Grid temp or dome temp?

Unknown

This may sound like a stupid question but, when brisket recipes say to keep it at 235 degrees, is that the dome temp or the grid temp. I got a Maverick yesterday and I've noticed that with the dome temp at 250 degrees (yes, I calibrated my egg's thermometer and it's right on) the grid temp can be as low as below 200. So that has me thinking, I may be cooking too low. Should I be raising my dome temp so that the grid temp is 235? This is an indirect cook with the place setter.

WessB

JeffH,
Your observations are exactly right....most times on this forum when someone gives a temp. they are reffering to dome temp, unless specifically saying "grid temp"...as far as your brisket, a grid temp of 235° would be fine..HTH[p]Wess

Nature Boy

Mornin Jeff.
I think it is common for folks to start out too low and finish too high for the reason you mention. I know I did for quite some time before finally figuring out what was going on. Every setup is different, but indirect cooks create (for lack of a better word) an eddy. The hot air rushes around your drip pan/platesetter, and up the sides and out the vent. When you put 10-20 pounds of meat into this eddy, you end up with something that needs some heat to get going. It worries me when I hear folks starting their cold meat at 200-225 dome, as they are actually cooking somewheres around 150....and that will keep your meat in the danger zone far too long.[p]Measuring your cooking level temps is the best way to really know what is happening. I usually have to run the cooker at 275 dome at the beginning just to get 200 at the grate. After a few hours, when the meat heats up, the temps will stabilize....usually to within 5 or 10 degrees. By this time dome is down well below 250 to mainitain 225-235 at the grate.[p]Again, this is just what I do. Hope it helps!
Happy weekend.
Chris

Unknown

WessB,
Thanks for the input. Currently my dome temp is 290 and my grid temp, per the Maverick, is 208. So to get a grid temp of 235 it looks like I may need a dome temp of close to 350. That sounds high for a brisket. Am I off on this?

Unknown

Nature Boy,
That helps, but my current situation isn't following that exactly. I started this at 4:15 this morning CT, and right now 4.5 hours later is still have this big difference between grid and dome temps. Seems my eddy is not equalizing. Should I raise the dome temp to bring up the grid temp. As I responded to Wessb, my dome temp a few minutes ago was 290 while the grid temp was 208. I see not that my grid temp is 214 so I better go check it.[p]Thanks...

Nature Boy

JeffH,
I would not go over 300 dome.
Have fun!
CHris

drbbq

JeffH,[p]How close is the grate probe to the meat? It's gotta have some room.

Unknown

JeffH,
Maybe temps are beginning to equalize. The dome is 285 and the grid is up to 216. The meat has been at 147 - 148 for a couple of hours, so though a bit low (I was expecting this to be somewhere from 150 to 170)I suspect it is in the plateau, melting that collagen. If I'm right this is goodness of course.[p]I'm just going to let it keep going and see what happens. This is a small (7 lbs) whole brisket (Super Target had a sale, $.99 a lb, so if a blow it no great loss) and at this rate I think I'm looking at 12 to 14 hrs total.

Unknown

drbbq,
Maybe an inch from the meat and an inch above the grid. The maverick grid clip determines the height. Too close to the meat?

Nature Boy

JeffH,
Like Ray mentioned, you may want to play with the placement of your probe. Pick a spot you think is representative of your cooking temp, at least 4 inches from your meat. 215 is a good temp, and enough to get things moving. It'll work up toward your goal of 235. Main thing is you are not cooking at 180![p]Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 hours before the temps start equalizing. at least from what I have seen. You're doin good just fine.[p]Beers!
Chris

Nature Boy

JeffH,
Sounds like you are just about to meander into colagen-melting territory. [p]You are in for some good eatin later on. Cook on brutha.
Chris

Unknown

JeffH,
I could not get it four inches away and keep it over the plate setter. I figure if it's not over the plate setter, then it's in that flow of hot air going around the plate setter which would not be representative of the grate temp where the meat is. I did get it three inches away, and hopefully that will be good enough.[p]And after making that adjustment and closing the lid, the grate temp shot up to 228. That's probably more due to the rush of air that got into the egg while I was moving it, but we'll see. It does seem to be staying there, which is a positive note.[p]Thanks for all the help from everyone. I'm feeling a little more positive about this now. Some of you may remember my "Memorial Day brisket failure" post. I had to resort to the oven to fix that debacle. This one will turn out better.

WooDoggies

<p />JeffH,[p]Here's a shot just before closing the dome for a long brisket cook.
You can see the placement of the thermometers. Chris has placed them toward the back of the cooking area where it tends to be hotter.
Though one will do you just fine, two thermometers are going to give you a very good idea of whats going on in your cooker without having to open the lid.
And as you can see, the probe tips are somewhat hanging in the eddy.... so, the placement doesn't have to be exact, the probes are there as a guide to tell you what's going on around your meat.[p]The setup is Old Dave's crossbars hanging from the fire ring with a pie plate. This setup has worked very well for us.[p]And here's the finished product the next afternoon.... good luck!
John
[p]

Unknown

JeffH,
Yesterday, I did a corn beef brisket. I soaked it for a few hours to rid it of excess salt. My rub was roasted garlic, garlic powder and lots of black pepper. Placed on the Egg at 225 dome inderect with hickory chips. I didn't keep up with the hours, 3 or so, and I pulled it at 145 internal. I wrapped it in foil, placed in microwave covered with towels for hour of so. When sliced, it was medium rare and the flavor was outstanding. [p]Jerry [p]Jerry

Chris

Jwirlwind, I have a medium egg and the grid temp and dome temp seem to be about the same.

drbbq

JeffH,[p]It's all relative. I'd be comfortable with a 208 reading if I knew the probe was an inch from the meat. If you're not you might move it a bit. I just cook at 250 dome and don't worry about the temp anywhere else. I also don't load up my cooker, so that may have an influence on how some cook.

Unknown

Well, 14 hours later all turned out well. Lot's of temp fluctuations the whole way through, but I suppose experience will work that out.[p]Gotta go eat some more....