Smoker Virgin - Need Advice

by Nancy
(IL)

Please can you help? I am new to smoking meat. I LOVE the taste of smoked pork, turkey, beef and chicken. I bought a Brinkmann offset smoker and tried my first pork shoulder today. I have a couple of questions that really concern me. Do you trust the built in thermometer? It showed I had a good, consistent heat of between 225 and 250 all day. However, when I put an oven thermometer in there to double check it showed I only had a heat of 150. The oven thermometer may be in question as it never agreed with my oven either but it concerns me whether I really had the proper heat. I smoked a 6 pound shoulder roast for 8 hours and it still was not to temperature for pork. In fact, when I cut into it it was a bit bloody near the bone (but I did find a vein in there). I put it in the oven for 90 more minutes and it tested properly for temperature and all the "bloody" juice was gone. It is still very juicy and tender even after cooking it in the oven. The smell and flavor are outstanding but the fact that it didn't cook fully in 8 hours does concern me. Am I doing something wrong?

Answer:-

Nancy,

You’re doing everything right and by that I mean you’re taking a step by step approach to perfection. From what you’ve written it would seem as though you need to calibrate your thermometer and if you are comparing the Brinkmann gauge with a thermometer that doesn’t match your oven then I’d go so far as to say that you need a new thermometer. Borrow an oven thermometer from your neighbor and test it in their oven, your oven and then your smoker. By then you should have a good idea about what’s the correct temperature.

Try working with a smaller piece of meat to get a better understanding of how to get the best results. For sure, 60 minutes a pound should be enough but if you get some meat with a nice piece of fat on it, maybe use a marinade and a water bath you’ll really be able to push the cooking time out and still have a nice moist result.

Remember it's not an exact science and there are reasons why your meat doesn't always come up to temperature at the expected time. Read my pulled pork barbecue recipe where I explain all about the temperature plateau that we all experience.

One other thing that you might want to consider is temperature probe so you can test the internal temperature of the meat.

Keep practicing and when you hit perfection you’ll know that it was worth the wait.

See Also:-
Barbecue Thermometers
Safe Cooking Temperatures
Brinkmann Charcoal Smokers
Brinkmann Gas Smokers
Brinkmann Electric Smokers
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Page Updated June 2012

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