I received my YS640 a couple of weeks ago. It is rare in this day and age when you receive a product and feel that it was well worth the price paid. My YS640 was well worth the price paid. It is a fabulously built unit and and joy to use. Now to learn the finer points of the unit.
My first cook was the weekend before last. I cooked some brined split chickens cooked on the main grate and they turned out great. This last weekend I cooked St. Louis pork ribs. I monitored the main grate temps but not the upper grate. I smoked the ribs at 225 degrees for 2.5 hours and then foiled them and and cooked them for 2 more hours at 250. Just dry rub no sauce on the ribs. Needless to say the ribs on the lower grate while they were good and tasty they were a little overdone by my standards. Just fell off the bone where I personally like a rib that will pull of the bone easy with the teeth but not fall off the bone. The ribs on the upper rack were perfect. So this brings to question does the upper grate generally run cooler and about how much? I am just trying to make adjustments in my cooking techniques for my desired results.
Thanks,
Al
Check out the test that this guy did.... He got around a -20deg difference for the upper shelf.
viewtopic.php?p=2006
Congrats on the 640!
Maybe just pull the lower rack ribs off 1/2 hour earlier..maybe 45min? Always hard with things like ribs and wings because getting a probe temp is so unreliable.... Just a matter of trial and error!
15 to 20 degrees is a good guess. The far left side a little cooler and the far right side a tad warmer.
BTW - if you cook in pans, you should bump the temp up 15 to 20 degrees as a starting point. You will need to do some testing to find your sweet spot(s).
Thanks for the info. That is exactly what I was looking for. This weeks cook will be a 12lb brisket.
When I cook the same meat on both shelves (especially ribs), I rotate top to bottom every 1.5 hours or so.
We cook baby backs with no foil on sheet pans at 275° for 4 to 4.5 hours and they come out perfect for our tastes.
TIM
I'm going to have to try 275°. I, too, prefer not to foil. I've been doing mine at 250° for 4.5 hours (dry rub only), glaze/spritz them, and then let them go 1 more hour. Note that I'm using those 3-packs from Sam's Club. They're back ribs, not exactly baby backs, and have more meat on them that I like to cook a little longer. But I'm thinking that 275° might render them better. Gotta give that a try. Thanks for the idea!
A-Maze-N Tube Smoker (6" & 12")
KAPN wrote:When I cook the same meat on both shelves (especially ribs), I rotate top to bottom every 1.5 hours or so.
...
Frogmats are GREAT for moving smaller items (poppers, ABTs, wings, etc) between racks!
A-Maze-N Tube Smoker (6" & 12")
Not sure what is going on with my 640, but I am getting about 100 degree difference from what my hood gauges are reading vs what the controller is saying.
right now my pit is set to 300 and that is what my controller is saying. The hood gauges are both at 200. Not sure why I am getting that much of a difference.
Would outside temp effect that reading? I am in Nor Cal. Out door temp is 66 degrees
roushstage3 wrote:Not sure what is going on with my 640, but I am getting about 100 degree difference from what my hood gauges are reading vs what the controller is saying.
right now my pit is set to 300 and that is what my controller is saying. The hood gauges are both at 200. Not sure why I am getting that much of a difference.
Would outside temp effect that reading? I am in Nor Cal. Out door temp is 66 degrees
I wondered the same thing not long ago with my new 640 and basically it gets down to the fact that the placement of those gauges on the Yoder are at the coldest point of the pit. Why it couldn't be mounted at pretty much grate level is unclear. When you look at BBQ vids such as those from Aaron Franklin his gauges are low...heh.
They are pretty much worthless on these Yoder Pellet grills. Wish I would have known that because it could have saved me a few bucks.
I'm going to do two Spatchcocked Turkeys tomorrow. One is about a pound and a half less than the other. Going to do the bigger one on the bottom. I'll see if they get done close to the same time... I'll let you know how it works out....
Diverreb1 wrote:I'm going to do two Spatchcocked Turkeys tomorrow. One is about a pound and a half less than the other. Going to do the bigger one on the bottom. I'll see if they get done close to the same time... I'll let you know how it works out....
ahhhh,,,
the old Thanksgiving double spatched turkeybird temperature test hey...
enjoy!!!
