

Define your term for me, please.

[MJ_Tenn]

Learn to cook old school

Not very helpful

[gtr]

Define your term for me, please.


I'm guessing he means cooking without the use of devices, like using your hand over the vent to determine the heat level, etc.

It can take a little getting used to at first, but I personally prefer just kinda feeling things out. I will occasionally use Maverick, iQue, etc. but I don't trust them entirely. I've seen many cooks on these pages that have been ruined by relying on a device rather than looking at the meat and the fire directly. That said, everybody has their own way of doing things and different things work for different people & the end result is what really counts.

[Teleking]

Toss the electronics in the trash and learn how to run your pit as if you lived in the 1800's "old school". I'll admit I have a $5 analog turkey fryer therm on the UDS for reference but the kettle grills got nothing.

[Fwismoker]

It's not a matter of it being in the way, but rather keeping it away from the dome vent where temps read cooler, and also keeping it away from the lit fuse where temps read hotter. As the fuse burns along, I also try and turn the dome to keep the vent opposite the fire. Tricky.

LOL, If you try to analyze this stuff to the ridiculous it'll drive you crazy. Relax and don't chase temps. If you want to use a maverick then put it in the middle and be done with it. If food is in the way then clipping the probe to the bottom works i've done it many times.

Anymore i just want a general idea of the pit temp but in the end it don't matter. Best advice keep things simple and leave the maverick on the shelf for most cooks.

[Roguejim]

Got it. Point taken. But, I don't believe anyone here cooks circa the 1800s, at least not according to the gear lists I see posted.

[MJ_Tenn]

Toss the electronics in the trash and learn how to run your pit as if you lived in the 1800's "old school". I'll admit I have a $5 analog turkey fryer therm on the UDS for reference but the kettle grills got nothing.

THAT is a helpful answer!

[DjPorkchop]

I don't measure the heat. I let my cookers run where they run. I can't afford all the gadgets. The only thing i do use is a cheapo ($10) thermometer for poultry. I do have a thermometer on each of my UDS drums but I only use them as a guide for temps. They are pretty much meaningless really.

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

I have a Maverick ET-733 and 732. I use them to keep an eye on my large smokers but never as a true gauge of cooking. Use look and feel. and then again sometimes I don't use them at all. But I never use them in either one of my kettles. That is strictly hand over the vent or coals, look and feel of the meat. And I know you will think this is crazy but in my 48" offset, I know when my brisket is done by the smell coming from the stack.

Best of luck to ya. If you decide to run with the Maverick in the kettle I hope you find the sweet spot. Then pass it along.

[Roguejim]

"Hand over the vent."
"Anymore i just want a general idea of the pit temp but in the end it don't matter."
"I don't measure the heat. I let my cookers run where they run."

I'm going to remember this the next time someone starts barking about their new Thermapen, or Guru! It don't matter!!:-o

[robert-r]

Myself.... not as talented/experienced as many so I use the probes.
I can cook chickens in my rigs without thermometers or electronics.
Other stuff.... not so much.
If I had to use an unfamiliar rig, I'd be in big trouble.
Would def need the Mavericks or similar.

fwiw - I'd place my grill temp probe away from the edge of the grill grate & in such a way as to be a reasonable measurement of temperatures. Ha!!!

[smoke ninja]

Toss the electronics in the trash and learn how to run your pit as if you lived in the 1800's "old school". I'll admit I have a $5 analog turkey fryer therm on the UDS for reference but the kettle grills got nothing.

Heck, may as well just toss that weber in the trash with the therm and dig a pit and shovel coals into it.

[Smoke®]

If you're cooking indirect, instead of the fuse get a couple of weber baskets or fire bricks and contain the fire on one side and the exhaust vents on the other. The dome temp is much higher than grate temp so someone has to have a very educated hand to serve as a better temp control. If you hook your probe under the grate and hot fat runs on it most likely you'll be buying a new probe. Wrap the coal grate with foil to direct the airflow under the coals and you can keep the temps very accurate. I would like to be smart enough to control the temp instead of the letting the kettle run where it wants to as I may want a long slow cook or a hot fast cook depending on what I'm cooking or to bump up at the end to brown something! Good luck!


