New Smoker Question (can't get internal temp high)

[otherguy]

My FIL purchased a offset smoker which is much larger and nicer than than the little round thing he was using, but neither one of us has smoked very much meat and have a question.

The books/internet told us to hold the temp at 220 degrees for 4-6 hours, we were smoking deer, whole chicken, pork (2lbs), but when we measured the internal temperature of the meat none of them got to the temperature they should of been.

I was out there the whole time and we held the temperature in the smoker to 210-250 the whole time, just varied due to adding more wood or mopping the meat. 

Can anyone tell me what we might be doing wrong since the temperature was where it should be but the internal never got high enough to be safe?  Do we just need to let it go for longer?

Just looking for suggestions so that we don't have to finish the meats in the oven anymore.
Thanks.

 

[s2k9k]

What were you checking IT with? Do you know it is accurate? How big were the cuts of meat? What were the IT's of the meats at what time?
More info would really help us to help you, I'm sure we can figure it out!
You can't always go by time, sometimes things take longer sometimes they are done earlier.

I see this is your first post here so when you get a chance would you do us a favor and swing by "Roll Call" and introduce yourself so we can give you a proper SMF Welcome, Thanks!

 

[fwismoker]

...and what kind of smoker is it, what was the temp outside and what kind of fuel were you using?

 

[geerock]

Most of the dial therm gauges that come with these smokers aren't worth a damn. One of the most important tools to have for smoking is a good digital temp checker. Mavericks et73 or et732 are great for checking meat AND smoker temp at the same time. You may not have been cooking at the temp you thought.

 

[otherguy]

What were you checking IT with? Do you know it is accurate? How big were the cuts of meat? What were the IT's of the meats at what time?
More info would really help us to help you, I'm sure we can figure it out!
You can't always go by time, sometimes things take longer sometimes they are done earlier.

I see this is your first post here so when you get a chance would you do us a favor and swing by "Roll Call" and introduce yourself so we can give you a proper SMF Welcome, Thanks!

We were checking the internal temp with a instant read thermometer (not digital), all meats were at about 130, maybe a touch higher.  Deer was probably 3-4 lbs, whole chicken, and 2 lb pork.

...and what kind of smoker is it, what was the temp outside and what kind of fuel were you using?

It's a CharBroil offset smoker, I believe, and was using hickory.  Temp outside was cold and rainy, all freaking day, maybe mid 40's.

Most of the dial therm gauges that come with these smokers aren't worth a damn. One of the most important tools to have for smoking is a good digital temp checker. Mavericks et73 or et732 are great for checking meat AND smoker temp at the same time. You may not have been cooking at the temp you thought.

We didn't have a digital but he had drilled a hole in the smoker, close to the one that comes with it and we inserted instant read, candy thermometer and all three we used gave "about" the same smoker temperature, within about 10-15 degrees.