Need help explaining to the hubby

purplestarrider · May 30, 2011

So for christmas the hubby gave me a MES. I was so excited. I started reading and researching and trying things. The more i have done and read made me want a charcoal one even more. So the other day I bought a NBBD off of Craigslist. So i have cleaned it then decided that I could work on how to do the temps and get them jsut right while seasoning. I have now seasoned twice. SO as I am playing and tweaking things My husband tells me I am doing things wrong.

1) he is telling me that I am not supposed to get the coals that hot in a chimney starter (meaning that I shouldn't get all the coals read hot and then dump it) He says this cause the black coating came off the out side.

2) Everything I have read on line the forums and cook books state that I should get the temp up to 300-350 then add the mean cause it will drop down to 200-275 depending on what I have on the grates and how much. He doesn't understand this. says that is to hot that if it is 100 or 150 it would be fine. Smoking is low and slow. quit trying to get a temp of 200

I am at a loss on what to tell him. It is my understanding that the higher temp like 200 helps the wood smolter and smoke so you get the smoke flavor and smoke ring. Am I missing something?? Am I wrong and he right. Some insite into this would be great

/ message sig

alblancher · May 30, 2011

Tell him to read the forum, you are right Whats a NBBD?

purplestarrider · May 30, 2011

thanks. A NBBD is a New Braunfels Black Diamond

alblancher · May 30, 2011

OKIE DOKE you got the lingo down for sure!

scarbelly · May 30, 2011

For most recipes the temps at 225-250 are the perfect temp

For poultry a lot of folks go in the 250-300 range.

The most important thing for him to understand is that food needs to get to 140 in a 4 hour time frame.

Have him get his own account here and read and ask we will be happy to help

Dutch · May 30, 2011

Jess, you know your stuff. Let hubby run at the mouth and you just keep doing what you're doing; I'm sure he isn't complaining about the great spread that you put on the table. You can always get him a smoker and let him do his food his way- I bet after a few failed attemps, he'll quit trying to tell you how to run your smokers!

michael ark · May 30, 2011

Your right he's wrong.Take him to the U.S.D.A web site and read time and temps.He may have cold smoking confused with bar-BBQ.They are not the same.One is cured first so you have more leeway with temp to keep the meat raw like bacon.But it still has to be cooked later.I hope this helps with you cause.

Bearcarver · May 30, 2011

We male smokers have a advantage over most female smokers.

Our wives don't try to tell us how to smoke meat. Well, mine doesn't, anyway!

Bear

forluvofsmoke · May 30, 2011

Jess, you are right about chamber temps dropping when you toss in some meat, not only due to the thermal absorption taking place from the cold meat soaking up alot of heat at first, but from opening the chamber itself. It's a balancing act of sorts...once a large cut of meat goes in, chamber temps will not be stable for 1-2 hours with a lighter built smoker, as there's not much thermal mass to hold onto that heat. Then, as the thermal absoption rate of the meat slows down, chamber temps will begin to climb.

A method I use for propane and charcoal vertical smokers is to start with the meat loaded into a cold smoker (just added the initial bed of coals, or just lit the gas burner), then get the fire up to temp and watch for spikes until the meat's absoption rate drops off. It doesn't take long to get accustomed to this method is you understand the principle behind it, and usually within 2 hours, I have temps riding nice and smooth. It's probably not as easy for some folks to do it this way, but it works out fine for my smokers, and it only takes me 10 to 15 minutes to get the rig up to temp, and I have started with stable temps about 50* lower than where I want to run and just it climb into my target range on it's own...just some food for thought.

Yea, your hubby's not very knowledgable about hot smoking. 100-150* is considered cold smoking temps, which should only be used for cured meats in most cases. Without curing, 225* is the minimum standard temp for most cuts of meat when being cooked by a novice, and more experience smokers will at times opt for lower temps in certain cases for fish or smaller cuts of meat, depending on cross-sectional density, which will determine how quickly the exterior of the meat will heat through and be cooked safey without hovering in the danger zone for too long. Also, with enhanced (injected) or deboned cuts of pork or chickens, it needs to be cooked a bit faster than intact whole muscle meats would need to be cooked in order to be safe to eat. He obviously does not understand the safety aspects of low & slow cooking, so that said, keep doing it the way it works for you to cook it safely.

Keep your chin up and do what you know is right.

Eric

pineywoods · May 30, 2011

Congrats on the new smoker. You are mostly right but here's a couple thoughts.

