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Question on the Maverick 732

I got a Maverick 732 for Christmas. For my first cook with it, I did a leg of lamb. The lamb was on a v-rack over a drip pan cooked on direct heat with a dome temperature of 300. I calibrated the dome thermometer right before the cook, and the dome temperature held steady at 300 throughout the whole cook. The Maverick's meat probe worked correctly throughout the cook. It gradually rose throughout the cook, and when I pulled the lamb, the Maverick's temperature was very close to what my other meat thermometer reported.

But, the Maverick's grill grate probe gave me really screwy results. I had this probe clipped on the grill grate a couple inches away from the drip pan. Based on what I've read on this forum, I expected it to register roughly 25 degrees cooler than the dome temperature. However, the Maverick almost immediately reported a grate temperature of 325. Then, the temperature gradually climbed throughout the duration of the cook. By the end, the Maverick was reporting a grate temperature well over 400. (My dome temperature stayed constant at 300 while the Maverick increased by 100 degrees.) I'm quite certain my egg wasn't really this hot because my top and bottom vents were almost completely closed off. If anything, the temperature was probably under 300, not over 400. It was also weird that the Maverick temperature gradually increased throughout the cook while the dome was constant.

Has anyone else had similar issues with the Maverick? I'm wondering if I have a bad probe or if I'm doing something wrong. Should the grill grate probe be further from the drip pan so that it doesn't pick up the heat slowly building up in the roast? (That would be odd to me since the roast was way, way, way cooler than 400.) Would you recommend that I put the Maverick probe up in the top of the dome instead of on the grate? Any recommendations for how to clip it up high?

The lamb, by the way, rocked. It was a huge hit for Christmas dinner.

Comments

  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    Just some thoughts.  Was the probe touching the grate?

    I find my dome and grate (usually raised) to be very similar in temps.

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    Don't clip the grate probe where it gets direct exposure to burning lump.  That temp is HOT.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
  • dlk7
    dlk7 Posts: 1,053
    If you have the grate probe directly above lit charcoal it can skew the temp reading.  I always look for a place that is indirect to the lump.

    Two XL BGEs - So Happy!!!!

    Waunakee, WI

  • Thanks. I guess with a plate setter, it wouldn't be a problem then to clip it near the middle, but for my next long direct cook, I should clip it off to the side somewhere, probably near the front since there's less burning lump there. The problem is that without the plate setter, there really is no spot that is guaranteed to be indirect to the lump, unless I clip it to the v-rack over top of the drip pan. Maybe the v-rack would have been a better place for it.

    BTW, it was definitely not touching the grate. The clip was holding it just above the grate. I was also not using a raised grate for this cook.
  • piney
    piney Posts: 1,478
    Good luck with the Maverick 732. I also have one, Maverick has sent me new probes twice, I have never got this thing to preform as it should. I just sent it back to Maverick today I guess we will see what happens next.
    Lenoir, N.C.
  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
    If you're using a v-rack with a drip or baking pan, you are doing an indirect cook.  Clip the thermometer on the v-rack in the "shadow" of the pan - next to your meat (but not touching it).  That's the temperature your meat is getting, and the temperature you're actually "cooking" it.

    This configuration "clip was holding it just above the grate" is going to be as hot as actually clipping it to the grate.  Direct heat is the same as indirect, except you get all the radiant heat (IR radiation) - just like getting hot when you're next to a camp fire.  If you stand behind someone who's in front of the fire - you're in their shadow, and it's much cooler.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..