"Let your cooker run where it wants" debate

[pjtexas1]

i see this all the time and while i do see where a new guy should follow this rule. for me i do not follow this rule. i can make any cooker i have ever had run where i want it to run. be it 225 or 350. if my split runs my pit at 225 and i am adding every hour then i can add sooner and run at 275...or i can add 2 splits at a time and run at 325 or use a bigger splits to run hotter. i control the temp by coal bed and fire size. the cooker does not tell me how long i am going to cook my brisket. :heh: to me it is more about knowing your cooker and what type/size fuel and airflow is needed to achieve a certain temp. in my verticals this is even easier by controlling intake/exhaust, using a maze, starting with more or less lit fuel, etc.

what side of the fence are you on? is this one of those old rules like cooking at only 225? is this gospel to you and i am a ranting idiot? :shock:

3...2...1 :boxing::boxing::boxing:

 

[Stlsportster]

Build a UDS!

Oh wait...different debate.

My take is this should be more properly titled....you can cook good BBQ at temps other than 225. Or perhaps...you don't have to keep your cooker at exactly 225 and its ok to have temp swings.

I think the real issue is people get stuck on the concept they need a Guru or something to keep an exact temp in order to get good food. And they think that temp should be 225. A stick burner can run in a 50 degree range (when I cook at 275 its really 250-300) and still produce excellent que. You can also cook at 250 or 275 or 300 or 325 and still make great que.

So I think the 'let your smoker run where it wants' is really 'don't fret about temp swings and be comfortable cooking at various temps'

 

[CptKaos]

It depends

Larry

 

[bonz50]

i get the theory, but I do as you do, and make my fire cook at whatever temp i want it to. if you wanna cook at 275, cook at 275, if you're having a hard time keeping your cook above 225 then change your method a little to get the temp you want.

but this might be an acquired skill. WSM is really easy to control so I might be spoiled by that. I don't even futz around with my vents anymore, I know how much of what to add to make it work for me at the temps I desire.

 

[Beentown]

i see this all the time and while i do see where a new guy should follow this rule. for me i do not follow this rule. i can make any cooker i have ever had run where i want it to run. be it 225 or 350. if my split runs my pit at 225 and i am adding every hour then i can add sooner and run at 275...or i can add 2 splits at a time and run at 325 or use a bigger splits to run hotter. i control the temp by coal bed and fire size. the cooker does not tell me how long i am going to cook my brisket. :heh: to me it is more about knowing your cooker and what type/size fuel and airflow is needed to achieve a certain temp. in my verticals this is even easier by controlling intake/exhaust, using a maze, starting with more or less lit fuel, etc.

what side of the fence are you on? is this one of those old rules like cooking at only 225? is this gospel to you and i am a ranting idiot? :shock:

3...2...1 :boxing::boxing::boxing:

I'm with you.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[LordRiffenstein]

Keep in mind I've only been burning sticks for 1.5 months but I think it is all about knowing your cooker and making 1 adjustment at a time. I always start mine the same (no charcoal) and have now learned I need to start it with less wood because it will hit 400F so I always have to let it come down which is bad news for my coal bed. I have tried a few different sizes of splits, I can't walk away for 45mins yet but I know I will get there when I learn more. I did 2 cooks back to back using same size splits and used the intake damper on the 2nd and could keep it steady around 250 without a problem.

I think the real issue is people get stuck on the concept they need a Guru or something to keep an exact temp in order to get good food.

I had a discussion about this a few weeks ago. An average temp is an average temp, your meat doesn't know if there were temp swings or not. If you cook for 10 hours at 250F steady or you have temp swings but average out at 250F after 10 hours, there is no difference in your cook. It MIGHT make a difference for competition cooking but for backyard cooks it does not. The guy I was talking to did not agree, steady temp is the only way to get great food. :doh::doh:

 

[jermoQ]

But, can you make it run at 247°? :laugh:
IMnotalwaysHO, that is a saying, that means "stop stressing about you temp and just cook". I think it can apply to a Newb or to an experienced Qer.
I think that once you get experience you find out your temp can be adjusted regardless of cooker according to different tweaks you make either in amount of hot coals, temp of coals, when you decide to close the top, etc.

 

[mbrass]

Build a UDS!

Oh wait...different debate.

My take is this should be more properly titled....you can cook good BBQ at temps other than 225. Or perhaps...you don't have to keep your cooker at exactly 225 and its ok to have temp swings.

I think the real issue is people get stuck on the concept they need a Guru or something to keep an exact temp in order to get good food. And they think that temp should be 225. A stick burner can run in a 50 degree range (when I cook at 275 its really 250-300) and still produce excellent que. You can also cook at 250 or 275 or 300 or 325 and still make great que.

So I think the 'let your smoker run where it wants' is really 'don't fret about temp swings and be comfortable cooking at various temps'

Yep. Just this weekend my pit ran anywhere from 225 - 350 (I was sidetracked trying to install a ceiling fan) and the Briskets turned out delicious. I wouldn't suggest that large of a range, but my point is that you don't have be 100% dialed in to a specific number to turn out good food.

 

[BeardedBassGuy]

For me, it's finding the sweet spot of good temp / not burning through wood at an insane rate. I can run my smoker at 325, but the fuel required is more than I want to commit to. Plus I prefer the 225-250 range my smoker likes to be at.

