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My uncle said to quit chasing temps on my offset and just cook by feel, he was dead wrong | BBQ Pitmasters - Discusd

My uncle said to quit chasing temps on my offset and just cook by feel, he was dead wrong

My uncle Ray has been cooking on a Lang 84 for close to 20 years, and when I got my first offset two summers ago he gave me one piece of advice over a plate of ribs in his backyard in Waco. He said to throw the thermometer in a drawer and learn the pit by touch, feel the heat with my hand, watch the smoke color, and never trust a dial. I did that for about three cooks and every single brisket came out dry on the flat while the point was fine. I finally ran two probes at grate level on my next cook and found my pit was running 60 degrees hotter on the firebox side, which is why the flat kept drying out before the point ever got close to tender. Turned out the cheap factory gauge on the lid was off by almost 40 degrees, so I was flying blind the whole time. I get what he was saying about not obsessing over numbers, but for a guy learning a new cooker, having real temps at grate level made way more difference than any feel I developed. Now I use the probes every cook and I've had my best briskets since. Anyone else get the old school advice and find out it only works once you already know your pit?

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wood.john20d ago

Used to roll my eyes at guys with a dozen probes stuck everywhere, figured they just didnt trust themselves. Then I got a cheap offset last year and my first two briskets were dry on one end and raw on the other, grabbed a $25 digital and found the thing ran almost 75 degrees hotter right at the stack side. Uncle Ray's method works when you've cooked on the same pit for a decade and know its quirks, but a new cooker is a total mystery and you're just guessing. Now I check grate temps every 30 min or so and my cookin got way better, no shame in it lol.