I know when my brisket is done by the smell coming from the stack.


I suppose you need to be born with a special schnoz to snort the stack to confirm properly cooked meat but I never learned this amazing technique!

[grantw]

If I have my kettle loaded I stick the wire up through the bottom vent, or you can stick a tooth pick in the meat and clip the probe to that, or you can stick a tooth pick in a potatoe and use that

[NickTheGreat]

Toss the electronics in the trash and learn how to run your pit as if you lived in the 1800's "old school". I'll admit I have a $5 analog turkey fryer therm on the UDS for reference but the kettle grills got nothing.

POSER! I personally like to cook from the 6000 BC times. Just fire. No steel, no grate, no charcoal, no matches, no lighters.

Just mastodon steaks and wood chunks :laugh:

[Roguejim]

Thanks for all the advice. Not sure I'm buying into the "BBQ minimalist school of thought", though.

[ButtBurner]

Thanks for all the advice. Not sure I'm buying into the "BBQ minimalist school of thought", though.

yeah

especially he is telling you this though an internet message board

Not exactly old school communication lol

carrier pigeon or pony express would have been more appropriate.

[bbqmike_ny]

Mine gets put wherever it fits usually, even if you want to not rely on it, its very helpful to have as a backup in case the fire starts dying out, which I have battled on a kettle.

[Orgetorix]

Toss the electronics in the trash and learn how to run your pit as if you lived in the 1800's "old school". I'll admit I have a $5 analog turkey fryer therm on the UDS for reference but the kettle grills got nothing.

Proposing that an experienced pitmaster should be able to run without electronics is one thing, but how exactly do you propose that newbs learn to cook without any reference? Folks just starting out don't know 250 degrees from 400 degrees, and other than trial and error (aka a whole bunch of ruined meat), I'm not sure how you expect that knowledge to be accrued.

[Teleking]

Proposing that an experienced pitmaster should be able to run without electronics is one thing, but how exactly do you propose that newbs learn to cook without any reference? Folks just starting out don't know 250 degrees from 400 degrees, and other than trial and error (aka a whole bunch of ruined meat), I'm not sure how you expect that knowledge to be accrued.

Practice/experience!!! Learn the fire, food, touch, and looks of the cook/pit. You think I have never ruined a cook? I just blasted a pizza in the trash last week and man enough to admit it. Nasty black mess, yep take out! You think cooking didn't start by trial and error 200 300 years ago. Zombie apocalypse what ya gonna do? Like I said I do "cheat" and use a cheap therm on the UDS to see the temp from the window of the house.

All these cooking comp. people don't blame the frying pan or stove/oven for loosing when they set the temp.

Not rocket science here people cook "BBQ" from 225 to 350 or more, let it roll where your cooker wants to run.

[smoke ninja]

^^^^Why suggest for op to go back all old school 1800s style but to you a 20th century dial therm?

[Fwismoker]

Proposing that an experienced pitmaster should be able to run without electronics is one thing, but how exactly do you propose that newbs learn to cook without any reference? Folks just starting out don't know 250 degrees from 400 degrees, and other than trial and error (aka a whole bunch of ruined meat), I'm not sure how you expect that knowledge to be accrued.

You're not going to ruin anything just using the therms that are built onto most grills and honestly you'll learn a bunch more without the electronics...that's just the truth.

I agree practice, trial and error plus experimentation are how you accrue knowledge.

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

If you're cooking indirect, instead of the fuse get a couple of weber baskets or fire bricks and contain the fire on one side and the exhaust vents on the other. The dome temp is much higher than grate temp so someone has to have a very educated hand to serve as a better temp control. If you hook your probe under the grate and hot fat runs on it most likely you'll be buying a new probe. Wrap the coal grate with foil to direct the airflow under the coals and you can keep the temps very accurate. I would like to be smart enough to control the temp instead of the letting the kettle run where it wants to as I may want a long slow cook or a hot fast cook depending on what I'm cooking or to bump up at the end to brown something! Good luck!



I suppose you need to be born with a special schnoz to snort the stack to confirm properly cooked meat but I never learned this amazing technique!
Hey, I missed the very important word "almost" in my post. I don't know exactly. I probe it and pick it up to check before I pull it off. Sorry I missed that word.
But come on now. Lets play nice!

