Where inside the smoker do you monitor the temp when firing up?

[SherryT]

Bought my first smoker (Masterbuilt charcoal bullet) and hope to get the mods finished this weekend and smoke next week when it warms up.

When you first light the smoker and are waiting for the temp to get to 2xx degrees, where INSIDE the empty smoker do you monitor the temp...in the middle or at the grates where meat will be placed?

Don't laugh...I've smoked a couple of times in my Aussie grill, but never in a "smoker".

Thanks!

 

[motocrash]

Sherry,no one is gonna laugh.There is no such thing as a silly question here.You want to monitor your temp at the level you'll be placing what you're cooking.

 

[noboundaries]

Sherry, that's actually a good question.

When I'm making jerky, I have pieces of meat spread all through my smoker. I'll put the probe in the center of the top grate.

For everything else though that fills up the center of the grate, I'll put my temp probes about 2-3 inches from the edge of the top grate. Since your smoker is a lot like mine, the hottest part of the smoker is right next to the barrel where the heat rises around the water pan from the hot charcoals. By moving the probe in a couple inches, you get a better reading of the mixed hot air.

Happy smoking!

Ray

 

[SherryT]

As I thought, but I needed to be "sure".

I removed/tested the thermometer that came with the smoker in boiling water and it appeared to be accurate, but I'm going to use the digital (Maverick from HD) during the initial heat-up and see how it they compare...if it doesn't, I'll replace it and go from there.

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

[SmokinAl]

You may want to move the therm around on your test run to see where the hot & cold spots are at in your smoker.
Al

 

[ristau5741]

I put my thermometer right under the exhaust stack on my side barrel offset, I made a mod with dryer vent to bring down the exhaust to the grill level. that way all my smoke doesn't go up the chimney.