New here & new to the smoker

preacherjrj · Aug 30, 2020

Hey all! My wife and I love bbq so we took the plunge and bought a series 5 pellet smoker. I am having a hard time with internal temp of the meat. When it gets to the temp the book says, it is almost so hard you can't eat it. I am no chef by any stretch, but I don't know if the temperature probe is bad, or what is going on. For instance I cooked a small pork roast (3-3.5 lbs) at 225 and when I pulled it off after 7 hours, the probe said it was, 150. The owners manual said, 3 hours and should be done at 170. I'm not sure if I missed something in the manual or what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

DaveXDm9 · Aug 30, 2020

Welcome to the forums.

Pork Roast should be smoked at 225 to you reach 165 and then you pull it and wrap it in foil until it reached 195 - 205 depends on your liking then pull it off the grill.

It sounds like your Pit Boss meat Thermometers are bad. I recommend purchasing an external one like this inkbird and they are much more reliable.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Wireless-Thermometer-Grilling-Rechargeable/dp/B076QDC5VL/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=inkbird&qid=1598826321&sr=8-6

MikeInFla · Aug 30, 2020

My thermometer that came with the Pit Boss is garbage. It's never correct. I use other probes that I trust more. Never go by the time in recipes. Go by temp. And like Dave said get it to 165, wrap it up and let it get to 205. Then let it rest for at least an hour. The last time I cooked one like that it took 13 hours including rest time. I started at 3am.

preacherjrj · Aug 31, 2020

DaveXDm9 said:
Welcome to the forums.

Pork Roast should be smoked at 225 to you reach 165 and then you pull it and wrap it in foil until it reached 195 - 205 depends on your liking then pull it off the grill.

It sounds like your Pit Boss meat Thermometers are bad. I recommend purchasing an external one like this inkbird and they are much more reliable.

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Wireless-Thermometer-Grilling-Rechargeable/dp/B076QDC5VL/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=inkbird&qid=1598826321&sr=8-6

Thanks, I'll check it out!

preacherjrj · Aug 31, 2020

MikeInFla said:
My thermometer that came with the Pit Boss is garbage. It's never correct. I use other probes that I trust more. Never go by the time in recipes. Go by temp. And like Dave said get it to 165, wrap it up and let it get to 205. Then let it rest for at least an hour. The last time I cooked one like that it took 13 hours including rest time. I started at 3am.

Thanks, that is really helpful! I wasn't sure what was going on. I've ordered the new thermometer and I'm trying some pork roast later today.

MikeInFla · Aug 31, 2020

Best bet is a wifi or Bluetooth thermometer but either way whatever you ordered is probably better than the one that came with it. I used it 2-3 times and it was always 40-50 degrees off my other probes. I always use more than 1 probe during a cook and I trust my Chugod probe over the Pit Boss probe.