Bull Why no temps between 180 and 200?

[Smoker4]

I have a lot of recipes for long smokes that start at 190 or 195F. Just got an RT700 and I'm surprised that you can set temperature every 5 degrees EXCEPT between 180 and 200F. It goes from Extreme Smoke at 180 to 200F.

Why won't it do 185, 190, 195 too?

 

[Mastertech59]

Welcome to the forum. That's the algorithm Rec Tec chose to use in the controller, quite frankly there not much difference in the extreme smoke 180 degree setting and the 200 degree setting other than things will take longer to cook at the 180. If you haven't done the offset calibration your Bull yet it's probably cooking at a lower temperature than you think.

 

[Smoker4]

@Mastertech59, thanks for the suggestion. I have not done the calibration yet and should do so. Wasn't sure what to use as my source of truth. I guess I will start with the meat probes in ice water and go from there.

So when you do an overnight slow smoke of a full brisket, do you typically run at 180F or 200F?

 

[Mastertech59]

@Mastertech59, thanks for the suggestion. I have not done the calibration yet and should do so. Wasn't sure what to use as my source of truth. I guess I will start with the meat probes in ice water and go from there.

So when you do an overnight slow smoke of a full brisket, do you typically run at 180F or 200F?

I have found using a smoke tube filled with the same pellets that's in the hopper and starting the overnight cook at 225 for a brisket has worked better for me. I have done a couple of briskets using the extreme smoke 180 degree to start and the brisket didn't render nicely and took way too much time to finish getting to the probe tender feel I was looking for. They came out ok but lately I have found there were better results out there to cook brisket using higher temperatures and have it done in less time. At some point I want to try this Myron Mixon hot and fast brisket recipe.
https://www.myronmixonbbqpellets.com/recipegallery/perfect-brisket/

 

[Beavercreek_smoker]

@Mastertech59, thanks for the suggestion. I have not done the calibration yet and should do so. Wasn't sure what to use as my source of truth. I guess I will start with the meat probes in ice water and go from there.

So when you do an overnight slow smoke of a full brisket, do you typically run at 180F or 200F?

Yes use the Rec Tec probe to check your temp in the smoker. Do the probe 32 degree calibration first and then use the freshly calibrated probe to check smoker temp when at 250 degrees. that way you set your offset to 2.5 degrees (One precent adjustments)vor less of actual Temp. Ive seen people use external devices to check pit temps but unless you have a expensive and calibrated probe, you dont really know what’s right...

 

[cookingjnj]

Interesting. I have an older 680, and my controller will allow me to go from 180 up in 5 degree increments. I also have the ability to go with "Extreme" smoke setting through the 180-235 range. Of course I do not have WiFi or built in meat probes.

 

[Smoker4]

Glad I did the cal. My RT700 was 275F actually with a 250F setting. That explains why my brisket moved so quickly last weekend. Surprised that they don't come calibrated from the factory. With 25F error, it should be in the manual as a step in the setup!

 

[Egxflash]

Where did you guys put your probe when you did the calibration? Straight on the center of the grill at grate level?

I had my first cook this weekend and my Thermoworks Smoke was reading about 5-10 degrees off what the Bull display was at first. It was during a cook though and I just attributed the lower temps to the cold meat in proximity of the probe.

After a while, my TS Smoke probe was within <5 degrees of the RT-700's display. The probe was towards the back, about 4 inches to the right of center.

 

[Smoker4]