Need Help Again :(

[venture]

At his altitude water should boil somewhere in the 200 degree range:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/boilpoint.htm

 

[raptor700]

Does your Maverick have dual probes; One for the pit and one for the food?

 

[simlid]

It has 2 individual probes yes but I put both of them in the breasts ( 1 in each). I do have another maverick that I could use to put in the pit. Have only relied on the inbuilt temp guage before so if I should put a thermo inside the pit then please let em know where etc ?

Thanks

 

[raptor700]

Place in the center of the smoker and see what it reads compared to the factory therm.Just make sure it's not touching the rack.

 

[simlid]

Quick update. I just tried the Mavericks (the ones I placed in the breasts) in fresh boiling water here at 6200 ft and they registered 190 therefore approx 10 degree difference right there so that is progress I guess. I assume these cannot be calibrated in any way just have to manually know that there is this difference going forward ?

Next step will be to test these against the smoker temp and then also test the smoker meat thermo

 

[raptor700]

  Yes, it's progress. I don't think you can calibrate them. Once you figure out what temps there reading you'll be back on track.

Quick update. I just tried the Mavericks (the ones I placed in the breasts) in fresh boiling water here at 6200 ft and they registered 190 therefore approx 10 degree difference right there so that is progress I guess. I assume these cannot be calibrated in any way just have to manually know that there is this difference going forward ?

Next step will be to test these against the smoker temp and then also test the smoker meat thermo

 

[rich-]

Please go into Roll Call and list your location etc.

It makes answering questions so much easier to know where you are.

 

[simlid]

Ok all another update

Tested the Mavericks and they came in at 190 when boiling (here at 6200 ft) was 200 therefore 10 degree difference......recorded.

I then tested the meat thermo in the MES 40 and that was 12 degrees difference.............recorded.

I then finally put one of the Mavericks in the pit itself (per the suggestions) and checked that. To my surprise those came out spot on in lock step.............recorded.

So with all of that said I felt happy doing my chicken pieces today (8 drumsticks and 3 breasts). Brined for 24, rubbed for 24 and made a nice water bath. Then it went down hill again. I put them on at 14:30 with one of the Maverick probes in one breast. Placed on at 225. By 16:30 the breast was only registering 150. Cranked up the heat to 235 and by 17:30 we were at 160 (bare in mind this is actually 170 in reality due to maverick difference listed above). I decided to take the drumsticks out and to my surprise and horror they were still pink (not smoke pink but juice pink). I left the breasts in for another 30 mins and they came out perfectly buy drumsticks (in a drumstick rack in the MES). At this point I had to feed the family so we had the breasts and some other left overs and left the drumsticks.

So with all the testing I have done thanks to the great suggestions here what could I be missing ? Every post I read about chicken pieces say couple of hours max yet mine 5 hours later was still not done. Is it altitude that is causing this and could that by itself conceivably cause the cooking time to double ? Should I be cooking at a higher temp, say 250 and above here ?

Thanks again for any and all suggestions as this is getting very frustrating.

If I don't hear back from anyone before tomorrow then have a safe and happy memorial day !!!

S

 

[raptor700]

Thats wierd!

Maybe bump the pit temp up ( as you said) and give that a try.

 

[sound1]

I know its a little late, but being another person of altitude, I thought I would chime in.

The USDA has some cooking tips for us oxygen deprived folks.  http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/high_altitude_cooking_and_food_safety/index.asp

Second I would like to ask if the water pan was in place when you checked the MES 40 chamber temps. Don't laugh just yet, but even empty, I have noticed a HUGE difference in the way it reads temps, The heating element is exposed in the bottom right side of the oven. The chamber heat probe is directly above it. When the water pan is in place, hot air from the element goes directly to the thermostat, and turns off the heat. Even though the heat is cycling and reading at 225 the center of the smoker may be as much as 20-40 degrees cooler. Heat does not rise, Hot air does. The only source of fresh air is right above the heat source from the chip tray. Again directed by the pan to the probe.

Masterbuilt recommends that the pan always be in place when cooking so I will not recommend otherwise, instead look at the simple mod that Bear did to his MES40 to direct the heat to the center of the chamber. Look past the gorgeous bacon, you will see it.  http://assets.smokingmeatforums.com/f/f9/1000x500px-LL-f9f26196_DSC02348.JPG   My deflector is under the pan, but results are the same. 

Also, to cold smoke with the AMNPS, I needed to add about a 2ft chunk of stove pipe to the vent hole (working as a chimney) to get enough "draw" of fresh air to keep it consistently lit. But my air is a bit thinner than yours.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

In reading through some of the post on Fowl(Chicken), I noticed that some are using "Stock" thermometers to watch the heat.I feel , as many others on the Forum , those that come with your smoker are notoriously incorrect

.

Yes , it is an extra expense to your Hobby, but necessary to do the cooking correctly

. I would suggest getting a "probe type " thermometer to get a correct temp. for your cooking. T Johnson  ,sells the Maverick therms. and they are very accurite(mine so far) and will save a lot of headaches in cooking and may  avert food poisoning.

Money a problem for the big stuff? Look into Bed Bath and Beyond or Target for a bit cheaper units(sorry Todd),or go to a big Grocer and get a pocket therm.(just make sure it has a nut on the back for re-calibrating) for less than $10. You can calibrate in boiling water(212*f @ sea level) and do the calibration before each cook

.

We pride ourselves in giving good advice and want to offer you a good experience in your cooking.

Hope this helps.....

Stan   aka   Oldschool

 

[chef jimmyj]

I'm a little late to the party but...AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT READ, OUR FRIEND HERE IS TAKING TURKEY BREAST TO 180*F!... And this is before it was determined the Actual temp was 190*F... No wonder it was TURKEY JERKY when it came out!

Making adjustments for Altitude...165*F is the Sweet Spot for Breasts and 175-180*F for Leg/Thighs...Beyond that the moisture is leaving fairly rapidly in Poultry and you can't recover it.

Sorry if I'm just confused here...JJ