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11 replies

"Caution" Don't leave

FM Former Member
I have a SM050. Been cooking with it about a year. Once you figure them out they are great cookers.
Have been reading post on this forum for about a year and have learned a lot of valuable tips. Learned things I hadn't known from 30 years of cooking on offsets etc. Wonder now how I ever got some things to turn out good.
In reading some of the post, I've read where some folks will turn on their cookers then leave for several hours. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. However, last weekend, if I'd not been here, the cooker may have very well caught on fire.
I cooked a brisket and ribs starting at 6:00 AM. Cooker set at 200 for about 12 hours total. At around 6 I turned the cooker up to 250 to finish off brisket. I use a Maverick remote thermometer. The temperature never got over 208 for the next couple of hours. No big deal but it's never done that before. Turned cooker off around 8. About 9 I turned the cooker back on to 250 to see if it would heat to 250. In about 30 min. the cooker was up to around 297. That was a higher temp than it had ever reached before but I just figured it was just a freak incident. I turned it off and forgot about it. (Didn't unplug it)About an hour later my wife said she smelled something burning or smoking. I knew I'd turned it off but went out on the back porch to check the cooker. There was smoke bellowing out of the exhuast hole. The dial was in the off position but the cooker was obviously on. I then unplugged it and opened the door. Heating element was bright orange and the cooker was very very hot. My guess would be in the 5-600 degree range. Wish now I'd have checked the temp with the Maverick thermometer but I'd already put it up.Stainless top was too hot to touch. Obviously the thermostat or something had gone haywire.

Cooker is kept on a covered porch and is also kept covered when not in use with one of Cookshack's covers. Unit has never gotten wet etc. I do not use an extension cord. I can't think of any outside factors that could have caused this to happen.
I contacted Cookshack on Monday and they responded quickly. They said it was probably the thermostat that had gone bad. They sent me a new one that arrived yesterday. I will attempt to replace it today or tomorrow.
I think this is probably something very rare but it convinced me that I should never leave the cooker for more than an hour or so. I also think that if you use an electronic thermometer, you should set the high temp alarm to go off at 300-350.

Just wanted to relay this in case some of you start you cooks early in the morning and then leave. Also, be sure to uplug your cooker when you are finished!

By the way,,,food I cooked was very good. Tried my first Angus brisket. Was expensive but probably worth it.
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FM Former Member
Thanks for the report. In 8 years of the forum, first I remember of such a problem.

I always suggest to not just leave them alone (and even though I can, I always just like to check).

I'm with Tom on this one, if you're paying a LOT more for Angus, I think someone is taking advantage of marketing. Luckily for me, I get angus for the same price as regular, because after all, it's just a brand, not a guarantee. I think the grading is a little more "consistent" than regular, but I'll still cook a regular brisket if I find a good one.
FM Former Member
Must have hit a nerve with Tom. Not sure how to answer the question "What made it Angus?"
It was Angus beef. Nothing made me "feel" it was better. In Pampa Tx we basically have one place to buy decent beef. United Foods. When I cook brisket, I look for one that has as thick a flat as I can find. I usually like one to be at least 2 in. thick on the small end of the flat. (Not including the fat layer) Most of the time, the briskets here are very thin on the small end. Sometimes only being 1.5 in thick including the fat. Then, the brisket gets very large on the other end. I have found, for my taste, these do not cook well.
In this store they have the Angus briskets displayed separtely. Most are very evenly cut and have some nice marbleing. They are usually about a dollar a pound higher than their normal briskets. I have usually avoided them and just gone with the best regular brisket I could find. If I couldn't find one that looked good, I usually just bought a butt pork shoulder. This store always seems to have nice shoulders.
This particular brisket weighed about 5 lbs and was very even throughout. It was tender at about 195. Didn't lose much to fat drippings. This particular brisket yeilded much more edible meat after cooking. Was actually one of the best briskets I've ever cooked and I've cooked quite a few. Probably not as many as you guys but quite a few.
That's all I meant. I will try another one to see if this is the exception or the rule.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by rkbgap:
Must have hit a nerve with Tom. Not sure how to answer the question "What made it Angus?"


