# In need of help and suggestions



## np482 (Apr 13, 2020)

Hey everyone, so my last 2 smokes I’ve been having some trouble with getting the meat up to recommended internal temp. I did ribs yesterday and was following the 3-2-1 rule but after 5 hours of smoking the rib temp was still at 130 so I unwrapped them and smoked them for that last hour but they only got to 137 so I thought my built in probe was broke but my other thermometer read about the same. I had the same issue with my 2.5 chuck roast a week or so ago. I added some beef broth to the chuck and some cider to the ribs when I wrapped them in foil. I’m not sure if that’s causing a problem but I would like to improve/fix my issues before I do my pork butt soon, so any tips and recommendations would be greatly appreciated


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## SecondHandSmoker (Apr 13, 2020)

A little more info would help.  
What kind of smoker, what is your chamber temp, and what are you using to monitor your chamber temp?


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## np482 (Apr 13, 2020)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> A little more info would help.
> What kind of smoker, what is your chamber temp, and what are you using to monitor your chamber temp?


I have an electric smoker and I was doing the ribs at 200 F.


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## smokeymose (Apr 13, 2020)

200 is too low. 225 at least!


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## SecondHandSmoker (Apr 13, 2020)

Yep!  200 is too low.  No wonder the IT wouldn't hit the target temps.
225 is the lowest recommended temp from food safety standpoint too.  Unless you're smoking cured meats like sausage, bacon, etc.


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## np482 (Apr 13, 2020)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> Yep!  200 is too low.  No wonder the IT wouldn't hit the target temps.
> 225 is the lowest recommended temp from food safety standpoint too.  Unless you're smoking cured meats like sausage, bacon, etc.


Ahh that makes sense so would you recommend anywhere from 225-250?


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## pineywoods (Apr 14, 2020)

225 to 250 is a good range don't get crazy trying to keep an exact temp set a range it works better. Your range of 225-250 would work very well. 
The 3-2-1 for spare ribs and 2-2-1 for baby backs are based on a smoker temp of 225 I would suggest doing them with those numbers a time or two then adjust them to your personal tastes.


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## SecondHandSmoker (Apr 14, 2020)

np482 said:


> Ahh that makes sense so would you recommend anywhere from 225-250?




Yes.  As Piney said above 225-250 is the perfect range.


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