Pro tip: Talk to an old pitmaster about how heat works in a smoker

I was at a comp in Memphis last month and got to chatting with a guy named Earl who's been doing this since the 70s. He told me I was overthinking my fire management because I kept obsessing over the temp gauge. Said I needed to learn how my particular smoker breathes instead of chasing numbers. At first I thought he was just old school being stubborn but then he showed me how he reads the smoke color and the way the metal feels near the vents. I spent the whole afternoon watching him work and honestly it hit me that I've been too focused on gadgets. Anyone else have a conversation with a veteran that made you change your whole approach to a cook?

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2 Comments

wrenh653mo ago

I get that Earl sounds like a cool guy but are we really acting like a temp gauge is useless now? I've had plenty of cooks go fine with just a basic probe and some common sense. It ain't that deep to be honest.

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loganthompson3mo ago

Met Earl too at a comp in Texas and he told me the exact same thing about ditching the digital probes.

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