"Let your cooker run where it wants" debate

[lankster35]

I always see 225 as some magic number. When I first started I fought to maintain that. I never cook this low anymore.

Me too. The only time I am at 225 is when I leave for a little bit and the fire drops lower than I want it. 250 is perfect for brisket and ribs and I start pork butts at 250 but always end up bumping up to 275+ towards the middle to end of the cook - hard to mess up a pork butt.

 

[tom b]

I have been able to make my offset run where I want between 250-350 ever since i did my third cook but it especially likes to hum at 275 with out much effort.

 

[el luchador]

That seals the deal right there
This discussion only really applies to wood fired cookers, anybody can run a coal burner

Larry

that makes sense that stickburners would have that mentality since you guys do good to maintain +-50 degrees lol

trying to bring a stickburner under control is like chasing after the wind - futile :becky:

 

[el luchador]

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'

people using a guru value consistency, and also set it and forget it cooking. nothing wrong with that.

also, it seems that hot and fast has become quite popular around here but I havent seen anyone cook a brisket hot and fast from start to finish without using some form of help , be it braising the meat in foil, injecting, etc.

best brisket ive ever cooked was 210 degrees for 30 hours so I am not going to knock good old low and slow.

an auto temp controller of course helps with cooking that low for that long - something that could be quite painful if not using an ATC

 

[Stlsportster]

also, it seems that hot and fast has become quite popular around here but I havent seen anyone cook a brisket hot and fast from start to finish without using some form of help , be it braising the meat in foil, injecting, etc.

Well then you haven't been looking.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250446

 

[Badjak]

I only use a WSM 14.5", so just a small little thing.
When I started off, I fiddled around a lot. Had thermometers everywhere, kept checking etc etc.
These days, I check out the weather. Decide whether or not to use the water pan and if I should use it dry or filled with water and set up the think and let it go.
I just use the thermometer on the dome to check occasionally.
I use an instant read thermometer to check the meat temperature and that's about it.
Very nice and relaxing these days

 

[LordRiffenstein]

Just a thought: If you only start with a few small sticks you will never have a big coal bed to maintain a good fire/temps. It takes longer but I start with a bigger fire and just wait for it to burn down to the proper temp and start from there but my fire is much easier to tend from that point forward.....

I agree but I think I might be starting with a fire that's to big so I'm going to try fewer splits to start on my next cook and see what happens. I don't mind it taking longer to come down, more beer time, but I don't want to overdo it :becky:

 

[Rusty Kettle]

It depends what I am feeling like doing. Sometimes I let it run and just cook. Sometimes I make it run where I want. On the 270 I have cooked as low as 130 for 12 hrs for jerky and as high as 300. Depends on what I am doing. For timing comp q its got to be spot on to hit my timeline. Otherwise it doesn't matter. If its hotter cut your time down. Colder then increase time. It isn't rocket science.

 

[el luchador]

Well then you haven't been looking.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=250446

no where did it say hot and fast, and you must have posted the wrong thread because that brisket was crutched! unless you just wrapped it in paper for holding :wink:

 

[Beentown]

no where did it say hot and fast, and you must have posted the wrong thread because that brisket was crutched! unless you just wrapped it in paper for holding :wink:

Do you ever actually cook anything or just want to beat the same horse?

UDS rules.

Stuck burning sucks.

You braise everything....

Seriously go look up your thread starts and replies. Not a whole lot of helpful unless you count trying to be contrarian as helpful.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[el luchador]

Do you ever actually cook anything or just want to beat the same horse?

UDS rules.

Stuck burning sucks.

You braise everything....

Seriously go look up your thread starts and replies. Not a whole lot of helpful unless you count trying to be contrarian as helpful.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

lol. I knew you would be in here shortly.

I made an observation that Ive seen on this board. Those who like cooking Cooking hot and fast don't cook the meat the whole way hot and fast unless they wrap.

if it goes against your MO, too bad, but facts matter.

And, UDS RULES :rockon:

 

[Stlsportster]

El likmynuts errr luchador has finally shown me why there is a block user function on this forum.

 

[smoke ninja]

El likmynuts errr luchador has finally shown me why there is a block user function on this forum.

But you'll miss out on all his valuable insight

 

[Stlsportster]

But you'll miss out on all his valuable insight

Gladly

 

[el luchador]

El likmynuts errr luchador has finally shown me why there is a block user function on this forum.

lol. very grown up of you. I guess the truth hurts!!! be seeing ya.

 

[Beentown]

lol. I knew you would be in here shortly.

I made an observation that Ive seen on this board. Those who like cooking Cooking hot and fast don't cook the meat the whole way hot and fast unless they wrap.

if it goes against your MO, too bad, but facts matter.

And, UDS RULES :rockon:

My MO. Lol.

I run a Shirley, Humphreys, the kettles, soon to be two Assassins and started on an UDS that still sees more action than anything besides the kettles. Oops, forgot my open fire pit but it rarely gets used except for parties.

I literally cook all temp ranges and experiment ALL the time. Currently on an SV kick.

My MO....that's silly.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Texian]

I do believe different smokers have different temperature ranges they run best at. My ford diesel at 65 mph runs at different rpm than a Ram Hemi or a Toyota Tacoma would. To try and drive each engine at 65 mph and the same rpm is pointless. (about to buy a new pickup)

 

[Nuco59]

I run a home made vertical -it does the roller coaster between 275 and 325. I can surely run it hotter, but about 250 I start losing my coal bed. Even if I wanted to go low and slow, it ain't happening for me.

I don't look on it as "lack of control"- I look on it as "that's what it's capable of" and I roll with it.

If you can dial your stick burner in just like a kitchen oven - no matter your temperature whim - you are a lucky man (or woman).

 

[OklaDustDevil]

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 think it's funny you posed this question. I've seen that same comment so many times, and I thought that, despite my 25+ years of burning sticks, maybe I was missing something. I've never found my stickburners, whether the horiz or the vertical, trending towards some sort of automatic temp. Rather, I decide what temp I want to run them at and then do it. Yes, there ends up being a range, but the range averages out at whatever I set my mind to initially, and over time the range has gotten narrower and narrower.

 

[Czarbecue]

Letting your cooker "run where it wants" just means your cooker is running with the given coal bed/wood size that you are used to building. It's imperative to know your cooker, accessories, and your fire starting habits.