 

[Steve S]

I am of the mind that smoking meat is supposed to be fun. If you are stressing about the exact temperature, that doesnt seem like fun to me. I think there is some wisdom in letting the smoker run where it likes to with the least amount of futzing. The happy zone for my WSM in my setup is 275-325 at the grate. That works for me.

 

[smoke ninja]

The problem comes from when someone wants to cook at a lower temp and they choke down the pit to do so. Some pits have a sweet spot. On my longhorn lower temps can be tricky as its hard to keep a coal bed at lower temps. Its easier to run 275+ so i dont make things harder. My kettle set up doesnt run clean at low temps either. I have it to where i add a certain amount of coals and a water pan and things settle where they need to be. These are two examples of not fighting a cooker. Now most of this is my style. If iearned to do things different i may find optimal temps different for what i do. I think letting the cooker settle in where it wants is like saying do what works for you.


Disclaimer: ive foregone most pit temp monitoring. The open drum has nothing as does the kettle. The dial on the offset is old, out of calibration, too high and on the wrong end. I only use the gauge as an indicator of temps gone up or down without knowing where it is. This in itself is liberating and lead to being a better cook without expectations of rules. Now roo hot is when things burn and too cold is when im hungry

 

[sthamm]

While I agree a pitmaster should learn his pit and how to dial in a range of temperatures, the problem I run into is bringing my pit temps down to the lower temps while keeping a good coal bed and thin blue smoke. My LSG 24x35 horizontal is on the smaller side and as such, it has a natural tendency to run hot. I run it with all vents wide open and control temp by fuel size--to an extent allowable and dictated by the coal bed. I can cook 285 to 350+ with ease and dial it down to any 10 degree variance in that range. When it comes to dropping down to 225-250, things get dicey.

 

[txsmkmstr]

The problem comes from when someone wants to cook at a lower temp and they choke down the pit to do so. Some pits have a sweet spot. On my longhorn lower temps can be tricky as its hard to keep a coal bed at lower temps. Its easier to run 275+ so i dont make things harder. My kettle set up doesnt run clean at low temps either. I have it to where i add a certain amount of coals and a water pan and things settle where they need to be. These are two examples of not fighting a cooker.

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Exactly....

 

[medic92]

My cooker runs where I tell it to, but it runs at it's most efficient around 250 degrees. I don't get wild temperature swings because of the Guru, but I don't get too wrapped up in maintaining it perfectly either. It runs just as well without the Guru with small adjustments to the exhaust stack, I just have trust issues with it and end up checking it a lot more often.

 

[sudsandswine]

Usually it's the wood that determines what temperature I run at...if it's wood that hasn't seasoned long enough, or something like pecan that burns cooler, will usually have me running 250* at the middle rack. Oak or hickory I can easily do 300*. I don't really care for pecan anymore, doesn't seem to make a very good coal bed compared to oak or hickory and that affects how much I have to tend the fire.

I don't use vents to control the smoker temp, barring some strong wind or something, my intake runs at the same place every time and the exhaust is fully open. Temperature is a function of the strength of my fire. Bigger and/or hotter fire = hotter cook chamber, smaller and/or cooler burning fire = cooler cook chamber.

 

[Beentown]

It comes down to this for me....

Bigger coal bed, running higher temps.

Smaller coal bed, low and slow.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Joe Black]

I like to let my smoker run where it wants to. Thankfully it also runs where I like for it to. Most of my recipes have been adjusted for 260-285*. If I need something at 225 or below or above 325, I can make it happen but the effort is exponentially greater. So, mostly I just sit back and enjoy whatever I get and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[PnkPanther]

I've only used charcoal smokers. I like to run a little higher, I usually smoke between 250-300. I've had good one open range, and she likes to run in that range so it's a good fit.

 

[THoey1963]

I am one who has definitely said to "let it run where it likes to run" a lot. It was something I had to learn, as I was always trying to hit that magical 225*. My first try at "smoking" ribs on my Weber gasser. Left burner on low with a box of chips on top. SoTex weather was 100*. Had to prop the lid open with a chunk of 2X4 to get the temps down to 230* and I knew that was the reason the ribs sucked. I got my WSM, it was easier to control, but I was still fussing with the vents to get it down from 228*. Finally learned (from here) that there was no magic number, and I was just stressing myself out and choking my fire. My food, and my stress level are both better for learning to adjust. So, while I do think it's important for someone new to the hobby to learn where their pit likes to automatically run, I also think that with time, they should learn to tweak their pit to run in another neighborhood, when certain situations call for it.

We probably wouldn't have this discussion if no one came up with the magical 225*. That and 3-2-1 are terms I think hurt / stress those new to BBQ the most...

 

[lwdbo1]

build a uds!

Oh wait...different debate.

My take is this should be more properly titled....you can cook good bbq at temps other than 225. Or perhaps...you don't have to keep your cooker at exactly 225 and its ok to have temp swings.

I think the real issue is people get stuck on the concept they need a guru or something to keep an exact temp in order to get good food. And they think that temp should be 225. A stick burner can run in a 50 degree range (when i cook at 275 its really 250-300) and still produce excellent que. You can also cook at 250 or 275 or 300 or 325 and still make great que.

So i think the 'let your smoker run where it wants' is really 'don't fret about temp swings and be comfortable cooking at various temps'

**didnt mean to quote this** and dont know how to delete