Smoking meat taking longer than expected? Why?

[sk1]

Hey guys I’m pretty new to smoking stuff....I’ve made some venison summer sausage and jerky.....but both took hours and hours longer than the recipe claimed. Am I doing something wrong? What would cause this?


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[Jbehredt]

Hey guys I’m pretty new to smoking stuff....I’ve made some venison summer sausage and jerky.....but both took hours and hours longer than the recipe claimed. Am I doing something wrong? What would cause this?


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Wind will do it. Plays havoc with some smokers.

 

[MuleyFever]

You are in WI so it was probably the temp outside if you just did it. Also, the insulation and heat source may vary the time. Smoking in warm weather with the sun on my smoker is different than smoking in Nov. with the sun setting early. Could also be the size of the item being smoked. I smoked a turkey yesterday and it was windy and cool so I gave myself an extra hour and actually needed more time. Just leave it in until its done.

 

[sk1]

Like the jerky I did said 6 hours and it took more like 10.....and the summer sausage I can’t remember anymore I did it last November, and it took like an additional 12 hours from what the recipe suggested

Do marinades play a factor? I was wondering if there was too much moisture on/in the meat even though I followed the recipes. I have done chicken and other things just fine without increased time.

Cold and wind could potentially have played a part


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[jmez]

Summer sausage takes a loooong time if done correctly.

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[Jkling12]

Not sure what smoker you have but my masterbuilt had gave me issues before if I cover a rack in foil or have a large foil pan near the bottom. The heat does not get up to the top racks because there's a sensor that reads the temp and that is near the bottom so the smoker thinks it's hot enough but the pan/foil is blocking the heat from getting above it. The result is the heat not getting up to the top of the smoker and whatever's up there is not cooking at set temp making it take longer. I learned the hard way when a pork butt took 16+hours instead of 10. I had a pan below to catch drippings and not make a mess but it was blocking all the heat from rising.

 

[wesfromky]

Maybe not specific to the issue you had, but a good explanation of smoking and moisture:

The secret to successful BBQ pork butt and brisket is science | Ars Technica

I have started sous vide meat first, then putting it on the smoker to finish and add flavor. Seems to work well so far - did a venison roast, turkey breast, thighs, drumstick and some chicken wings for tgiving and they came out great. Also lets me actually cook the different parts different times to get the best tenderness.

Summer sausage is on my list of things to try soon, but I really need to kill another doe or two to have enough meat.

 

[Whisky]

If you aren't already, you need to ignore the thermometer on your smoker and buy a wireless remote thermometer to put inside and monitor the temps. If you don't want to spend the $50 or so on that you can buy cheap oven rack thermometers for under $10. The real only explanation is your smoker temp is not running at what you think it is.