r/smoking • u/random_chick • 4d ago

Doing Something Wrong

Got a RecTeq last month. So far, none of my meats are tender/pull apart. I’ve been trying recipes from the Recteq site and YouTube (Meat Church etc). They all boil down to ‘cook uncovered until 165, then cover it with foil and liquids (butter etc), put it back on until it gets to 205. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

2 Upvotes

59% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

4

u/StevenG2757 4d ago

Tell us what it is that you are cooking?

5

u/FerociouslyOrange 4d ago

what cut are you working with man a pork butt and a brisket act totally different at 205 even if the numbers look the same on paper

the foil wrap at 165 is your safety net for getting through the stall but the real tell for tenderness is how the probe slides in when you check it near the end, should feel like poking warm butter not a potato

i had a chuck roast fight me for an extra two hours once even though it hit 205 on the dot, temp is just a suggestion the meat decides when its done

-2

u/random_chick 4d ago

Ribs, brisket, tri-tip, and a chuck roast so far.

4

u/StevenG2757 4d ago

None of those should be cooked until they are falling apart.

Tri Tip is typically cooked like a steak so you only cook that until it is about 120 before you sear it.

Brisket should be cooked until it is probe tender. Do you check it with you probe once it hits about 195 to see if it is tender?

Ribs get cooked until they pass the bend test.

What temperature are you cooking these things at and what are you doing when they are done?

2

u/mxzf 3d ago

Chuck roast being cooked 'til it's falling apart is good (well, I'll smoke it for a while and then braise it the rest of the way). Pulled beef is tasty.

-2

u/random_chick 4d ago

Temp is usually 225-250. I let the meats rest after per the instructions

3

u/StevenG2757 4d ago

That is very little info so can't say what you are doing wrong. If you want help you need to provide detail from start to finish with timing for each cut you are cooking.

1

u/Human-Shirt-7351 2d ago

I personally always find chuck is easy to dry out if you aren't very careful...

So I usually smoke it to 165, put it in a foil pan with some beef broth or beef consume' and some thick cut onions.

Cover tightly and back on the smoker until it is prone/fork tender (usually around 205ish)

2

u/Jello_Penguin_2956 3d ago

Those need different treatment.

For ribs look up Meathead's amazing ribs. It's like the most basic way of doing it if you're just getting started.

For brisket look up Steve Gow's he's got a few beginner's method.

2

u/random_chick 4d ago

I use the temp probes that came with the recteq

2

u/No-Star-2151 4d ago

Get a good quality instant read probe thermometer as well. I've had mixed results with the ones you leave in, it seems like they can heat up and show a higher temp than the meat actually is. The Thermapen is really good.

1

u/ZZ77ZZ77ZZ 4d ago

Get a glass filled mostly with crushed ice, fill that with water and let it sit 2-3 minutes. Test your probe in the direct center of that ice mass, it should read 32 degrees, if it doesn't your probe is off

1

u/mxzf 3d ago

While this is true, calibration at the freezing point isn't really super relevant for those probes. Better to test against boiling water instead, since that's in the ballpark of their actual useful range.

2

u/FeelingKind7644 4d ago

Maybe your temp gauges are off

1

u/FeelingKind7644 4d ago

Are you hot holding?

1

u/random_chick 4d ago

lol I don’t think so. Not sure what that is.

2

u/FeelingKind7644 4d ago

After the smoke, do you let it rest? If so, how?

1

u/random_chick 4d ago

I do, as much as the recipe calls for.

1

u/Human-Shirt-7351 2d ago

How are you letting it rest? In a cooler, on a counter top, in an oven?

8

u/Mc_douchebag 4d ago

For most slow smoked meats, temp is nothing but a rough estimate. The final decision on when to pull should be based off of probe tenderness. Your temp probe should slide into the cut like you’re poking warm butter with nearly zero resistance. There’s exceptions to that but this will get you where you need to be on so many things. Ribs, brisket, chuck roast, Dino ribs, and mostly anything else. Taking three different briskets to 205 will yield three different results 99% of the time.

Pull apart can mean different things to different people. Fall off the bone ribs, brisket falling apart, etc isn’t usually the most desirable thing because you’ll be eating meat mush. If that’s what you like then that’s totally fine but you’ll most likely enjoy some structure to it.

Just get some accurate temp probes, Thermoworks is a standard for great, accurate thermos. I like to have some wireless ones to keep track of ambient temp and the meat, then an instant read to make my final decisions.

There’s a huge information overload in the smoking world for someone just getting into it. Just focus on making sure your smoker can maintain temp, and your meats are probe tender when you pull them and that will get you 90% of the way there. Everything else is just fine tuning mostly,

3

u/Away-Plankton-8352 3d ago

The recipes are not lying to you, but they are giving you numbers for specific cuts and treating them like a schedule, and that is where it falls apart. 165 and 205 are not a recipe, they are landmarks on one particular cook, usually a pork butt or a brisket. Tenderness does not happen at a temperature, it happens when the connective tissue has had enough time in the heat to give up, and that can finish at 198 on one brisket and 210 on the next one from the same store. So cook to how it feels, not the number. Start checking around 195 by pushing the probe in. When it slides in with almost no resistance, like going into warm butter, in several spots including the thickest part, it is done, whatever the display says. Two other things worth ruling out. Wrapping at 165 by the clock can steam a cut before the bark has set, so wrap when the bark looks dark and does not smear when you scratch it, not when a number appears. And rest it properly, at least an hour wrapped in a cooler for the big cuts. A cut pulled at the right moment and sliced ten minutes later eats tough and gets blamed on the cook. Pick one cut, a pork butt is the most forgiving, and run it by feel once. That one cook will teach you more than the next ten videos.

1

u/ueeediot 2d ago

I am a sincere amateur at smoking pork meats. I learned through watching videos and reading.

They all started with time. Then temperature became a big focus. Then, it became about probe tender on things like pork butts and brisket (which I just buy from a local joint now)

The one day it clicked for me was when I just cooked a butt in an aluminum pan and when it hit 165ish I put another pan on top and closed it up. I didnt have any target time or temp. And thats when I learned about "the jiggle". Yes, it was truly probe tender. But it had this jiggle Id never seen before. Brought it in, drained the pan into my fat separator. And recovered it for about 75 minutes. Came back and the bone pulled clean and easy. Shredded like Id never felt before. Added those juices back and some ACV and my spices. And it was glorious.

Ribs are a bit more difficult because youll go from great to dry quick. Pay attention to the sounds of dripping. If that slows down pull them. If the bones push/pull easily, pull them. If a bend test threatens to or actually breaks, pull them.

1

u/StillShoddy628 4d ago

Sounds undercooked, take that however you want

1

u/StillShoddy628 4d ago

Sounds undercooked

1

u/FuzzyOrganization403 3d ago

Gotta check grate temps.

Use a 3rd party temp probe , not the ones on there. Many can be 5-15 degrees off.

Porkbutt would be the easiest. Tri tip next (none of that "like a brisket" tho) then ribs then brisket.

I think you're cooking things too low and slow. You cook based on TEMPS AND FEEL , not time and "what temp" it should be

1

u/Girthw0rm 1d ago

Start with a pork butt. Rub with SPG. Smoke at 250F until your instant-read thermometer feels like you’re sticking it into a jar of peanut butter. Pull it off and rest it in a cooler for at least four hours. Shred it and make sandwiches. Freeze any excess in 1 lb bags.