Calibration is the key

[Texana]

Ok...

So my first cooking on my new pit was a little lacking. For a couple of weeks I turned it over in my mind several times and figured the only thing to do was try again.

This time I decided to go with pecan wood and slow smoke some spareribs. Starting out all went well. I really liked the way the pecan wood burned and seemed to have a little better luck keeping my temp steady.

I was feeling pretty good after about 4 hours so I tempted fate and opened up the pit to take a sneek peek at my handiwork.

Awwwwww ... I could have cried. There were those beautiful spareribs charred to a crisp. My mind was going 90 miles a second blaming everyone and everything I could think of. After I calmed down and really thought about it the only thing that burns is to much heat. I glared at thermometer and it was steady as a rock at 225. At that point I realized seeing is not always believing.

After tracking down my wife's fancy digital cooking thermometer I found out that my pit was just a purring at a steady 375. I felt reminded of all the times I have repaired computers and told people always start with the basics. It's usually the simple things that cause all the trouble. Point proven again.

Had I had more experience I might have notice earlier. Maybe by how much wood I was using, the smell of charred ribs or by any number of other things, such as not trusting a brand new, out of the box thermometer that someone else said was working just fine.

The main thing is now I know, and I was the only one to blame. So I felt compeled to write this for all the newbies and old timers alike. Take a few minutes every now and then to keep your equipment fine tuned. It will pay off in the long run.

This weekend will be my biggest endeaver yet. Three briskets and five racks of ribs. Will let you know how it works out.

Texana

[txbbqcarrie]

Hey Texana!

At least you found the problem...that's good! Let us know how this weekend turns out! Best of Luck!

[texasbill]

Texana:
Carrie is right, finding the problem sometime is right in our nose and we don't even think about the simple things. Even though BBQ equipment is really basically simple, the small things like the thermometer is something we overlook. So we all have learned something here and I will be checking mine soon.

Thanks for passing on the information for all us to benefit from.

Bill-Texas BBQ Rub

[Qjunkie will]

SO whats the best way to check the temp of the thermometer? What if you buy one of those inexpensive store jobs ( Dial Type ) and its off too! :roll:

[Texana]

The first thing you should look for in any dial thermometer is a way to calibrate it. The real cheap ones will not let you do this so in my opinion it is money wasted.

There are several ways you can check your thermometer. One is to run 2 of them against each other. Odds are in your favor that one will close to accurate. The best way to do this is go buy an inexpensive pocket dial thermometer. These are usually ajustable. Take glass full of ice and water and use the pocket thermometer to swirl it round. Thermometer should pull down to 32 degrees. If not adjust it up or down accordingly. You now have one thermometer calibrated and can check it against your pit.

You can also do what I did. I know that the temperature in my house is 72 degrees according to the wall thermostat and I left my new pit thermometer acclimate to the room temperatur and found it was only 2 degrees different and I adjusted accordingly.

There are also some very nice digital cooking thermometers with long corded probes that are very accurate. I am sure if you thougth about you could come up with several ways to adjust a thermometer. I hope some of these tips help.

Thanks again for all the wonderful talk. I have found this forum one of the nicest and easiest to use in the virtual world of Smokin BBQ.

Texana

[texasbill]

Texana:
I found like you did that the easiest way to accomplish this is the ice in a glass of water and get to 32 degrees and adjust according to that. In fact, I was doing some cooking and the health department came by and checked my meat and we discussed the calibration of thermometers then and that is the way they recommend you calibrate the things.

This is great advice to all of you cookers out there. Texana has hit on a real problem during cooking that you should all try to correct. One thing I also do instead of relying solely on the thermometer or if you are cooking on a pit with no thermometer is to use your hand and place it on the smoking chamber, say midway is good, toward the top. If you can leave your hand on there for 5 or 6 seconds you should be cooking at a good temperature for the low and slow method. I was cooking this weekend and had a pit that had no thermometer so I used this little trick and it went great.

Just some thoughts for all of us to absorb. Keep on posting up great information on this forum, ya'll are what makes this work.

Bill-Texas BBQ Rub

[Texana]

Thanks for the nice acknowledgement Bill.

Being new I wondered how long it would take to fit in and be able to contribute something that would be both helpful and interesting. Thanks to you and everyone else it did not take long. Maybe after a few more cooks under my belt I will be just another "Good Ole Smoker".

Looking forward to hearing from everyone. Dont be shy just throw in your own two cents on a subject and you will fit right in.

Thanks.

Texana

[texasbill]

Texana:
Thanks to you and everyone else out there that makes cooking BBQ such a fun and entertaining past time and for putting in your "2 cents" worth. It is you guys and girls out there that make this happen.

Thanks to all of you.

And Texana a couple of more cooks and you will be ready for the big show somewhere. You will have all the neighbors and friends beating down your door every time they find out you are cooking BBQ. And that is what it is really all about.

Bill-Texas BBQ Rub