160F versus 149F for 7 hours

[Anonymous Modernist 5766]

I wondered whether the lab can provide some information on the effects of smoking ribs at a higher temperature than recommended in the book. Specifically, I wondered what the effects are of smoking at 160F versus the recommended 149F. I am considering purchasing a Traeger smoker (I do not want to have to tend the fire of a Karubecueevery 30 minutes) but learned that the minimum operating temperature is 160F (with a variance up to 20F) .

[Anonymous Modernist 10]

Whatever temperature you're smoking at combined with the environment's humidity will determine how cooked your meat is. So if you go higher in temperature, your meat might not be as juicy. But it can still be delicious with a good quality cut of meat and a well-practiced process. You can always try using a shorter length of time if you are using a higher temperature.

You might look into getting the Bradley smoker though.

[Anonymous Modernist 7660]

Get a Bradley Smoker with a PID controller (Auber instruments sells a dual probe PID that works well, which you can also use to control a water bath for sous vide cooking. fresh meals magic also sells a PID with a focus on sous vide and can also sell you a type of immersion heater relatively cheaply for sous vide) will let you set temps precisely. You can even cold smoke cheese and other foods this way. The smoke generator is seperate from the heating element, so you can turn the element off and still have smoke. Its pretty simple to set up cold smoking if you want to.