As for getting the smoker to 300-350 that would depend on the exact smoker you have and how it reacts take my GOSM I need to get it hotter like the 200-350 you mention so that when I put the meat in the temps settle back to around 225 when I get the meat loaded. In my Lang if I get it that hot it will stay that hot for awhile because the metal is so much thicker it retains the heat much better and doesn't drop so much when opened. So try it hot like above 350 and see how it reacts then try it at 225 and see how it reacts.

As the others have said "most" smoking is done at temps of around 225 and the meat needs to go from 41-135 internal in under 4 hours (tho there are some procedures that can stretch that rule)

When you get ready to start "cold smoking" to do cheese and bacon etc we can help you with that one too but that's the only time you'd want your smoker under 200 degrees and cold smoking is usually done at temps less than 100 degrees

roller · May 30, 2011

Mine neither because I don`t have one....Used to have 2 of them but they could not get along....

purplestarrider · May 30, 2011

Thanks Everyone for the info and advice. Bear I have to laugh. it is so true. I do all the cooking grilling and now the smokeing. I just laugh cause the MES he ever said a thing about it but me doing all this he is jsut freaking out for some reason. oh well. Roller maybe i should find him another wife so i don't have to deal with him while i am smoking. hmmmmm might have to do that

beer-b-q · May 30, 2011

It is very simple You are Right He is Wrong.

The solution is simple too. Fix him some meat at his 100º-150º temps and when he gets off the throne tell him to clean up the mess in the tub assuming the throne faces the tub, and if he still thinks that is the right temps you will fix him some more.

You probably won't get much argument, at least for a couple days till he feels better anyway...

purplestarrider · May 30, 2011

LOL i love it.

michael ark · May 30, 2011

I wish my wife was interested .She will tell me the box temp which helps.I hate climbing stairs all smoke .I don't have a remote probe for pit temp .When she has helped she kinked my probe wire but it still works and she left a transmitter out over night in the mud and it still works.

purplestarrider · May 30, 2011

i was watching some cooking show one day and said i would love to learn to smoke. So the hubby bought me a smoker for christmas. got to love it right. so been doing so much i decided to get a charcoal one and now i am trying that tomorrow since the wind was high and i was way to tired to try to do it.

SmokinAl · May 31, 2011

Good luck & don't forget the Q-view!

BGKYSmoker · May 31, 2011

Bearcarver said:
We male smokers have a advantage over most female smokers.

Our wives don't try to tell us how to smoke meat. Well, mine doesn't, anyway!

Bear

My wife quit trying to tell me about smokin back in 1982.....HA

Bearcarver · May 31, 2011

nepas said:
My wife quit trying to tell me about smokin back in 1982.....HA

My wife quit before that, because I am a PA Dutchman.

For those of you who are not from this area, the saying goes like this (Translated to English):

"You can always tell a Dutchman, but you can't tell him much!"

That one is on plaques, on walls in peoples' houses, along with this one:

"If You Aint Dutch, You Aint Much!"

Bear

sqwib · May 31, 2011

purplestarrider said:
So for christmas the hubby gave me a MES. I was so excited. I started reading and researching and trying things. The more i have done and read made me want a charcoal one even more. So the other day I bought a NBBD off of Craigslist. So i have cleaned it then decided that I could work on how to do the temps and get them jsut right while seasoning. I have now seasoned twice. SO as I am playing and tweaking things My husband tells me I am doing things wrong.

1) he is telling me that I am not supposed to get the coals that hot in a chimney starter (meaning that I shouldn't get all the coals read hot and then dump it) He says this cause the black coating came off the out side.

If hes talking about the paint coming off of the firebox, it most likely will, but its the nature of the beast.

2) Everything I have read on line the forums and cook books state that I should get the temp up to 300-350 then add the mean cause it will drop down to 200-275 depending on what I have on the grates and how much. He doesn't understand this. says that is to hot that if it is 100 or 150 it would be fine. Smoking is low and slow. quit trying to get a temp of 200

I usually get my smokers up to 300° before adding meat, its much easier to control heat as it drops slightly rather than increasing the temps, and try to keep my temps at 225° to 250°, for low and slow, right again

I am at a loss on what to tell him. It is my understanding that the higher temp like 200 helps the wood smolter and smoke so you get the smoke flavor and smoke ring. Am I missing something?? Am I wrong and he right. Some insite into this would be great.

Do it the way you learned and let the food speak for itself.

/ message sig

Congrats on the smoker and keep us posted

Need help explaining to the hubby

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