First Cook on FEC 100

MNbbqkid,

You may want to repost in the FEC section. The unit does a fine job holding the temp. The reason people start out low and bump up is to get more smoke flavor. For example, start a brisket at 180* for six hours and then bump the temp up to 240* until it's finished.

First thing I did was chicken, then ribs. Don't matter what you cook. Word of advice, set your temp, season your meat, place it in the fec and walk away. Come by to make sure everything is running good, but don't worry about what the temp is reading in the iq4 control. It will take some time to get seasoned and settle down. Mine use to be 10-30 degrees off when I first started cooking, but the food always turned out perfect. Now that I have about a dozen cooks under my belt the fec stay within about 3 degrees of what I set it.

The start low, finish high is for someone who wants to get a LOT more smoke. Adjusting temps is common, but not a requirement.

It's your smoker now, go with what you want/need. But it's a new type of smoker so there is a learning curve

Don't over think it (I know, you won't but SOME new owners seem to)

Go with one or both (don't put chicken above the ribs, poultry should never drip on anything else).

For ribs, put St Louis trimmed spares in at 275 and pull at 4 hours to see if they're done.

Do NOT stress over the first couple of cooks. I personally think sometimes we focus on the littlest of details. Cook a couple of times, season it and let's see where it goes.

good luck, let us know how it goes.

Smokin'

Thanks all. will bumping it up give you a better smoke ring as well?

There are a bunch of threads about smokering in the FIND at page top.

Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, and if you really need to change your good cooking techniques.

Remember ,some of these techniques may have more to do with timing and sleeping,on schedules for a comp.Not necessarily for improving your cook.

Immediate answer could be maybe?no?,but depends on the above thoughts?Try it and let us know.

quote:

Originally posted by MNbbqkid:
Thanks all. will bumping it up give you a better smoke ring as well?

No, you need more time at a lower temp to do that. SR comes from the nitrates/nitrites in the smoke.