My temp probe failed halfway through a brisket cook last Saturday

I was smoking a 14 pound brisket on my Weber Smokey Mountain and around hour 8 the probe started jumping from 180 to 220 then back to 150. I panicked and grabbed my cheap instant read thermometer only to find the brisket was actually at 170 in the flat. I ended up finishing it by feel and checking with the instant read every 30 minutes. Anyone else have a probe go haywire on an important cook?

2 comments

2 Comments

smith.blair9d ago

Honestly, it doesn't sound like that big of a deal. People act like a probe going out is the end of the world when all you really need is an instant read and a little patience. You caught it early, you had a backup, and you finished the cook fine. That's basically the same thing as cooking on a charcoal grill where you're checking temps every hour anyway. I've cooked plenty of briskets without any probe at all, just going by feel and timing. The meat doesn't know if you're using a fancy thermometer or a cheap one. People get way too dependent on gadgets and forget that the old school way works just as well.

linda3059d ago

Oh man @smith.blair, you're making me feel personally attacked over here with all my fancy probes and gadgets 😅 But you're not wrong, I've definitely gotten lazy and overly reliant on my gear. Maybe I just like the excuse to buy more toys for the smoker, haha.