cmonaghan76
Found some matches.
- Joined
- May 11, 2014
- Location
- Orlando, FL
I am having issues. I hope we can figure it out.
I've been smoking for many years, probably 18 years. Started with a cheap offset from a home store - it was awful. Tried a charcoal Brinkman water smoker, decided it was too much work trying to keep temp. Tried a Brinkman electric water smoker, which I modified for thermostat control, and things were getting better, but never got great bbq, and never had a great smoke ring. I then tried a Smokenator in my Weber Performer - and LOVED it. Instantly my bbq was everything I had been looking for. Brisket was AMAZING. At that point I smoked exclusively with the Smokenator. When friends and family found out how good it was, I ran into capacity issues.
I attended Jack's Old South Cooking School (Myron Mixon) in June - and had the time of my life. And I knew then that what I had been doing with the Smokenator was on par with great bbq. But I still wanted better.
Coming back from the class, I had my eyes on an insulated charcoal smoker, but the $3000+ price tag for what I wanted caused me to cave and get a WSM 22.5 while I continue saving for something bigger. I bought a Stoker at the same time.
Now, having finished three cooks on the WSM with Stoker - I am NOT happy with how things are going.
Cook 1: approx. 7lb pork shoulder. No water in foiled pan. Used an aluminum pan on the lower rack as a drip pan above the water bowl. Stoker maintained 225 smoke temp, probe was on the rack near the shoulder. Started it mid-morning. Stalled at 145 for several hours. Stalled again at 150. And then stalled again at 165. At 3am, the meat was up to 180. 17 hours for a not finished shoulder. I was frustrated, pulled the meat, and went to bed. Meat was ok - by pulling it off early it didn't shred, but still made for good slices, especially reheated.
Cook 2: trial run of turkey for Thanksgiving. My only issue here was trying to get the WSM 22.5 up to 325. Very difficult. Never did get there. Using KBB. I'll probably use lump next time and start with more coals. The gravy pan beneath the turkey also didn't help. Turkey turned out moist, skin was rubbery because of the lower temp.
Cook 3: Brisket. 7lb packer. This is the cook that has me writing this post. Put it on at 1pm. Smoke ran at 225 very consistently. Same thing happened as with the pork. Major stall, like 5 hours at 145. No foil. No water in WSM. Total cook time to 195 was 16.5 hours. After a 2 hour rest in foil, the worse brisket I've ever cooked. Not tough, but super dry and crumbly. No moisture at all, very little fat between the flat and the point (there was tons before the cook). And no liquid in the drip pan. Very disappointed. Very confused.
Typically with the Smokenator, my cooks were on time or ahead of time. Never a major stall like I'm seeing here.
I did check the calibration on the probes with the Stoker and boiling water. They were slightly adjusted before the brisket cook.
With the major stalls having been at 145, where I would expect them to be happening higher than that, I have to wonder if the Stoker is giving me false readings.
I heard Harry Soo say recently that the Stoker has problems with the lower end power supply and that you should invest in the larger power supply.
Does anyone have any insight into what is going on here, mainly with the pork and brisket cooks? Do I need to check the probes at the same time (smoke and meat probes) with the blower running to see if electrical load is causing an issue? Is having an aluminum drip pan under the top rack, above the foiled water pan, causing an issue?
With the Smokenator, I always had water in the mini water pan. I also always crutched. With the WSM I've been cooking dry, and have not crutched.
I've gone from praised, proud, pit master to feeling like I'm just starting out all over again.
I've been smoking for many years, probably 18 years. Started with a cheap offset from a home store - it was awful. Tried a charcoal Brinkman water smoker, decided it was too much work trying to keep temp. Tried a Brinkman electric water smoker, which I modified for thermostat control, and things were getting better, but never got great bbq, and never had a great smoke ring. I then tried a Smokenator in my Weber Performer - and LOVED it. Instantly my bbq was everything I had been looking for. Brisket was AMAZING. At that point I smoked exclusively with the Smokenator. When friends and family found out how good it was, I ran into capacity issues.
I attended Jack's Old South Cooking School (Myron Mixon) in June - and had the time of my life. And I knew then that what I had been doing with the Smokenator was on par with great bbq. But I still wanted better.
Coming back from the class, I had my eyes on an insulated charcoal smoker, but the $3000+ price tag for what I wanted caused me to cave and get a WSM 22.5 while I continue saving for something bigger. I bought a Stoker at the same time.
Now, having finished three cooks on the WSM with Stoker - I am NOT happy with how things are going.
Cook 1: approx. 7lb pork shoulder. No water in foiled pan. Used an aluminum pan on the lower rack as a drip pan above the water bowl. Stoker maintained 225 smoke temp, probe was on the rack near the shoulder. Started it mid-morning. Stalled at 145 for several hours. Stalled again at 150. And then stalled again at 165. At 3am, the meat was up to 180. 17 hours for a not finished shoulder. I was frustrated, pulled the meat, and went to bed. Meat was ok - by pulling it off early it didn't shred, but still made for good slices, especially reheated.
Cook 2: trial run of turkey for Thanksgiving. My only issue here was trying to get the WSM 22.5 up to 325. Very difficult. Never did get there. Using KBB. I'll probably use lump next time and start with more coals. The gravy pan beneath the turkey also didn't help. Turkey turned out moist, skin was rubbery because of the lower temp.
Cook 3: Brisket. 7lb packer. This is the cook that has me writing this post. Put it on at 1pm. Smoke ran at 225 very consistently. Same thing happened as with the pork. Major stall, like 5 hours at 145. No foil. No water in WSM. Total cook time to 195 was 16.5 hours. After a 2 hour rest in foil, the worse brisket I've ever cooked. Not tough, but super dry and crumbly. No moisture at all, very little fat between the flat and the point (there was tons before the cook). And no liquid in the drip pan. Very disappointed. Very confused.
Typically with the Smokenator, my cooks were on time or ahead of time. Never a major stall like I'm seeing here.
I did check the calibration on the probes with the Stoker and boiling water. They were slightly adjusted before the brisket cook.
With the major stalls having been at 145, where I would expect them to be happening higher than that, I have to wonder if the Stoker is giving me false readings.
I heard Harry Soo say recently that the Stoker has problems with the lower end power supply and that you should invest in the larger power supply.
Does anyone have any insight into what is going on here, mainly with the pork and brisket cooks? Do I need to check the probes at the same time (smoke and meat probes) with the blower running to see if electrical load is causing an issue? Is having an aluminum drip pan under the top rack, above the foiled water pan, causing an issue?
With the Smokenator, I always had water in the mini water pan. I also always crutched. With the WSM I've been cooking dry, and have not crutched.
I've gone from praised, proud, pit master to feeling like I'm just starting out all over again.
Last edited: