Help-Cooking Pork Shoulder and Brisket with BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2

hutnut · October 2015

I just purchased the BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2. For my first attempt I cooked a 4 lb brisket. I set the grid temp to 225 degrees. The DigiQ maintained the temp between 220 degrees and 230 degrees. This cook took way too long, 12 hours for the internal temp to get to 185 degrees (wrapped in aluminum foil at the 4 hour mark). I did notice that the dome temp was lower than the DigiQ temp. I am currently cooking a 10 lb pork shoulder with the grid temp at 245 degrees (dome temp is about 15 degrees lower). I am on hour 20 and the internal temp is only 187 (wrapped in aluminum foil at the 7 hour mark). I have the daisy wheel set to about 1/8 to a 1/4 open. I have cooked pork shoulders in the past and without the DigiQ DX2, using a dual probe thermometer and it usually takes 1 1/2 hours per pound by manually adjusting the air flow. I am not sure what I am missing. Any advice when it comes to the DigiQ would be much appreciated.

theeggcellentchef · October 2015

I just used the party q and noticed the same thing. My party q grate temperature was about 20 degrees higher than dome which was confusing. I also had a probe 3 inches above the grate that was 25 degrees lower than the party q temp. Is there a way to calibrate the guru probes?

Scottborasjr · October 2015

Depending on your indirect setup there will be massive differences between grate temp, dome temp, and above the grate temp.

@hutnut cooking at that low a temp is going to take a while no matter what. I do packer briskets at that temp and they take anywhere between 16-20 hours. For whatever reason small pieces of meat sometimes take longer then their larger brothers. First pork butt I ever cooked was 4-5 lbs and took nearly 15 hours and that was with bumping the temps up to try and finish.

@theeggcellentchef I doubt your probes are out of wack, but could be wrong. It's another learning curve using a controller to just using the vents. But the bonus is you get to cook more meat.

Jeepster47 · October 2015

theeggcellentchef said:

... Is there a way to calibrate the guru probes?

Use boiling water and check out the guru probes just like you do the dome thermometer. Just don't allow moisture into the junction between the solid probe and the braided lead. There is nothing to adjust, you'll just have to take the offset in mind when using them. As @Scottborasjr mentioned, your probes are most likely accurate ... but, testing them will alleviate any doubt.

Where you place the probes will influence their readings. I've had a Maverick probe and a Guru probe within 1/2 inch of each other and noticed 10 to 15 degrees difference between them for the entire cook ... and yes, they were both calibrated. You really need to protect the probes from any hot gases curling up over the edge of the indirect stone to get a consistent and accurate reading during the cook. The fire doesn't always stay in the middle of the lump.

MichaelCollins · October 2015

I use a different controller, but I also see difference of up to 25˚ between the dome and food grate temperature. The difference seems to be greatest early in the cook and decreases later in the cook. I bet you are going to get pretty consistent results with the DigiQ so if you want shorter cook times, just increase the temperature 15-20˚and you will get consistently shorter cook times.

sctdg · October 2015

hutnut said:

I just purchased the BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2. For my first attempt I cooked a 4 lb brisket. I set the grid temp to 225 degrees. The DigiQ maintained the temp between 220 degrees and 230 degrees. This cook took way too long, 12 hours for the internal temp to get to 185 degrees (wrapped in aluminum foil at the 4 hour mark). I did notice that the dome temp was lower than the DigiQ temp. I am currently cooking a 10 lb pork shoulder with the grid temp at 245 degrees (dome temp is about 15 degrees lower). I am on hour 20 and the internal temp is only 187 (wrapped in aluminum foil at the 7 hour mark). I have the daisy wheel set to about 1/8 to a 1/4 open. I have cooked pork shoulders in the past and without the DigiQ DX2, using a dual probe thermometer and it usually takes 1 1/2 hours per pound by manually adjusting the air flow. I am not sure what I am missing. Any advice when it comes to the DigiQ would be much appreciated.

My usual brisket size is about 4-5 pound flat .I always start at 225 but about 3/4 of the total cook time I'm bumping temp up to about 275 .I don't wrap and I use an Auber control with Smnokeware cap opened to about the thickness of a dime .9 to 10 hours is usual time to get to 195 internal and I don't peek during the cook ,not peeking is VERY important . I use a Maverick ET-732 for tracking of temps .

pescadorzih · October 2015

Did you have the ramp feature on? With this feature turned on the Guru will cut down on pit temp as the meat nears your set temp. I only use the ramp feature if I'm doing an overnighter and don't really need the meat done at a certain time.

hutnut · October 2015

pescadorzih,

I turned off the ramp feature. I did notice that the dome temp was at the pit temp or a lower. I am wondering if I need to open the daisy wheel a little more to keep the dome temp up.

pescadorzih · October 2015

I have the smokeware cap and have it closed when running the guru. It leaks through the cap when the guru runs. Mine will hold the set temp within 2 degrees all day.

Jeepster47 · October 2015

hutnut said:

pescadorzih,
... I am wondering if I need to open the daisy wheel a little more to keep the dome temp up.

What you're concerned with is the temp at the level of the meat. Don't worry about the dome temp ... actually, don't worry about a 25 degree difference between the dome and the pit temp. The inside of the egg is not as consistent of a temp as you would assume.

The controller can only make the temp go up ... via the blower forcing air into the egg. The cap (ugly daisy or SW) is there to restrict airflow to force the temp down below the set point. If you open the cap up too much, then there will be too much natural airflow and the temp will go above the set point ... nothing the controller can do then.

Tinyfish · October 2015

Some good advice so far.

Help-Cooking Pork Shoulder and Brisket with BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2

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