Help, w/smoking in Vision Pro

[maw]

NEED ADVICE!! I bought a VISION Pro & tried smoking ribs 7 brisket on it yesterday. What a diaster! I couldn't keep the heat below 300F & the meat burned & dried out. I know i screwed up buy not using a heat deflector but how about keeping the heat low. My wife is pissed caused i spent so much money & she thinks it a piece of sh__! Any help or suggestions would be greatlyappreciated.

[lsilies]

I recommend the below link to help you to control your temperature. It may take a little practice to dial into a setting for your kamado. I practiced without food in the kamado a couple times on weekend mornings. Also you are correct in needing a deflector. I have two, a pizza pan and a stone. I use them both. The pizza pan is good to deflect and still keep temps a bit higher for chicken while the stone holds temps lower and more consistent for a pork butt or pork ribs. Finally frequent this group. The more I read the more I learn. This is a great resource.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=637&hilit=low+and+slow+fire

[IrvinF]

My advice would be to put a water only in the smoker and just try boiling some water. That way you can see how to control the fire. Water is lower priced than the meat you got.

[Motley Que]

#1 Why didn't you use a deflector???

#2 If you have the older Vision Pro you will have air leaks until you fix them.

#3 Get a new wife.

[DerHusker]

#3 Get a new wife.

Made me

[IrvinF]

One point I would add is not to use the temp gauge on your vision pro. I have noticed sometimes there is as much as a 50 temp difference between the dome gauge and my thermocouple reading. The thermocouple changes quickly to a temperature difference where he dome gauge is a lot more gradual. So I would think if you are using the dome gauge you are reacting to what the temp was 15 minutes ago. If it is on the rise you are reacting too slow. By the time you dial it down a notch you are really past your target. When that happens it is real hard to bring it down and when you do you still are reacting to slow. Make sure you have a good temp gauge.

[Ross]

One point I would add is not to use the temp gauge on your vision pro. I have noticed sometimes there is as much as a 50 temp difference between the dome gauge and my thermocouple reading. The thermocouple changes quickly to a temperature difference where he dome gauge is a lot more gradual. So I would think if you are using the dome gauge you are reacting to what the temp was 15 minutes ago. If it is on the rise you are reacting too slow. By the time you dial it down a notch you are really past your target. When that happens it is real hard to bring it down and when you do you still are reacting to slow. Make sure you have a good temp gauge.

Yeah, I would agree. I've cooked so long now on my Vision, I don't really notice it, but when I cook low and slow, I start cranking it down and add the food at about 180. It generally plateaus at about 225. But I know better than to open up the vents anymore, because I know in about 15-20 minutes, it generally comes up (the dome thermometer, I don't even use the Maverick anymore, unless it's a real big deal I'm cooking) to about 250-260, which, for me, works out about right.