1st Cook w/ BBQ Guru

[Pig Headed]

Used my new BBQ Guru on my WSM for 1st time. Cooked 3 racks babybacks cut in half in rack. Took 4.5 hours. Some of my best ribs yet. I'm very pleased so far with the guru. Had it set half way between 225 & 250. Used lump and cherry chunks. I used a sweet potatoe for the meat probe.

 

[MilitantSquatter]

Ron,

They look great... Not one rib looks bad.... High scores from here !!

 

[fnnm358]

wow those ribs look real good

 

[Blutch]

What's a BBQ Guru and what do you do with a sweet potato?

B

 

[Pig Headed]

The BBq Guru is a microprocessor that controls the temperature in your cooker by using a small fan. Here's the link. The sweet potatoe was used to hold the meat temperature probe since I don't use a probe with ribs. My better half said the potatoe was very good and I could smoke some for her the next time I cooked.


http://www.thebbqguru.com/index.cfm

 

[Rub N Smoke]

Okay so what temp do you use when you use the sweet potatoe when you pull the ribs???:twisted:

 

[Pig Headed]

I don't go by the probe with ribs, I go by feel and look for the meat to pull back from the bones. The only reason that I used the meat probe was to make sure it worked. I fugured that I would mkill twom birds w/ 1 stone. Since I was cooking anyway, why not use the probe and experiement w/ sweetpotatoes as the directions suggested. The probe would normally be used with butts, brisket or other thick meats.

 

[JohnMcD348]

Who here has put one on a Dera or SKD? I was kinda wondering about them from way back in the early days(2 years ago) after I got my SKD. I had thought about getting one after I got my WSM a fewmonths ago but I haven't really seemed to have a problem with getting and mainting temps in the WSM so the idea kinda went along the wayside. I have recently been relooking at the SKD for the new year to start working with it more for the coming year.

 

[smokinbadger]

I've been pretty intriqued by the Guru for some time now, and I've heard of people having good success with them on smokers which by their design require extra effort to maintain temperatures, compared to the heavy iron. I'm referring to ECB's, the Bandera and such.

For those of you with heavier duty pits, do you find the need for, or get any benefit from Guru-like devices?

BTW, the ribs look great!

 

[Pig Headed]

I've only had my WSM a short time and I too have been getting pretty godd results with it. In fact I just got another one, but since I'm getting into comps, I just thought the guru would give me a little down time in the middle of the night.

 

[thirdeye]

I've been pretty intriqued by the Guru for some time now, and I've heard of people having good success with them on smokers which by their design require extra effort to maintain temperatures, compared to the heavy iron. I'm referring to ECB's, the Bandera and such.

For those of you with heavier duty pits, do you find the need for, or get any benefit from Guru-like devices?

BTW, the ribs look great!

I have one for my Eggs, even though an Egg will go 5 or 8 hours without a vent adjustment. The Guru is a bonus when I'm not home or during all nighters. Using the Guru, I have cooked over 20 hours without a single adjustment or adding more fuel. They also have a ramp mode that will shut down the air so your monitored food will not overcook.

This picture was one of the longer cooks and the outside temp was about 5°.

 

[Blutch]

how many hours of smoke in that 20? If you aren't adding fuel in such a long period of time do you have usable smoke for all that time? What kind of fuel are you using that lasts that long.

thanks

B

 

[Rookie'48]

Who here has put one on a Dera or SKD? I was kinda wondering about them from way back in the early days(2 years ago) after I got my SKD. I had thought about getting one after I got my WSM a fewmonths ago but I haven't really seemed to have a problem with getting and mainting temps in the WSM so the idea kinda went along the wayside. I have recently been relooking at the SKD for the new year to start working with it more for the coming year.

Has anyone tried a Guru-type thingy on a BSKD? Will it be worth the $$$ or should I just mortgage the farm & get something else?
Dave

 

[tumpedover]

I've been pretty intriqued by the Guru for some time now, and I've heard of people having good success with them on smokers which by their design require extra effort to maintain temperatures, compared to the heavy iron. I'm referring to ECB's, the Bandera and such.

For those of you with heavier duty pits, do you find the need for, or get any benefit from Guru-like devices?

BTW, the ribs look great!

Been intrigued by them myself....I don't know anyone personally who uses them on an offset type pit. I was just wondering about how they would work on my Lyfe Tyme ???? anyone have a clue????

 

[tjus77]

Been intrigued by them myself....I don't know anyone personally who uses them on an offset type pit. I was just wondering about how they would work on my Lyfe Tyme ???? anyone have a clue????

I'm seriously looking at this one or a Rock's Stoker model for my LyfeTyme. Depends on who has the better adapter. I'm thinking there would be a good four hour burn or better with a full firebox going. Would be like the old days in the resturant.

http://rocksbarbque.com/index.html

 

[thirdeye]

how many hours of smoke in that 20? If you aren't adding fuel in such a long period of time do you have usable smoke for all that time? What kind of fuel are you using that lasts that long.
thanks B

I'm using lump charcoal. Usually Larzarri mesquite with some RO mixed in. I'm guessing that about 8# of lump is what the firebox holds, maybe a tick less. The firebox on these cookers is round with an intake vent in the middle, so I start a small fire there and add a fist sized chunk once the coals are ready.

During the cook, the mesquite lump gives off a bit of smoke flavor on it's own, but as I am filling up the firebox, I take a couple of handfulls of chips and some splits about this size...

and mix them in with the lump. As the fire spreads from the center outward, new wood catches. Kind of a time release thing. Depending on the amount of chips or splits mixed in, you could get smoke for the entire cook. I add enough for about 8 hours or so of smoke.

 

[thirdeye]

Been intrigued by them myself....I don't know anyone personally who uses them on an offset type pit. I was just wondering about how they would work on my Lyfe Tyme ???? anyone have a clue????

The first Guru I ever saw in action was on a big 3 or 4 door horizontal cooker that was catering a block party. This guy had two of the 25CFM fans wired together, but he had a huge firebox. (mine is a 10CFM fan) They sell a universal mount mount for $10 or $15.

 

[Pig Headed]

They have pics of guru's on offsets on their website. They sell different adaptors for different types of smokers. They have fans from 4cfm to 25 cfm. I have the 10cfm, which I think is a little overkill for the WSM, but it's what came with the unit that I bought at a bbq store. I think the total was $220. I just love gadgets.

 

[tumpedover]

They have pics of guru's on offsets on their website. They sell different adaptors for different types of smokers. They have fans from 4cfm to 25 cfm. I have the 10cfm, which I think is a little overkill for the WSM, but it's what came with the unit that I bought at a bbq store. I think the total was $220. I just love gadgets.

interesting I might have to give 'em a closer look!!!


Hey Tjus.... let me know if you get one for your Lyfe Tyme ,and what you find out on that other brand as well!!!

 

[RichardF]

Mission control for my guru set-up. As with anything on the Bandera, you have to work for good results. Be ready to use foil and other things to address the air-leak issues in the firebox. I have the 10cfm fan and if I did it again I'd get the larger fan. Once you have it dialed-in, it works great.