225 Setting

John,

you've just asked "one of those questions" but here's my take.

Do a little read through the forum and you'll see some posts about that very subject.

I think the 225 is a result of the internet. It's not what I've used for 30 years, but I do use it. It's not a "magic" temp.

The whole issue of the controller and the settings is a frequent topic. The main reason it's a issue for some is that all their experience is based on that temp.

Me, I just learned about whatever cooker I'm on and use it to the best I can. Since the FE doesn't have a 225 setting, and by the way, even if it did, the internal temp is affected by ambient air temps, so even a 225 setting might be up or down depending on the outside air.

Let the fun begin...I have to go to work now.

John

When you cook on the FE, try cooking on higher temps. I found that 240* or 275*, seem to work best for me. The pit is well insulated and air tight.
The meat comes out very moist without foiling. Even my brisket is tender and juicy. When I cooked on my offset, my temps went all over the place. Sometimes they would drop down to 190* and then I would feed the fire, and the temp would spike to 350*. But my que was still tasty, though not as good as what the FE turns out. Don't worry about the supposed magical 225* setting.

I have only had my FE for 3 or 4 weeks, but I don't miss a 225 setting. Of course, I never did on my WSMs either. I would set a range on my remote therm for the cooker and it would tell me if it went out of that range. That was enough for me.

I look at specific temps for smoking as I do for when a particular is done. Temps are meant as guidelines and not hard and fast rules. When I cook butts, some are done at 190, some are done a little higher. I look more for when the bone will wiggle and how the butt feels when I poke it.

Hope this helps.

John

Great advice. Thanks to all of you I am feeling more and more like one of the guys..I can't wait to get my new smoker...John