New to offset smoking.

[hooked on smoke]

Greetings,
I have been smoking on a traditional charcoal and electric smoker a bit with pretty good results. My wife got me a Brinkmann Trailmaster, limited edition offset smoker and my first attempt at a tri tip was, a disaster. Temp was fluctuating and the meat came out chewy. Is the temp bouncing the reason? Any pointers will be greatly appreciated. I'm fairly new and looking for help.
love the

 

[lemans]

Offset smoking requires some mods to get the temps even... First you have to extend the
Stack to grate level and make sure your stack is open all the way control the heat from vent
On fire box.
Just use the search bar for offset mods. And hit you tube .. There is lots of help here

 

[paddy1998]

Before you make any mods try doing a few dry runs to get a feel for how your unit operates. Best advice i was given was to be gentle, adjust only one damper at a time.

 

[rmmurray]

Welcome to SMF! :welcome:
We're glad to have you here. The search bar at the top is your most valuable resource here. This forum has been around for over ten years, so there is a good chance that any questions you may have, have already been answered (they may have 10 different answers, but you'll get an instant response non the less).
Please be sure to post your smokes along with your process and recipes. We will be glad to help you along the way and we may also learn something new ourselves in the process. Also, don't forget the very important Q view! (We're mad for pics on here [emoji]128513[/emoji])
Always remember to have fun because it's not fun if you have to work at it. Thanks for joining,
- Ryan

 

[gary s]

  Good afternoon and welcome to the forum, from a nice sunny and warm day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary

 

[one eyed jack]

Welcome to the site,  (And the addiction of smoking). 

What Internal temp did you smoke your try tip to?

Sometimes it's not a bad idea to start out with a new smoker smoking chicken.  It takes a while to smoke and is cheap and will give you an inexpensive way to spend the time with the smoker needed to get the hang of how it operates.

Best luck and have fun.

 

[holes02]

I'm new to offset smoking as well.

As as been mentioned above, there are several modifications you can/should make to your cooker to help with temp:

- Seal any leaks in firebox and smoke chamber with high temp. RTV and/or BBQ gasket

- Extend the chimney to grate level inside your smoke chamber

- Deflector and/or tuning plates to help heat dispersion inside the smoke chamber

Are you measuring temperature at grate-level? If not, you may want to relocate your thermometer to give you a better idea of the temp at grate level where your meat is cooking.

I like to regulate temps with fire size. I leave both chimney and firebox doors open to let my fire run as well as it can, and regulate my cooking temps with the size of my fire - this has worked well for me, as it keeps the fire burning clean. 

It's going to take practice, practice, practice. 

 

[hooked on smoke]

Wow!
Thank you all for the replies. One Eyed Jack, the internal temp got to 225. But it took 6 hours. I have been using a electric smoker for a couple years with awsome results. And the tri tip only takes 2/ hrs To reach 225- 235. I have also been using a small Stoke charcoal bbq.
As far as the Brinkmann, I used chips at first and they seemed to burn out too fast. I bought some chunks and it seemed to give more consistent heat but still had fluctuating temp. Would I be better off with logs or larger, longer burning wood?
I looked into mods, sealing kits, any tips. I only seem to find expensive kits.
Again thank you all! I love this place. I am hooked on smoking and love my new Brinkmann. All help is greatly appreciated.

 

[paddy1998]

Imho you're best bet for consistent heat/temp is charcoal, then add chips or pellets or both for smoke. If you use a charcoal chimney to start the coals you can determine a known, consistent fuel amount throughout the session. I just use whatever briquets are on sale. Separate heat and smoke in your mind.

 

[paddy1998]

And don't forget a good remote thermometer.

 

[one eyed jack]

Wow!
Thank you all for the replies. One Eyed Jack, the internal temp got to 225. But it took 6 hours. I have been using a electric smoker for a couple years with awsome results. And the tri tip only takes 2/ hrs To reach 225- 235. I have also been using a small Stoke charcoal bbq.
As far as the Brinkmann, I used chips at first and they seemed to burn out too fast. I bought some chunks and it seemed to give more consistent heat but still had fluctuating temp. Would I be better off with logs or larger, longer burning wood?
I looked into mods, sealing kits, any tips. I only seem to find expensive kits.
Again thank you all! I love this place. I am hooked on smoking and love my new Brinkmann. All help is greatly appreciated.

If you did smoke the Tri Tip to 225  IT,  (And your posted  temp is not a misprint), that explains the tough chewy results.  I smoke mine to an IT of around 130*.  (The temp will rise a bit during a short rest).  Or are you talking about smoke chamber temp's?

Any sealing of open gaps and joints in your smoker will help you maintain a more consistent smoke chamber temp.

 

[hooked on smoke]

It's been a while. Paddy1998, that sounds like Solid advice. I've been experimenting and it seems that charcoal with smaller pieces of wood seamed to even out the temp.
I'm still curious, I see smokers stacking chunks in the box and they appear to manage fine. Am I missing something?
Thanks to all for the advice and tips. As a new guy I apologize in advance if I bomb you with too many questions but I finally found a place that loves smoking as much as I am learning to.
Thank you all!