AllenOK
Executive Chef
One thing to remember, is that the Health Department, and some manufacturers, have a "Mother knows best" attitude towards the general public. The minimum safe temperature for chicken is 165 degrees F. However, the Health Department recommends that home cooks keep cooking chicken until it's around 175 - 180 degrees F. This is complete crap, as it results in dry, tough chicken that tastes like sawdust. The meat thermometer is also wrong.
This is another reason why I prefer to purchase equipment that just lists the temperature, not the spot where "they" feel it's done.
Doomsday, with no exhaust on your smoker, I feel you might have a problem with creosote depositing onto your meat. I made that mistake, once. I shut the exhaust on my smoker, and after 3 hours, a rack of ribs was as black as charcoal, and the temp never went above 250 degrees F.
You might want to consider taking a power drill and drilling a few 1/4" holes in the lid. This will do two things:
1) Provide an "exhaust" for the excess smoke.
2) Provide a quick access point for a probe thermometer, so you can accurately guage the temperature of your smoker.
This is another reason why I prefer to purchase equipment that just lists the temperature, not the spot where "they" feel it's done.
Doomsday, with no exhaust on your smoker, I feel you might have a problem with creosote depositing onto your meat. I made that mistake, once. I shut the exhaust on my smoker, and after 3 hours, a rack of ribs was as black as charcoal, and the temp never went above 250 degrees F.
You might want to consider taking a power drill and drilling a few 1/4" holes in the lid. This will do two things:
1) Provide an "exhaust" for the excess smoke.
2) Provide a quick access point for a probe thermometer, so you can accurately guage the temperature of your smoker.