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A bad experience / too many shoulders / bbq guru
Looking for tips / feedback on the different issues to learn from my mistakes. The meat was still very good, but I was tending the fire way too much and feel like I may have wasted $300 on the guru blower.
Comments
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I have a BBQ Guru and have never experienced this. That said.....the only thing I can think of is a lack of fuel. Did you fill the fire box full to the top of the fire ring?
As far as the temp difference - I always go by the Guru - not dome.
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-Umberto Eco
2 Large
Peachtree Corners, GA -
Measure temp at grate surface for guru. Dome will run higher until everything is heat soaked. Can take hours.
Also make sure your dome thermometer did not stab into a shoulder.They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That's against their interests. - George Carlin -
To clarify the temp difference. I have always used the wireless dual probes and hooked them up this time as well. So the probe from the wireless system was consistent with the dome while the 3rd reading from the guru was higher than the other two sources.
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Sounds like one of them is off. Boil some water and see what they readApollo Beach, FL
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ive had this happen with big cooks, i dont have a guru. i have been fooled by false readings, kept opening vents for more heat, opened and watched a thousand degree fire form below while my grate and dome temps were under 200. there is no good place to sit a probe in an egg full of cold meat. your guru was also fooled by this. ive learned to just stabilize the temps, put the meat on and just believe everything is alright for several hours till the meat temps come up and im getting better more trustworthy readings
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
When you load a lot of meat into the egg it is common to have wide variability in temperature around the cooking chamber. The most common in my experience is when the dome temp remains fairly low because it is sitting directly above and near 20+ pounds of cold meat. If you adjust the egg to get the dome temp to 250 or 275 just after putting the meat on, you will burn the bottom of the meat. This can also happen if your grate thermometer is in the center of the grate between two big pieces of cold meat - while the hot air is rising on the outside around the silhouette of the platesetter.
XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle
San Antonio, TX
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I've been cooking a lot of multi-butt cooks. I always stabilize temp before putting meat on....then trusting my egg capability to stabilize, and my Maverick and Dome readings.
I agree with many comments above, especially fishlessman and Foghorn .
Donnie Dawes - RNNL8 BBQ - Carrollton, KY
TWIN XLBGEs, 1-Beautiful wife, 1 XS Yorkie
I'm keeping serious from now on...no more joking around from me...Meatheads !! -
I don't have an electronic crutch but I found if I stabilize the temperature before adding the plate setter, the grill and the meat it works great. It will take an hour or even more for the temperature to come back but it always has come back to the stabilized temperature. Trying to micro manage the temperature seems to end in frustration every time.
Gerhard -
I've successfully cooked 5 shoulders w less than 7 lbs average per shoulder many times. Recent one was at 8lbs each totaling 40lbs (IMHO that's pushing it). I set 3 on the lower tier and 2 on the top tier. That's in my large egg.
Prior to cook, I keep my shoulders in large 5 gallons food grade with the rub already rubbed in. Leave it on counter for several hours. This way all shoulders are almost equal temp.
Not too long ago, I started to set my controller at 205 degree with the pit probe hanging in from the daisy. Just a couple inches down. Once the meat hits 180 or more, I adjust temp to 225 to finish the cook.
For this reason, I found that one or two shoulders will play catch up with temp at around 170-180. I rather have all shoulders finish approximately same time.
Yes, it takes more time to cook but I rather start my cook around 7 - 8:00 p.m. in the evening and finish the cook around 2 - 3 p.m. the next day. This is better than starting around 11 p.m. to 12 midnight for 2 - 3 p.m. finish time.
FYI -- I've noticed cooking anything more than 240 or more degree with several shoulders. You get mild fat dripping smoke flavor rather than wood smoked on these shoulders. (although I have drip pan underneath)
X-Large & Large
Frederick County, MD -
yep i concur with the experienced crew here. Alligator clip the guru probe at grate level
One thing i always do is stabilize the temp for about an hour before any meat goes on. In fact, when i have an ealy morning cook, say meat needs to be done at 4 pm amd it goes on at 4 am, i light the fire around 10 pm. Plenty of fuel for a 12 hr cook at 210 to 250
Also when ramping up, set guru temp 15-20 degrees UNDER target temp as it is always easier to raise temp versus lower it. Lastly, watch daisy wheel settings. If you have them closed off your fire will go out. If too open, temp will go too high
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I also light my egg and let the heat soak in for an hour before turning on the guru and/or putting the meat in. This by far, for me, produces the best food and the guru isn't climbing that hill all night.Large BGE, Adjustable Rig, Small BGE, 2 BBQ Guru's, 18" WSM, Rockwood, Stage 3 Roush Mustang and a hot wife...
Las Vegas, Nevada! -
Operator error, happens. Try again and dial it in. My $300 guru works like a champ.... But yes we all have some lumps before getting things down.Seattle, WA
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I have read about this before referred to as a "straight down" burn where only the middle burns. I don't think the guru is necessarily the culprit. Some thoughts:
-Make sure the air holes in the fire box are not clogged, and you don't have a build up of ash around the firebox blocking air flow.
-Perhaps you stacked the lump too carefully with big pieces. I think it is good to put some big pieces at the bottom for airflow, but I think you could take it too far and you end up with large gaps in the lump.
Which came first the chicken or the egg? I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. -
Re: the "core burn" I have had this happen before with low and slow cooks. I now light 3 spots at the periphery of the lump pile, with a weedburner. The problem has not recurred since I started doing this. If I'm grilling at higher temps for a shorter period, lighting one spot in the middle works well.
Smoked a 14lb ham overnight this past weekend, and went off without a hitch.
Another thing to consider also is that a large amount of meat like that likely "sweats" a lot of drippings, and can kill the fire. I usually use a drip pan (with an air gap underneath), especially when cooking large amounts of meat.
#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX. -
I always light the lump in 3-4 places, regardless of cook temp. Never had a fire go out or vertical burn.
I clip the Guru pit probe to the dome thermo probe. I don't care what the grid temp is.
Don't bother to "arrange" your lump. Just stir whatever's in there from the last cook, dump more out of the bag and light. Fill to near the top of the fire ring for a lo n slo.
Smoking an 8 lb butt right now. My Guru has been on since 11:30 last night, 12 hrs so far. No problems. I have a Maverick remote, but haven't used it in years. Slept all night and checked on it about 7 when I woke up. I've been out a couple of times this morning... 250°, right where I set it, meat temp plodding along. 170-ish now. Perfect, as usual.
I've never cooked as much meat as you're cooking at once. Maybe it makes a difference, but I would think clipping the pit probe to the dome thermo would cause the Guru to behave better. For me, I don't care what the grid temp is, but I want the dome at 250°. And it always is.I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut
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