We are just a few checks or steps away from firing up our first meal which will be covered step by step. So going do the check list (fire starting, temperature control, smoker, etc) one thing you need to make sure is accurate is your gauges and if your smoker does not have a gauge do yourself the favor and invest in a quality temperature gauge. So how do you make sure your gauge is not lying to you, first you need to calibrate it. You can do this by two methods; the ice method or the boil method. The ice method is when you put the gauge in a cup full of crushed ice and water and make sure it reads +/- 2 degrees of 32 degrees. The boiling method is just as simple you bring water to a rolling boil and make sure your gauge is reading =/- 2 degrees of 212 degrees. I prefer the boiling method because this is closer to the temperatures that you need accurate readings of.
So now you got your gauges on the up and up, next thing I like to do is give the smoker just a good old fashion break-in test run. So fire up the smoker and the goal here is to get the temp up to 225 degrees and then keep it between 200 and 250. This will give you an idea how often you are going to be checking the fire, adding wood, dialing the dampers, etc. This is also a good time to try and find any of those pesky hotspots. There are two easy ways to do this, one go out and get you some general oven temperature gauges (you know the ones that go inside the oven, they normally are made to hang off the oven racks) and place one or two in different spots. This will give you an idea if you have any spots in your cooking chamber that are extremely hotter than others. Another more enjoyable way is get you a few packages of beef brats and throw them throughout the smoker. You will quickly see which ones are getting the heat more than others thus giving you an idea where your warmer spots are. Now like I posted before you want to try and alleviate as many hotspots as you can but you will ALWAYS have a few spots that just cook hotter than others and it’s always good to know where they are.
You should now be on your way to your first real BBQ low and slow session. You want to make sure you are able to keep that temperature in the range you want for long periods of time. Depending on what you’re cooking you may be trying to hold that temperature for 18+ hours. You now also know the gauge on your smoker is telling you the correct temperature. Pretty sure I will start wrapping up all these tips and walk you through your first low and slow smoke.
NOTE: If you like to kick up your BBQ with a little spicy goodness and you are testing for hot spots with those beef brats here is a great quick and easy recipe that is always fun to do whenever your cooking anything on the smoker, they do well at high and low temperatures.
HOT Brats (easy)
An easy anytime the smokers cooking item to throw on. Enjoy these spicy treats while you are cooking other items.
Ingredients:
1 package | Beef Brats |
1 Bottle | Favorite BBQ Sauce |
1 Bottle | Bottle of sriracha hot chili sauce (rooster sauce, you know the hot Chinese sauce that comes in the clear bottle with the green twist cap) |
Directions:
Cook beef brats on the smoker between 200 – 300 degrees (these things cook great at just about any temp so you can cook them easily while you are cooking other items). When they are just about fully cooked slice them open and put one line of sriracha sauce and then on top of that put a line of BBQ sauce. Let them cook 4 to 5 more minutes just long enough for the sauce to caramelize. Enjoy this spicy BBQ treat!
- From no to know
Nathan Conner
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