Unlike grilling a steak, where a semi-experienced chef requires neither a thermometer nor a timer, being able to judge just based on look, feel, and smell, it turns out that cooking on the smoker doesn't afford us this same luxury. There is no substitute for knowing the time and at least one temperature of your product, with at least two being better (and sometimes I use three).
Because even a well-regulated smoker's temperature still does vary, the only safe and reliable way to know when your meal is done is to gauge the internal temperature of your product. This is especially the case with pork, which has to be cooked to 160°F internally, something you should never mess around with.
Many backyard BBQers have used digital thermometer grill forks, such as the excellent Maverick unit shown to the right, and though these are indispensable at the the grill — I use mine all the time — they're nevertheless mostly useless with a smoker.
Grill forks are great for taking a quick, one-time temperature reading, and it requires that you have easy access to the product. I use mine for doing a steak, as well as when doing a roast on the rotisserie.
But at your smoker, you need to monitor not just the internal temperature of the meat, but also the ambient temperature in the smoking chamber itself. It's the latter that positively requires constant monitoring (remember: you are the thermostat), and you can't reasonably do this with a grill fork. If nothing else, the constant opening of the smoker will let out valuable heat and smoke, extending the cooking time in ways that are hard to measure.
Remote is king
No, smoking requires ongoing measurement, and I've found that remote thermometers are the best because they allow me to keep an eye on the temperature while at my desk, watching the temperature as it's broadcast via radio signal from a transmitter out by the smoker.
I've been using the Maverick ET-7, which includes two temperature probes which plug into the smaller black transmitter unit that sits on top of the smoker, and the larger receiver unit that displays the temperature of both probes.
Note: I generally use and like Maverick products, but I'm no kind of expert. They were readily available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, but I'm sure there are many other brands that work well too. I just stick with what I like.
I permanently mounted one of the probes inside my smoker at the rack level I normally cook at, and the other probe is inserted into the food being cooked. Both wires run out to the sending unit, and I can keep an eye on both of them from my desk.
By keeping good notes, including both chamber and internal temperatures every 15 minutes or so, I'm able to really get a feel for the temperature profile of my unit. Learning how long it takes to heat, how well it regulates, how to turn up and down as the meal progresses (for instance, I turn the gas on high after putting on new chips until they start smoking, after which I return the knob to the previous temperature).
There are some dishes that can't really take that second internal thermometer, usually seafood: shrimp, a thin fillet, scallops. For these, all you can go on is the chamber temp, but for roasts I always record both.
Tip: Don't use the timer in the thermometer
The Maverick unit has multiple timers to go along with the multiple temperature probes, and though this surely looks appealing, I always use a separate timer. The reason is that the radio signals sometimes get out of sync, and the only way to get the base unit to read the remote is to turn them both off and back on.
Were I to have been using the base unit's timer, I'd have to start over with a 00:00 count, and that's really not very fun at all. Yes, it's possible to note the time before the "reboot" and then adjust mentally, but I have a very hard time adding odd times together in my head. By using a separate timer, one uninfluenced by the vagaries of radio, I don't have this problem.
But as a side tip, I always note the wall-clock time when I put the product on the smoker, so that if I bump my timer—I've done this too— I have some hope of recovery.
I'll have more to say about how to keep good notes, and on the importance of really learning your smoker later.
Three thermometers?
In my opening paragraph, I noted that I sometimes use three thermometers: in addition to the chamber and internal temperatures, I also record the ambient outdoor temperature while cooking, as this affects the overall cooking time. My smoker has insulated walls, so in practice it may not matter that much, but by collecting the data I may be able to make some adjustments in understanding the temperature profile of my smoker.
It turns out that one timer is not enough either, but I'll leave that for another post.
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