Temp Control-Newbie

eggsplorer · June 2015

I now have 3 low and slows under my belt. All 3 left me thinking I slightly overcooked the meat. After watching a few videos on youtube about the Egg it seems that I have been missing an important tool. The two (or more) probe thermo. From what I am hearing the dome gauge can be as much as 25-30 degrees lower than the grate. I should have figured this out myself. In fact I feel a little foolish for not taking this possibility into account.

I guess my question is, is this in fact the case? If so, are there any reasonably priced thermos that would fit the bill?

Thanks for your help,
Scott

theyolksonyou · June 2015

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1182554/dome-temp-vs-grate-temp#latest

heres another thread on the same type topic. If you cook meat to temp or feel in case of brisket, butt or ribs, it doesn't matter within reason the difference dome to grid.

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2015

First, welcome to forum and the lifestyle. There are several options for thermos, controllers, etc.

I bought a DigiQ when I first got my egg and don't remember the last time I actually used it (I did use it some when I first got it).

You may find that, with experience, you can get by without one; although others will swear by them. There's really not a right or wrong answer.

As for the difference between dome and grid temp... those usually come closer together as the cook progresses.

bigalsworth · June 2015

it all depends on where the fire is, dome can be higher or lower than grid. it is nothing to worry about. Get a thermapen and cook to temperature of the food and not the time in the cooker and you will have great success. A good priced tool if you want to remotely monitor the pit and food temp is the maverick 732/733 etc. but this is not necessary, many will agree that a thermapen is a necessity.

Canugghead · June 2015

TexanOfTheNorth said:

...I bought a DigiQ when I first got my egg and don't remember the last time I actually used it (I did use it some when I first got it)...

my Stoker just died

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2015

Canugghead said:

TexanOfTheNorth said:

...I bought a DigiQ when I first got my egg and don't remember the last time I actually used it (I did use it some when I first got it)...

my Stoker just died

Gary, it's time you learned to cook without using that crutch!

eggsplorer · June 2015

Thanks for the responses. Two of the three cooks were done with ribs so keeping tabs on the meat temp was a little more difficult. In the case of the tri-tip I smoked I had a probe in the meat but noticed it came to temp rather quickly based on the 225 dome temp (about 30 minutes for 2.5lbs).

Grillin_beers · June 2015

I don't worry about the difference in dome and grate temps. I put it at 230-260 and put my igrill probe in there. Then I let it cook to temp. I highly recommend the igrill. I don't have to get out of my chair to check the temps. It plays alarms on my phone for all night cooks. That way if it gets to temp at 6am I don't worry about it. I wouldn't bother with a stoker or anything along those lines. I have 30+ all night cooks unde my belt over the last 2.5 years and have never had a problem with temp.

WTE · June 2015

I havent done an overnight cook yet, but i just bought the "thermopop" by thermoworks, its the less expensive option of the thermopen, it cost me $30 and the reviews for it were great.
I havent worried about dome vs grate temps.

Smokinpig · June 2015

Have you calibrated your dome thermometer? If not that is a good place to start.

gdenby · June 2015

Yes, make sure your dome therm is calibrated, and do get the fastest read thermometer you can afford.

Here's a general description of the temp in an Egg.

In direct cooks, the closer to the lump, the hotter and faster the food will cook. You might have a dome reading in the mid-200s, but down on the fire ring. the food facing the lump will be getting about 600 degrees, maybe more.

As the cooking grill is moved farther up, the direct heat fro IR tapers off. The surface of the food will still be getting a bit more heat than the air temp the therm records, but not nearly so much as down close.

With indirect cooks, the warm air rises towards the dome, and initially the dome is warmer than down lower. After a number of hours, the air and the Egg ceramics even out the temperature. After maybe 4 hours, food on the grill will be pretty much in the same temperature as the therm.

The method of making the cook indirect has some bearing. After a time, a platesetter surface will be about 600F, having soaked up the IR energy from the lump. So the grill will be a bit hotter than up in the dome.

But if you put a drip pan w. fluid in it on the 'setter, the boiling water will keep the food around 212F.

eggsplorer · June 2015

Thank you all very much for the advice. I assume calibrating the thermo on the dome consists of placing it in boiling water looking for a temp of 100c.

Scott

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2015

eggsplorer said:

Thank you all very much for the advice. I assume calibrating the thermo on the dome consists of placing it in boiling water looking for a temp of 100c.

Scott

Yes, unless you want to compensate for sea level. There is a nut (can't remember the size) just under the housing that can be turned to adjust as necessary.

Begger · June 2015

I use the 20$ (or so) meat pen from Sur La Table. Fancy red color and a lanyard for around my neck.
That covers most of what you need.
The pen can be calibrated used Boiling water OR Ice. I don't worry about +-.5 degree, either.
My electronics multi-meter (DVM) has a thermocouple input which is spot-on at boiling point. I use it to keep track of grate-level temp, sometimes.

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2015

There did not seem to be any airflow issues with the setup I used.

Temp Control-Newbie

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