Man of Honour
I just noticed this.
Isn't this kind of thing caused by moisture getting into the probe wiring? So if you just replace the probe you should be fine.
...I think
***** Official 2015 BBQ Thread - Sun is out, time to broil!! *****
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I just noticed this.
Isn't this kind of thing caused by moisture getting into the probe wiring? So if you just replace the probe you should be fine.
...I think
Yeah the wood is from Paul. He's an extremely helpful chap, I'd recommend him to anyone! www.bbqsmokingwood.co.uk
I just noticed this.
Isn't this kind of thing caused by moisture getting into the probe wiring? So if you just replace the probe you should be fine.
...I think
Yeah it is just the probes, but I have to order them from the US (Amazon have none and the only other option is eBay which I'm not a big fan of) at $20 each plus $10 shipping. By the time I'd done I could just have purchased a new thermometer for £25 (going up to the ET-733 with the new hybrid probes, rated for higher temps). It's a shame as I've only used them a few times
Soldato
Anyone here with a ProQ? Or used one? I think I need some setup tips. I did a whole leg of lamb bone in yesterday, it turned out fine but I find it tricky getting the right temperature!
I was aiming for 250-275F, I have the Weber chimney which I filled 3/4 up and I waited for all the coals to be coated in ash, I then tipped the coals in to the basket on top of some old coals that hadn't burnt out fully the previous time. I put 1.5 litres of water from the kettle in to the water pan, shoved the lid on and then waited until the temperature went up to 220F and stuck the lamb on.
Then the temperature then dropped to 170F and took a further 30 minutes to get back up to 220F, eventually it crept up to 243F, then after holding that for a while it shot up to 333F! I think this is when all the water evaporated.
So as you can see all over the place!
I was aiming for 250-275F, I have the Weber chimney which I filled 3/4 up and I waited for all the coals to be coated in ash, I then tipped the coals in to the basket on top of some old coals that hadn't burnt out fully the previous time. I put 1.5 litres of water from the kettle in to the water pan, shoved the lid on and then waited until the temperature went up to 220F and stuck the lamb on.
Then the temperature then dropped to 170F and took a further 30 minutes to get back up to 220F, eventually it crept up to 243F, then after holding that for a while it shot up to 333F! I think this is when all the water evaporated.
So as you can see all over the place!
Man of Honour
First off, stop using the water pan as a water pan. Put some heavy clay dish in it or sand or something. This will mean you use less fuel and once you get over the crutch of the water pan you'll be able to control temperatures a lot better.
Next up, what were you doing with your vents? Top vent should always be open fully and for that temperature I'd expect the lower vents to be open perhaps ~1/4 of the way.
Finally I guess I'd look at the fuel you're using. Using old coals though it can work it's sometimes a bit of a crap-shoot. On top of that the quality of the coals matters a lot. What are you using atm?
Yeah it is just the probes, but I have to order them from the US (Amazon have none and the only other option is eBay which I'm not a big fan of) at $20 each plus $10 shipping. By the time I'd done I could just have purchased a new thermometer for £25 (going up to the ET-733 with the new hybrid probes, rated for higher temps). It's a shame as I've only used them a few times
Ah right. Yeah, not using ebay kind of limits your options. It could be worth checking out if there are any options for either home repair or some kind of generic probe you could buy and stick the cable on to maybe?
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Soldato
All vents were fully open, until it hit 333F anyway, at which point I fully closed down two of the bottom vents but the temperature didn't drop that much (which didn't matter as the lamb was nearly done anyway).
As for the coal I have Aussie heat beads, which are really good but also quite hard to light I find!
As for the coal I have Aussie heat beads, which are really good but also quite hard to light I find!
Man of Honour
Yup, they're decent charcoal.
It sounds like it's mostly down to getting used to the vents more than anything else then
It sounds like it's mostly down to getting used to the vents more than anything else then
Soldato
Would I fill it completely with sand? Any reason I can't re-use the sand? And this might sound silly but does it matter what sort of sand? 
Man of Honour
Would I fill it completely with sand? Any reason I can't re-use the sand? And this might sound silly but does it matter what sort of sand?
Completely filled is probably best but you can get away with less. I'd then cover it in tin foil so that all the dripping fat/etc doesn't get into the sand. If you do that then you can re-use it as much as you want.
I don't think the kind of sand matters but it's probably worth checking around. Most people I know have used spare pottery or cast iron rather than sand simply because they happened to have some sitting around.
This is all good advice from FrenchTart. If you use water, you'll find that over long cooks you'll have to keep topping it up at a fair rate. Also, I found that controlling the temp with all three vents was much easier, just open and close them all to a slightly lower amount than the single that you did. That way the air flow over the coals is more evenly distributed. Remember that you'll lose a lot of heat when you take the lid off, so try to be as prepared as possible with everything before you lift that lid, so that you can get everything on as quickly as possible.
From posting over at the BBBQS forum, I've discovered that good sand to use in the pan is sharp sand, about 3/4 full and then covered with foil to make cleaning easy. I haven't looked for a clay saucer but take the water pan along with you to B&Q or Homebase and see what fits
From posting over at the BBBQS forum, I've discovered that good sand to use in the pan is sharp sand, about 3/4 full and then covered with foil to make cleaning easy. I haven't looked for a clay saucer but take the water pan along with you to B&Q or Homebase and see what fits
Yeah I just don't trust it to be correct if it's on eBay. Given that there are a few dodgy ones on Amazon, I'm sure there will be loads on eBay. Plus, the postage is utterly crazy. Most of them are between $15 - $30 for the postage and then the probe is another $12 or so. I might as well just spend £58.99 and purchase a new Maverick with the hybrid probes.
Soldato
OK thanks both!
My selection of smoking wood from Paul at Goulden's BBQ Smoking Woods was delivered yesterday. He's given me an awesome selection of wood for the price. I emailed him at [email protected] and asked him for a selection of apple, cherry, beech, oak and hickory. Including delivery it was around £50 and will see me well through the smoking season. I'll post up a picture of the box he sent later on. I haven't had a chance to look through it properly but there's a huge amount of wood in there!
I smoked the biggest and best short rib I've ever eaten on Sunday, it was 6kg pre trim. True dinosaur ribs, and before this I thought I'd cooked some pretty big and tasty ones.
It was rubbed with a mocha rub sourced from quiet water farms, it's got coffee, cocoa and chipotle in amongst other tasty ingredients. The coffee and cocoa gave it an amazing dark colour and flavour.
I was aiming for 120c for most of the cook and I didn't want to wrap them, but after about 8 hours it became apparent that at the current speed of cooking we'd be eating dinner at about 3am, so I increased the temp to 145-150c until I reached 90c internal and it probed like butter.
Pre trim
Post trim
This is it on my 47cm wsm just to show you how massive it was.
Done at last after 10.5 hours.
A thumb for scale.
Meltingly juicy and tender.
Awesome cook, I'd cook this over brisket every time.
It was rubbed with a mocha rub sourced from quiet water farms, it's got coffee, cocoa and chipotle in amongst other tasty ingredients. The coffee and cocoa gave it an amazing dark colour and flavour.
I was aiming for 120c for most of the cook and I didn't want to wrap them, but after about 8 hours it became apparent that at the current speed of cooking we'd be eating dinner at about 3am, so I increased the temp to 145-150c until I reached 90c internal and it probed like butter.
Pre trim
Post trim
This is it on my 47cm wsm just to show you how massive it was.
Done at last after 10.5 hours.
A thumb for scale.
Meltingly juicy and tender.
Awesome cook, I'd cook this over brisket every time.
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