I'm fairly new to smoking. Some may have seen my introduction post and in that I mention that my first attempt at smoking didn't go so well. So anyway, I have a question about temperature. Is there a standard temperature that my ProQ Excel should reach that's optimal for smoking all sorts of meat? I've seen some mention of around 225 - 235F, but is that temperature applicable to all types of meat smoking, or just for certain meats? I am trying to learn as much as I can about the basics before my next attempt at a chicken or pork butt. I want things to go right this time
I find the Excel likes to run hotter - around 275F. You can cook low and slow perfectly well at that kind of temp and it'll work for brisket, butts, ham, large cuts of lamb... So on so forth. For chicken I find hotter temps around 350F produce a much better result, you won't get crispy skin at lower temperatures
I do pork butts and picnics at 220-240F and brisket and beef ribs between 260-280F. Again these are target temps and they sometime swing. Brisket I cook to an internal temp of 190F, beef ribs I let go until the bone becomes a little loose and the meat is pulling back.