I'm sure you didn't hit a nerve, pretty hard to get to Tom Big Grin

I think his question was more educational. Many will buy angus because of the name.

You gave a good description of why you bought it and that's helpful.

Ask the store if they trim the brisket or it comes in that way. Maybe buy it before it's trimmed. 5lbs is pretty small, but I understand when you're limited.
T tomMember
Yep,I was looking for the "educational" aspects of cooking briskets.

Having done some cattle raising,and having a couple sons that do it now,and using a lot of Angus cross,I am somewhat familiar with the marketing programs.

Burger King's new Angus burger indeed comes from Angus cattle stock but isn't Certified Angus Beef -- a distinction the Manhattan, Kan., co-op of beef producers is quick to point out. "Not all Angus is equal," it says, noting that an Angus label doesn't ensure genetic purity, as the majority of cattle marketed in the United States are crossbred.

Like Smokin' says,many of us cook the Certified Angus Brand marketing program,hoping for more consistent quality.

Beef must pass 10 additional specifications to earn the name. In fact, less than 8% of all beef meets the Certified Angus Beef ® brand's high standards.

What is Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB) product?
The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is reserved for Angus beef that, after meeting the live specification of being at least 51% black-hided or AngusSource® enrolled, is verified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as meeting the ten CAB carcass specifications:

Modest or higher marbling
Medium or fine marbling texture
"A" maturity for each, lean and skeletal characteristics
10 to 16 square inch ribeye area
Less than 1,000 pound hot carcass weight
Less than 1 inch fat thickness
Superior muscling (restricts dairy influence)
Practically free of capillary rupture
No dark cutters
No neck hump exceeding 2 inches



We pay more here,but his prices can be more competitive.

In your area,you might be more familiar with what it takes for "joining " the/an Angus assoc.

For other folks ,it might be a $10 annual fee to the state organization,and $25 to the national.

Your cattle should have a cow/female that is at least 10% red,or black Angus and the bull has no requirements.

Thus, there may not be any standards for the marketing. Eeker

As you suggested,learning to look at the piece of meat can have a lot more to do with the final result,than a grocery chain marketing ploy.

Thanks for your post.
Last edited by tom
FM Former Member
Thanks for the great post, Tom. I wish now I'd paid more attention to the label. I just know that the briskets are much nicer in the bin with the "Angus" label. Next time I'm there I will read the label very closely and let you know.
I'm a firm believer that a successful cook starts at the store. I moved from Abilene Tx to Pampa about 2 1/2 years ago, and the choices here are not anywhere near what they were in West Texas.
In Abilene I really never looked at price or description. I just looked at every brisket they had and usually could find a good one. Not the case here. The brisket I described was small but just what I was after. Was only serving 6 so didn't want a big one.
Tom, glad you wrote the post. Were some things there I did not know.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by rkbgap:
In reading some of the post, I've read where some folks will turn on their cookers then leave for several hours. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. However, last weekend, if I'd not been here, the cooker may have very well caught on fire.
I cooked a brisket and ribs starting at 6:00 AM. Cooker set at 200 for about 12 hours total. At around 6 I turned the cooker up to 250 to finish off brisket. I use a Maverick remote thermometer. The temperature never got over 208 for the next couple of hours. No big deal but it's never done that before. Turned cooker off around 8. About 9 I turned the cooker back on to 250 to see if it would heat to 250. In about 30 min. the cooker was up to around 297. That was a higher temp than it had ever reached before but I just figured it was just a freak incident. I turned it off and forgot about it. (Didn't unplug it)About an hour later my wife said she smelled something burning or smoking. I knew I'd turned it off but went out on the back porch to check the cooker. There was smoke bellowing out of the exhuast hole. The dial was in the off position but the cooker was obviously on. I then unplugged it and opened the door. Heating element was bright orange and the cooker was very very hot. My guess would be in the 5-600 degree range. Wish now I'd have checked the temp with the Maverick thermometer but I'd already put it up.Stainless top was too hot to touch. Obviously the thermostat or something had gone haywire.


Sounds like an overtemp sensor should be incorporated that would provide the necessary safety factor.

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