~20" Yoder "Swiss Army Knife" Stick Burner~
Diverreb1 wrote:I'm going to do two Spatchcocked Turkeys tomorrow. One is about a pound and a half less than the other. Going to do the bigger one on the bottom. I'll see if they get done close to the same time... I'll let you know how it works out....
Well they ended up getting done just about the same time.... Pulled at around 160.... They were brined. Smoked at 250 for an hour then cranked it up to 335 to finish.... Guests said it was the best Turkey they've ever had.... I have to agree. This is my new go to Turkey Recipe.
Scott wrote:roushstage3 wrote:Not sure what is going on with my 640, but I am getting about 100 degree difference from what my hood gauges are reading vs what the controller is saying.
right now my pit is set to 300 and that is what my controller is saying. The hood gauges are both at 200. Not sure why I am getting that much of a difference.
Would outside temp effect that reading? I am in Nor Cal. Out door temp is 66 degrees
I wondered the same thing not long ago with my new 640 and basically it gets down to the fact that the placement of those gauges on the Yoder are at the coldest point of the pit. Why it couldn't be mounted at pretty much grate level is unclear. When you look at BBQ vids such as those from Aaron Franklin his gauges are low...heh.
They are pretty much worthless on these Yoder Pellet grills. Wish I would have known that because it could have saved me a few bucks.
Not worthless. You just have to learn your pit and if the grate is 300, your gauges are 200. Easy enough.
Buying a Maverick ET-732 or the new 733 is a great tool to learn your pit.
Conumdrum wrote:Scott wrote:roushstage3 wrote:Not sure what is going on with my 640, but I am getting about 100 degree difference from what my hood gauges are reading vs what the controller is saying.
right now my pit is set to 300 and that is what my controller is saying. The hood gauges are both at 200. Not sure why I am getting that much of a difference.
Would outside temp effect that reading? I am in Nor Cal. Out door temp is 66 degrees
I wondered the same thing not long ago with my new 640 and basically it gets down to the fact that the placement of those gauges on the Yoder are at the coldest point of the pit. Why it couldn't be mounted at pretty much grate level is unclear. When you look at BBQ vids such as those from Aaron Franklin his gauges are low...heh.
They are pretty much worthless on these Yoder Pellet grills. Wish I would have known that because it could have saved me a few bucks.
Not worthless. You just have to learn your pit and if the grate is 300, your gauges are 200. Easy enough.
Good advice...
But don't obsess over variations if your food is coming out the way you want..... Typically the 480/640's are hotter near the stack on the shelf as that's where all the hot air is being drawn to, assuming the baffle is in the Normal position. It usually only effects stuff like Bacon or a rack of ribs if it's close to that end of the Smoker. But with any of the internal pit probes you can move them around and see where the hot spots are.... Really want to drive yourself crazy use an IR thermometer on the outside of the Smoker and it will also show where the Temps vary, and there can be quite a difference, but again the bottom line is the end result.... Which is pretty darn good with the Yoders.....
Having now been though a little over a 100lb of pellets I think there is something to be said for just leaving the smoker alone and let it do its job. Everything I treat that way has come out perfect. This was my thanksgiving cook. It is a brined 16lb heritage breed, Spatchcocked, locally raised organic turkey. Just don't ask what the bird cost, but I smoked it at 225 degrees for about 3 hours and then cranked it up to 300 degrees to finish. Perfect amount of smoke, moist and most importantly all gone with with a happy family. Probably the best turkey I have ever made. I love my cooker!
Hehe, I did the heritage last year at my fancy butcher. Ordered 2 10-12 lbs birds. When the total was wayy over $60 I decided to cut back. I don't buy the uber injected hormone grocery store ones, I went to Sprouts this time and both turkeys turned out awesome! I feel your pain.
Yea, learn to trust the pit, get some electronic probes which help you to learn and even calibrate the kitchen stove. Mine was off by 30f, woulda never known till I got my Maverick.
Can't go wrong with a Yoder.
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