[Q-reps]

Using the maverick probes are a great way to gauge the grate temp. I use them on my kettles. I also like putting a oven temp gauge on the grate. There are pretty accurate and cheap. I have many kettles but don't have Mavericks for all of them. You can also use a candy thermometer and stick it through a vent hole on the lid to gauge the temp. I can usually find the oven temp gauge and candy thermometer at Ace hardware under $10 each. The best part is they don't use batteries.

[Art A]

I like the mavericks because they allow me to monitor my temps without being camped by my smoker. I use them as a guide for meat internal temp and to roughly give me an idea of where my smoker temp is. I don't really care about being exactly on my targeted cooking temp. If I'm shootin' for 225 and she's comfortably running at 250...so be it. It just doesn't seem to make much difference on how the cook comes out. My 2 cents. Good luck.

[Fwismoker]

. If I'm shootin' for 225 and she's comfortably running at 250...so be it.

Now that's being a real gambler or should i say "Maverick" :razz:

[rickv14623]

^^^^ What Art said

[Smoke®]

New guy learning from trial and error. New kettle, build fire, put on $100 brisket, 4 hours later he has burned meteorite. Lesson learned- inedible brisket could have been monitored by thermometer for $20.00. I believe in using the tools available to assist through the learning curve until you become proficient with your cooker.

Hey, I missed the very important word "almost" in my post. I don't know exactly. I probe it and pick it up to check before I pull it off. Sorry I missed that word.
But come on now. Lets play nice!

Josh...I wasn't trying to be rude, I was kind of in awe with the statement and my reply was more in jest for lack of a better explanation. My intent was not to offend!

[Roguejim]

New guy learning from trial and error. New kettle, build fire, put on $100 brisket, 4 hours later he has burned meteorite. Lesson learned- inedible brisket could have been monitored by thermometer for $20.00. I believe in using the tools available to assist through the learning curve until you become proficient with your cooker.



Josh...I wasn't trying to be rude, I was kind of in awe with the statement and my reply was more in jest for lack of a better explanation. My intent was not to offend!

Good example. And even after getting past the learning curve, I see no reason to abandon the tools that got you there.

[Teleking]

^^^^Why suggest for op to go back all old school 1800s style but to you a 20th century dial therm?

Because the Lectronics will chit the bed at some point, then wutch-ya-gona-do? Yeah well I do look out the window every 6 to 8 hours to check the UDS. Weber kettle... We don't need no stinkin badges (err therms). Zombie apocalypse or falling skies alien invasion goes down, how are you going to possibley cook food without blue tooth wireless therms? And I'll say it again, why do you possibly need to know the IT temp of a 10 pound pork butt that will take a minimum of 8 hours to cook 10 mins (or even an hour) after you drop it like it's cold?

P.s if you're dumping a $100 on a brisket you don't know how to cook, carry on. I don't have that kind of disposable income for that or the disposable electronic resources.

I think the next throw down here should be "old school" no therms allowed. I might even dust off my photobucket account for that.

[Fwismoker]

I'm pro old school for many reasons.

1) to me it's more fun and interactive
2) I've learned way way more and continue to learn more. Hard to explain but i do.
3) electronics breaking down will ruin way more meat then folks who don't use them. lol GUARANTEED

[Smoke®]

Because the Lectronics will chit the bed at some point, then wutch-ya-gona-do? Yeah well I do look out the window every 6 to 8 hours to check the UDS. Weber kettle... We don't need no stinkin badges (err therms). Zombie apocalypse or falling skies alien invasion goes down, how are you going to possibley cook food without blue tooth wireless therms? And I'll say it again, why do you possibly need to know the IT temp of a 10 pound pork butt that will take a minimum of 8 hours to cook 10 mins (or even an hour) after you drop it like it's cold?

P.s if you're dumping a $100 on a brisket you don't know how to cook, carry on. I don't have that kind of disposable income for that or the disposable electronic resources.
.

I applaud you for your unrelenting advice that your way is the only way!:clap2:

Maybe you could go old school and grow your own brisket. Have a nice day.