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Appreciation post: my old offset smoker ran on guesswork, now I run a $15 probe and sleep through the night
For my first 6 years of cooking on a cheap offset out in the yard in Boise, I did everything by feel. I would hold my palm over the firebox for 3 seconds, eyeball the color of the smoke, and poke a brisket with a skewer when it felt close. Half the time it came out great and the other half it was dry as a bone, and I never could figure out which one I was going to get. About 2 years in I bought a $15 probe thermometer from the hardware store and started checking the flat right where it meets the point, and it blew my mind how far off my hand test was. Now I tape the probe in at 195 and just walk away, let it ride till it hits temp, then wrap it in a towel in the cooler for an hour. My last 8 cooks in a row hit the same doneness, which never happened with the old poke method. Curious if any of you long time stick burners still go by feel, or did you all break down and start using a probe like I did?
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the_quinn4h ago
I did the same hand test for years and told myself I could feel 225 from 250, which was a total lie I was telling myself every single cook. The truth is my hand was reading somewhere between 200 and 300 and I had no clue which end I was on until the meat came off dry. A $15 probe is the cheapest lie detector on earth and it took me way too long to buy one. I still run my hand over the firebox out of habit, but now it is just for fun, the probe makes the call. Taping it in at 195 and walking away is the move, and honestly the sleep is worth more than any fancy gadget on the market.
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