Post ITT if you were a 225* er and no longer do

Fwismoker

Fwismoker

somebody shut me the fark up.
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I used to be a 225*er and actually remember getting up to 240* on a cook doing BB ribs and thinking UH OH I don't want them to turn out dry!

So who else out there grew out of that phase in your BBQ life and also used to be anal over small increments of temperature variations like I was. Oh the good ole days of ATC's and worrying if the Maverick didn't read the same as my Guru or IQ....Oh and what's a ATC? :noidea:


LOL, it's funny for me to look back at those days because now I don't even use a Maverick anymore and now view 225* as warming my food to death. (no offense to those that do!) Don't want to offend the low slow 220-225 folks out there. :bolt: I'm just curious as to those that evolved similar to myself.
 
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I started at 225-235 range. Read about cooking at different temperatures and started experimenting more and more.

I can't remember the last cook I had at 225 degrees.
 
Use to be....and super spot on micromanaging too......now I don't even know what temp the pits running, but I could guess it by a lid tap :p
 
The first cook on a real smoker (wsm) and i thought i was cheating because i went 275 for a bit.

I still finish some meat low, more a timing thing, and cook roasts at a low temp
 
Guilty...thought 250 was pushing the limit. Can't remember exactly how long it's been, maybe 6-7 years?
 
I learned to cook pork on a oil drum cooker here in NC. Hand on top. Thousand one.. 275. Tried 225 a few times when I got my offset. Don't really see a difference, except time.
 
I've got some experience under my belt with BBQ! I personally haven't ate good BBQ before I got my offset! So I honestly can't compare my food to what you call "quality bbq". I just know I can make some outstanding food from time to time!

Looks like I entered the world of BBQ where people are trying hot and fast. I'm getting my information from the mixed community! I have done a few low & slow cooks. I've done a few hot & fast cooks.

Both of my cookers (off-set and WSM) seem to run efficiently at specific temps. IMO it doesn't matter if you run 225-250, or 275-300. I have a lot more fun cooking when the cooker is running efficiently at whatever point it decides to dial into.
 
When I first started with the MES I was a 225-235 maybe 250 once in awhile guy but those stalls would kill me so I'd crank up the MES to 275 or wrap and finish in the oven at 250. Then I just started cranking up the MES to 275 from the get go, I didn't use a Mav to checkout cooker temps but I would bet they were lower than what I thought.

Now 275 is the low unless I'm just smoking Fatty's then I'll go 250, 300 for Butt's and Brisket and if I'm wrapping with BP I'll crank it up to 325-350 after the meat is wrapped.
 
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I cooked hotter to begin with, then somewhere got lost and started going lower, then came here, and Saiko and Barbefunkoramaque set me straight, got me back to my roots of hotter.
 
I think 275 - 300 all started with the PBC. :-D
 
Yep, I was committed at 225* the first couple times. This forum guided me into the 300* club.
 
I used to get worked up keeping my temps at 225. However, now after 30+ years in using offset smokers, I go more by touch, look and feel of the meat.

I never used a temp probe or gauge much, as I cooked on inexpensive offsets, which had inexpensive gauges that I never relied on anyway.

Now after using my Lang smoker with the heavier gauge metal and more precise temp gauge smoker, I take action when the temp gauges go above 275.

I use a temp probe to pretty much confirm what I all knew, as each cook has it's own set of variables. i.e., the weather, meat type and wood.

I know what I like and adjust each cook to meet my expectations.....my two cents worth.
 
I used to be dead set on 225* +/- 5* and would fight my cookers to maintain it. That got very frustrating very quickly. Now with my charcoal cookers I'm more of a 275* +/- 25* kind of guy which makes Q'ing much more relaxing and enjoyable.

I'll still run some cooks at 215-225* in my pellet cookers for timing reasons on overnight cooks or to get more smoke in the meat before bumping the temps up to 250-275*.
 
cullenbranson said:
What's "hot"?
Click to expand...
Ha, if that isn't a loaded question.

For me.... Poultry hot is different than brisket hot is different than pork butt hot....then you get into differences between cookers. What I cook in one that I think is hot isn't close to being hot in another one.

Wood burner drum for chicken- 450-550* and chicken in a UDS or bullet clone hot could be 400-450*

Pork butt hot on a cook grate for me is 350* but if I hang them could be 450*

Brisket stays pretty much at around 300* for the norm and 350* is hot and the same for other beef cuts like chuckies.


***Hot means something different to everyone and low means something different to everyone***
 
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