New to Smoking! Need to ask a question.

[lintonkennels]

Guys i just bought a electric smoker. I am going to smoke some trail bologna. So I went out and bought a meat thermonter. I was wondering to how to use it. I dont understand am I to leave it in the smoker in the meat or am I to open the door and push it into the meat and wait to see what the temp is. Could you guys let me know. I know that this is probley a dumb question but I just didnt know. So thanks alot guys

 

[meat hunter]

Well first let me start off by welcoming you to the smoking meats forums. You have probably found the most useful site on the net for this hobby.
When you get a chance, stop on over at the Roll Call section and give us all a good introduction. Name, where your from, hobbies and so on. A great bunch of people here who are more than happy to help you on your smoking needs.

A few things we will need to know. You say it's an electric smoker? What kind? Brand?
Your meat thermometer, is it the probe type with dial on top?

You don't have to leave the therm in there while it's smoking, in fact, some are just meant for checking and not meant to be left it.
Answer these questions with any other info and we'll help you the best we can.

Remember, no such thing as a dumb question here. We all had to start somewhere, so any question, especially being new to this hobby is very very welcome.

Hope you enjoy your stay with us, if you stick with this hobby and learn the ins and outs of it, I think you will be hooked.

 

[tasunkawitko]

hi, linton, and welcome to the SMF. no such thing as a dumb question as we all have to learn ~

i'll tell you what i would do, and pretty soon some other folks will come along and tell you what they would do. read all the replies and decide which one sounds like the best fit for your situation.

what i would do is smoke the bologna at the indicated temperature for about 3/4 of the indicated time (for instance, if the recipe says an hour, i would leave it alone for 45 minutes) and then after that, when the bologna starts looking ready to be done, i would stick the probe into the center and see what it said.

some folks like to put it in and leave it the entire smoke. you can do this too, but i don't. no real reason to do so because i already know what the meat is doing. it's cookin', and i'm not to interested in what its temperature is until it's getting close to done.

hope this helps, but be sure to read other replies. everyone has their own way of doing things, usually developed over the course of experience and observation. the main thing to remember is that we're cooking meat here, not building the space shuttle, so it will all be good!

 

[lintonkennels]

Thanks alot guys. I will get back on here tommrow and give you guys on my info while im smoking the Bologna. Thanks again

 

[tasunkawitko]

a thought occurred to me this morning. when you do probe the bologna, you may want to plug the hole with fat.

does anyone know it this would be necessary?

 

[missouri hog wild]

I USE ONE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE MEAT AS OVER ALL TEMP CHECKER AND I ALSO HAVE 1 I KEEP IN THE MEAT FOR A INTERNAL TEMP...GOTSTA MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT TEMP INTERNAL , WE DONT WANT ANY SICK SMOKERS OUT THERE ,, ,,