# Reverse Smoker



## barber.zachary2017 (Jul 18, 2017)

So I bought a reverse flow smoker and kept my pit temp at a steady 225-235 degrees with my brisket fat side up and it still cooked too fast. Any suggestions?


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

If you are using the Academy thermometers, they can be as much as 50 degrees too cold. 275 reads 225. 
But how do you describe â€œtoo fastâ€? How do you describe â€œdoneâ€? To me, 8 hours isnâ€™t too fast and done is about 200 internal temp and tender.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

Pic of said smoker?


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## Yak a Tak (Apr 20, 2012)

Fat side down IMO.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

I don't have one, but I would think most of your heat will be below the grill with a reverse flow smoker. So cook with the fat side down. And I would replace the gauges with a good quality gauge to be sure the temps are correct.


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## Deany45 (Jul 24, 2011)

Too fast? How fast is that? I regularly cook briskets in 4-5 hrs at 300ish degrees. Internal to 205 and let rest for an hour or more. Come out great. I do agree with the temp gauge think. Buy a good one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Charlie in TX (May 4, 2012)

BBQ, especially brisket, is something of a personal thing. So, if it is cooked too hot and too fast in your opinion, cool it down. It really doesn't matter what my gear/tastes say to cook it at. Cook at what your gear/tastes say to cook at. Next time try 200.


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## dwilliams35 (Oct 8, 2006)

Just pull them out and stick them in boiling water. See where theyâ€™re at.


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## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

Congradulations on your new reverse flow. What brand and model did you get? I built mine and have been cooking with it for about a year. This is what I have learned so far.

1. On a reverse flow: Fat Side Down. After experimenting, I settled on fat side down. There is a lot of heat radiating off the baffle plate. The fat protects the brisket and slows down the cooking. On my early cooks, I cooked fat side up. The underside, the non-fat side, always overcooked. If I cooked a brisket on the top rack, I would cook it fat side up.

2. Cheap pit thermometers are notoriously inaccurate. They are all painted alike but they are not all built alike. Thermometers with good reputations include Tel-True and Rough Country. I have a Rough Country and it is accurate. $18 from Amazon. Tel-Trues are much more expensive. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004DK92ES...&ascsubtag=2365a526b707bea23d507227055c4d3d_S.

3. Use remote sensing thermometers. Don't rely on the pit's through the wall/door thermometer. Even the good one's only measure the temperture at the end of the thermometer stem. The temp varies throughout the pit. To find your pit's sweet spot and to know what is going on at the brisket, you need a thermometer you can move around. The sweet spot is the spot were the tempurature holds the steadiest. Its location is probably in the middle of the lower rack.

I use a ThermoPro. I place the pit probe next to the brisket so I'll know what is going on at the brisket. The meat probe tells me when to wrap and when to pull the meat off the pit. I wrap around 160 and remove at 203. I usually let the point go higher. The remote display is great. It frees you up to do other things while the pit is cooking. I have also heard good things about Mavericks-- reliable and not too expensive.

4. BBQ Guru type device is wonderful. They maintain the temperature remarkably well but can get expensive. I built my own for <$50. If you want more info on it, let me know.


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## ACC (Apr 27, 2013)

> Just pull them out and stick them in boiling water. See where theyâ€™re at.


 He is refering to the thermometers, not the briskets!


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## dwilliams35 (Oct 8, 2006)

ACC said:


> He is refering to the thermometers, not the briskets!


 Remind me not to take any pointers from you on cooking briskets.


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## reddog5 (Aug 8, 2011)

Try adding a water can for some moister meat, this from Franklin BBQ


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## barber.zachary2017 (Jul 18, 2017)

*Figured it out.*

Late reply here since ive been so busy. Thanks everyone for the feedback. I have since figured the pit out with yalls help and one of my buddies who is a pit guru. Heres a picture of the pit (whch I got for a steal) and a brisket i claim to be my best yet.


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## K Man (Jun 21, 2012)

Looks good! You're doing something right!


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## HAYBL (Nov 14, 2006)

Looks like you figured it out.


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## daddyeaux (Nov 18, 2007)

Good looking rig there for sure. But I believe I would have tilted the top the other direction.


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

daddyeaux said:


> Good looking rig there for sure. But I believe I would have tilted the top the other direction.


Or turned the pit 180-degrees.


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## Too Tall (May 21, 2004)

barber.zachary2017 said:


> Late reply here since ive been so busy. Thanks everyone for the feedback. I have since figured the pit out with yalls help and one of my buddies who is a pit guru. Heres a picture of the pit (whch I got for a steal) and a brisket i claim to be my best yet.


Brisket looks great. What did you figure out on the pit?


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## barber.zachary2017 (Jul 18, 2017)

K Man said:


> Looks good! You're doing something right!


It actually turns into a flat top, the pins on the right are able to be pulled and you can make it an even height.


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## barber.zachary2017 (Jul 18, 2017)

Too Tall said:


> Brisket looks great. What did you figure out on the pit?


Its not like the traditional offset smoker, it has a tube that runs underneath the cooking surface that takes the smoke and the heat to the opposite end of the pit. Usually you put your point of the brisket towards the heat, well i was putting mine towards the fire box, when really my heat came from the opposite direction. it was causing the flat to cook too fast, I dont cook hot and fast so I kept screwing up briskets.


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## barber.zachary2017 (Jul 18, 2017)

K Man said:


> Looks good! You're doing something right!


It took a few trial briskets and a lot of bickering from my wife but ive got her tuned up now ( The pit, not my wife unfortunately) lol.


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