low temperature

David · December 2007

I making jerky..as I type...I can't seem to get the temp below 250...what do i need to do to lower to 180...I've cut off the air..but it seems to be staying on 250...should I be more patient..Thanks!

stike · December 2007

David ,
if one of the things you are doing is opening the lid in order to spill excess heat, DON'T. you let in more oxygen that way than comes in thru the vent.[p]couple other things. [p]1. you should try to sneak UP to a temp rather than come down
2. if the vents are open even a TINY bit, the fire won't go out. not quickly, any way. if the temp isn't going down, your vents are open too far, no matter how 'closed' they appear to be.
3. ..unless... unless the ceramic is already heated up. it will retain heat for a while, which overall is good. but if you are trying to come down quickly, that heat retention will work against you.
4. 180 is still 'hot smoking'. 250 may sound a lot hotter than 180, but it's not a big deal. trust that it will come down. leave the meat in and choke vents more. i wouldn't advocate pulling the meat out until you dropped to 180. rather, just let it ride and try to bring it down.

Mopar400 · December 2007

David ,
The Naked Whiz has a great artical on his site for cold smoking jerky and how to keep the temp. down.
I tried it and it works great.[p]Bob
[ul][li]http://www.nakedwhiz.com/coldsmoking/coldsmokejerky.htm[/ul]

low temperature

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