Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kYlW9oXiOzx3x9EIOWtWRs3hyq6-Ek9WQ

Neither is this guy but good all the same.

 

Regular on my playlist.

 

This is TW, why not both?!





Subscribe to the thermoworks email and you can hit some pretty good discounts. Really like the glow in the dark boot for the MK4. And really like the MK4 a lot after finally breaking down and getting one, it is worth it to me.

Hard to go wrong with Thermoworks IMO. Have a DOT for the kitchen oven.

Older model Smoke now they have the Billows.



Even the gun you can catch it on sale at half price sometimes.



Comes in handy checking temps on the trailer bearings at rest stops. In addition to looking for air leaks around door and windows. But also taking temps on grill grates before searing. Shoot the temp on the ridges not the valleys.

 

The ridges got the flavours. Dog already knows that.

 

Why is that MK4 so expensive? I have this one that I've been using in the kitchen for years. It's accurate to within a half degree. @CurtB

 

I'm not Curt but we are about the same age If you got yours to stay working for years you have done better than most. In fact that very thermometer is the straw that broke the camels back for me



Didn't make it a full month for me. And many others have had the same experience. You get old enough get tired of spending money on throw away items. Fool me once.... I'd rather cry once and be done with it.

There is no comparison in accuracy and read times between the 2 either. At least with my copy.

 

What @Cold Iron said, I think you’re lucky. I had one (along with various other remote read thermometers) that were junk after a short time. My dad has one that still “works” but is about 7 degrees off so I always bring my ThermoPop whenever I’m at their house and in charge of meat. Now, I have two ThermoPops and have yet to justify the Pro, but I’m sure it’s well worth the money

 

Sounds like its definitely a case of YMMV. I have one and it still works (few years now). It is a bit flakey as when powered on it gives a weird readout on the little screen, but when put into ice water/boiling water it gives accurate readings, so I still use it. Although my son did buy his own thinking that the startup wonkyness was indicative of failure,,, until I showed him the water tests.

 

Cool, well I'm here to learn so I'm glad I asked! I have no problem spending money on quality products, but I am always a little suspicious when something which is probably made in the same Chinese factory charges 5-10X the cost of a similar product. Just to make sure I wasn't talking out of my ass, I just checked mine again against my $500+ Fluke and it's spot on, have also checked it in 350 degree oil. But, as you all suggested perhaps I got lucky.

 

I'd say you got lucky. Agree with what is said above. That speed thing doesn't seem important until you are temping many things on a hot grill and your arm catches on fire.

 

Proof right there it ain’t No Fluke but the real deal.

 

Nice Fluke! Most electricians use a Digital Multimeter made by Fluke instead of one sold at Walmart for a reason Although now some Fluke "yellow" is also made in China However they are still better designed then most knockoffs.

Most Thermoworks products are made in England and the standards lab in the US for them is at a much higher standard than most places. I know the new IR thermometer is made in China though

I did gage and thermometer calibration for the Engineering Plants on ships in the Navy for 20 years. Nothing wrong with a good old Taylor Instruments mercury thermometer. Charlie the Tuna doesn't taste the same once they stopped letting us throw the bad ones overboard to decrease the amount of mercury in the oceans. And fish

For calibrating pressure gages we had a NIST device but for thermometers we most often used just an ice bath and steam, it works. Not a lot of options out to sea. After retiring from the Navy was in Asheville, Mn. a few years and met several retired Engineers at church from Taylor Instruments that worked at the plant there. Told them they made good shit. Erhh stuff.

 

About to get my Aaron Franklin inspired trimmed brisket going

 

Huge knife or tiny brisket?

 

Trimming the hedges to make it look bigger didn't seem to work for this.

 

Rather than have it sit in the warehouse for 5 days (they received it Wednesday morning and were not going to deliver until Monday) and to be able to use it this weekend, I went across town and picked her up last night. Burning in this morning and plan to do some chicken thighs tonight for dinner! What do you guys suggest? 350 for two hours or until it up to 165F?

 

I realize I'm behind and just now responding after you've already taken delivery, but I would suppose you could cook under there. Not sure what material is above it and if/how much it'll stain, though.

That's a beautiful back patio, though! Going to be a lot of relaxing cooking going on back there.

Maner nailed it. The Thermopop is my go-to. As mentioned below, the Thermapen is absolutely an even better option, yet, but it is a bit pricier. I think the Thermopop shares the same great build quality, but the Thermapen adds water-proofing (vs splash-proofing) and a thermocouple vs thermistor. The Thermapen will give you readings in 2-3 seconds with an accuracy of +/- 0.7* while the Thermopop is a 3-4 second response and accurate to within +/- 2.0*. Practically speaking, the stats are pretty similar, so you have to decide if those benefits are worth the 3x price. There is a reason that all of the top BBQ guys use Thermapens, but I'm just a BBQ putz, so I have 4 Thermopops instead .

Rumor is the blue ones read faster, though

Or you just pull a @Cold Iron and go balls out with all of the goodies!

Plenty of responses to this already, but once you experience the build quality, fit, and finish of the Thermoworks products, you'll get a feel for why they charge a bit of a premium. It's also worth noting that what you posted almost assuredly has a thermistor vs the thermocouple in the Thermapen, so, while it has a similar aesthetic design to the Thermapen, it more closely compares to the Thermopop.

For whatever it is worth, there are all sorts of deals routinely on Thermoworks, so you rarely need to pay full price. Sign up for their e-mails and you get 10% right off the bat. They do a bunch of open-box deals, which I always try to take advantage of, and they do deals around pretty much every holiday on various products.

That's one of the funniest things I've seen in a good while. I can just see you envisioning the aerodynamics of the smoke going over that.

 

Congrats! Awesome dogs too! I bet they love the water.

I usually cook boneless thighs at 250F for 2-2.5 hrs or until they look like they want to break apart. Pull off and cover for 10-15 min with a small sliver of butter. Just cooked 2 large chicken breasts last night at 250F for 3 hrs and they were perfect- break apart and juicy

 

Boneless are my go-to but I was going to do bone in today to get the skin too.