Post by Wayne Copeland on Jul 9, 2005 20:17:29 GMT -5
In competition cook offs, I have seen folks use 55 gallon cans to $500,000.00 smoking rigs to cook on. Everyone has their own preferences, tastes, wants, desires, budgets, etc when it comes to cooking good BBQ. I have tasted outstanding BBQ that came off of very inexpensive pits, as well as some real swill not fit for human consumption off of some real high dollar rigs.
Really good cooks have two objective criteria they follow consistently: Knowledge and control! They know their equipment and its temperature zones; they know how to control temp; they know how to prepare, cook and present their product to the judges....nothing more than knowledge and control.
I happen to really like the David Klose BBQ smokers that he builds at his plant in Houston. Klose pits are used by consistent winners on the BBQ circuit and produce some excellent results...but equipment is the operative word. Every good cook, no matter what type of pit he/she uses should have one common piece of equipment in common with one another: an accurate thermometer. Without knowing the temp inside your cooker takes the control away from you...it digresses to nothing more than rolling dice at a casino..it's like shooting in the dark. Most of us have pits that have thermometers installed in them by our cookers manufacturers, however, not all thermometers are equal in the eyes of the BBQ Gods. My guess is that if you wipe off all the creosote that has built up on the stem of your thermometer, you will find that it is probably 20-45 degrees off the mark!! Remove your thermometer from your pit and check it for accuracy!
Two years ago I broke a door mounted thermometer and went to Home Depot for a replacement. I picked up the best one I saw and paid $20.00 for it. When I put the stem into boiling water, it read 175 degrees. I took it back and exchanged it for another one just like it...it read 235 degrees when I immersed the stem in 212 degree water. It went back to the store as well! A little research led me to the Tel-Tru Thermometer Company, which makes thermometers for most of the major smoker fabricators in the country. Their thermometers are made in various sizes, colors and stem lengths...and are constructed with stainless steel...with a +/- one degree variance. I bought one and it was on the money! I am currently 90% finished with a new smoker I am building and have ordered 3 more for it as well.
As far as equipment goes, you will not be disappointed with the quality/accuracy of this product. You will pay about $40.00 for one of their units, but will have the knowledge that your temp control is right where it should be!! Simply put, they make the best of the best...without question. I am not one to tout a particular product over another one, but Tel-Tru is the real deal. Knowledge, control and good equipment will help make you a winner on the BBQ circuit.
I have listed the Tel-Tru's website on my home page in the links section. I have also linked the Klose website for those of you that want to see some high-dollar pits.
Really good cooks have two objective criteria they follow consistently: Knowledge and control! They know their equipment and its temperature zones; they know how to control temp; they know how to prepare, cook and present their product to the judges....nothing more than knowledge and control.
I happen to really like the David Klose BBQ smokers that he builds at his plant in Houston. Klose pits are used by consistent winners on the BBQ circuit and produce some excellent results...but equipment is the operative word. Every good cook, no matter what type of pit he/she uses should have one common piece of equipment in common with one another: an accurate thermometer. Without knowing the temp inside your cooker takes the control away from you...it digresses to nothing more than rolling dice at a casino..it's like shooting in the dark. Most of us have pits that have thermometers installed in them by our cookers manufacturers, however, not all thermometers are equal in the eyes of the BBQ Gods. My guess is that if you wipe off all the creosote that has built up on the stem of your thermometer, you will find that it is probably 20-45 degrees off the mark!! Remove your thermometer from your pit and check it for accuracy!
Two years ago I broke a door mounted thermometer and went to Home Depot for a replacement. I picked up the best one I saw and paid $20.00 for it. When I put the stem into boiling water, it read 175 degrees. I took it back and exchanged it for another one just like it...it read 235 degrees when I immersed the stem in 212 degree water. It went back to the store as well! A little research led me to the Tel-Tru Thermometer Company, which makes thermometers for most of the major smoker fabricators in the country. Their thermometers are made in various sizes, colors and stem lengths...and are constructed with stainless steel...with a +/- one degree variance. I bought one and it was on the money! I am currently 90% finished with a new smoker I am building and have ordered 3 more for it as well.
As far as equipment goes, you will not be disappointed with the quality/accuracy of this product. You will pay about $40.00 for one of their units, but will have the knowledge that your temp control is right where it should be!! Simply put, they make the best of the best...without question. I am not one to tout a particular product over another one, but Tel-Tru is the real deal. Knowledge, control and good equipment will help make you a winner on the BBQ circuit.
I have listed the Tel-Tru's website on my home page in the links section. I have also linked the Klose website for those of you that want to see some high-dollar pits.