Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm in east Texas, not central Texas

Hey, I thought you said you've been studying Aaron Franklin videos.

[snowcat]

I have never had one go more than 14 hrs. 9-10 is more typical.

I was not expecting it. Put it in at midnight on 225. It was about 140 by morning. I kept bumping the temp in small increments. I pulled it off at 175 at 7:30 pm. No time for FTC. Just let it rest for 30 mins and pulled it. It was very moist with a thick smoke ring. I used pecan on the recommendation of the dealer who sold me the Yoder. Nice flavor.

[snowcat]

Did brisket today and it turned out phenomenal. I watched the Aaron Franklin videos enough that I feel like I know them by heart. I guess it's paying off. I've really become a fan of the basic salt/pepper rub on top of a prime brisket from Costco. There really isn't anything better. Although I'll admit to using hickory instead of oak. I need to get some oak pellets, but I love the hickory as it's not strong but still smoky, pretty much like oak. Oh, and I had an incredible smoke ring today as well. Too bad I was too busy eating and serving to take pics

I am intimidated by brisket. I think I will do ribs or a tri-tip next.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I was not expecting it. Put it in at midnight on 225. It was about 140 by morning. I kept bumping the temp in small increments. I pulled it off at 175 at 7:30 pm. No time for FTC. Just let it rest for 30 mins and pulled it. It was very moist with a thick smoke ring. I used pecan on the recommendation of the dealer who sold me the Yoder. Nice flavor.

Something is wrong with your Yoder.

[Moliere]

Something is wrong with your Yoder.

Yeah, check the temp in the smoker with a separate temp probe.


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[snowcat]

Yeah, check the temp in the smoker with a separate temp probe.


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This was my set-up. Would the pan be an issue? i was measuring the temp in front of the pan and it was typically about 5 degrees cooler than the Yoder set point.

IMG_1624 (002).JPG

[Jeff Lebowski]

This was my set-up. Would the pan be an issue? i was measuring the temp in front of the pan and it was typically about 5 degrees cooler than the Yoder set point.

No, the pan would not be an issue. I use pans all the time. I think you have a calibration problem with your smoker. Trust me, 20 hrs to get to 175 is a complete anomaly. That should never happen. I am guessing your actual smoker temp is close to 175.

I cook 12 butts at once in my big smoker at 225 degrees, with each butt in a pan, and it takes about 9 hrs every time to reach 200 degrees. Ditto on my small smoker. Sometimes 10 hrs.

Like Moli said, put a temp probe inside your smoker and set the smoker to 225 and see what you measure.

[Drunk Tank]

This was my set-up. Would the pan be an issue? i was measuring the temp in front of the pan and it was typically about 5 degrees cooler than the Yoder set point.

[ATTACH]7975[/ATTACH]

I would say either your food temp probe is bad/needs calibrating or the grate temp probe (or both). You said the meat was at 175 when you pulled it. Did it shred easily? or did you slice it? At 175, it would be difficult to shred. Also, how long into the pic taken? Doesn't look like there was much rendered fat in the pan.

I have had pork butts take a really long time, but not 20 hours.

[Drunk Tank]

I finally received my Traeger Timberline 1300. Its seems very nice and very well built. A lot more stout than the old style. I have mixed feelings about it though. I have ran approx. 25lbs or so of Lumberjack Pecan Mix pellets through it so far.

Pros:
Double wall cook chamber
very heavy duty SS grates. They weigh a ton.
Better controller with wifi
holds temps well and fast recovery time
a lot of rack space
Not pellet hog

Cons:
Already had a failure to start and firepot filled with smoldering pellets
A lot of soot/creosote.
High heat cooking creates gray smoke, almost like the pellets are not burning clean.
not a great deal of smoke (even with the "Super Smoke" option)
High heat burns pellets well into the auger tube. I have to run the auger 1-2 min to clear the burnt pellets
Heat shield already warped
front tray is a joke
No radio

I am not super impressed by it, although it isn't horrible. I am going to try a different brand of pellet and see if that helps any.

[Katy Lied]

Ive read through this thread very carefully. My husband has been complaining that we need a new grill and I'm thinking of surprising him with the cheapest memphis grill - The Advantage Model. I know nothing about smoking or grilling, except that I always secretly wish we had a charcoal grill because the food tastes way better, but my husband likes the convenience of a gas grill. I like the idea of having one unit that does both grilling and smoking, and I like the thought of tending the smoker while at church via my iphone. Also, I hate baking in the summer because it heats up the house, so I could make pies and breads on this unit. I don't want to ever buy a grill again- so I would be counting on this to last forever.

Please Please Please talk me out of this. Is it risky to buy an appliance with WIFI that will soon be outdated? Hard to clean? Too expensive for what you get? Pellets too expensive?

[Moliere]

I can't think of a time that I'd want wifi on my smoker or grill. I can see the usefulness on a temp monitor, but those are cheap and replaceable compared to a smoker/grill. I don't really "tend" my pellet grill since it does that automatically through the temp control. When smoking, you rarely if ever need to adjust the temp up or down frequently enough that control through a smart phone would be worth it. When I smoke pork butt or brisket, I set it at 225 or 250 and let it go for 10-12 hours and never adjust it until I turn it off.

But a Yoder 640. You'll tank me for the recommendation


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[CJF]

My Memphis Pro is still going strong 7 years later. They've improved the hardware since I bought mine. The fans are metal for instance. I melted my plastic fans once when I had a grease fire and went over 800 degrees. The Memphis does really well in the winter also. You can't do direct grilling but get the grill hot and cook at 400 and above, you still get grill marks. I don't have wifi on me be but it would be a nice addition. But most of my smoking is done while I'm home so it would probably be utilized sparingly. At some point I plan on updating to the Memphis Elite.

[All-American]

I can't think of a time that I'd want wifi on my smoker or grill. I can see the usefulness on a temp monitor, but those are cheap and replaceable compared to a smoker/grill. I don't really "tend" my pellet grill since it does that automatically through the temp control. When smoking, you rarely if ever need to adjust the temp up or down frequently enough that control through a smart phone would be worth it. When I smoke pork butt or brisket, I set it at 225 or 250 and let it go for 10-12 hours and never adjust it until I turn it off.

But a Yoder 640. You'll tank me for the recommendation


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I love the idea of the wifi, but that price tag would just be too much for me to stomach. It was hard enough for my wife to stomach spending four times as much as we would have for a high end gas or charcoal grill just to get the Costco Traeger (which we both absolutely love). The Memphis advantage is about three times as expensive as THAT. Speaking for myself, I just couldn't justify that.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Can't think of a single good reason to need wifi on a smoker.

I used to use temp probes, but don't use them much anymore. For ribs, everything is based on timing and it is foolproof. For brisket and pulled pork, I do the smoking phase (4 hrs typically) in the smoker and then finish in my oven. I just start stabbing it with my thermapen when I think it is approaching doneness. Easy peasy.

[Katy Lied]

Hey Mol, I really like the Yoder 640 and am considering it but it is ass-ugly. I think the Big Green Egg is very cute, but I dont know who sells it -- Ace Hardware?