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[Pacman]

We’ll see if the grill stabilizes at the higher 450F. Maybe it was just the low (200F) that is a problem. Hope springs eternal.

Have no fear @Jim6820 that's just the new firmware update that encourages periodic grill upgrades to the latest product line. We'll all get them eventually. So is it going to be a 1250 or an 1100? Operators are standing by....

(Good luck with the cook)

 

[Jim6820]

My apologies if I came across as being too “elementary”. From your postings over time, I consider you a seasoned bbq veteran. I wasn’t trying to insult your intelligence.

No worries, @TheRicker, not insulted at all. I was monitoring the grill ambient temp with two devices; the RT internal probe and a Combustion Inc. Predictive Thermometer’ they stayed close together the whole time.

I pulled the tri-tip at 115F, cranked the RT-340 up to 450F for a final sear and within 10 minutes it had stabilized to between 445F and 454F. I currently have the protein on the grill doing the final sear. All seems well now; it must have been the low temperature setting and cool weather outside.

 

[TheRicker]

Jim,

I know you know your equipment well so I’ll skip the elementary stuff (power stability, temp probe cleanliness, fire pot contents, wiring, etc.). Have you checked your feed rate or have you changed pellets for this cook? Other than that, keep us posted on what you find out.

Insulting people, even when subtle, in a forum like this will result in fewer people being willing to post original content or respond to others.

 

[Jim6820]

All is well that ends well, I guess!

The tri-tip went back on the RT-340 at 450F for 12 minutes (6 minutes per side) to get a bit of a sear. It was pulled at 135F and rested for 30 minutes before slicing

And, it was a lovely medium rare, though next time I will pull it at 130F to get a true medium rare.

I was really impressed with the CIPT probe on this cook. With the goofiness going on, it was rock solid and the predictive feature allowed me to time the sear so that the meal came together as scheduled. The ambient temp readings of the RT and CIPT probes remained within 10F +/- throughout the cook and were usually within a degree or two.

 

[Jim6820]

Insulting people, even when subtle, in a forum like this will result in fewer people being willing to post original content or respond to others.

I’m sure no insult was intended, and certainly, none was taken. I appreciated the feedback as I had never experienced these kinds of wild temperature swings before with this grill, and I’ve used it a lot in all kinds of weather and temperatures. We’ll see what happens next cook.

All is good, folks.

 

[SmokeZilla]

My apologies if I came across as being too “elementary”. From your postings over time, I consider you a seasoned bbq veteran. I wasn’t trying to insult your intelligence.

Jim, It’s actually just the opposite. I didn’t want to bore you with all the things you already knew. I have admired your posts for some time so I didn’t want to provide you with information that would be obvious or redundant for an advanced grillmaster such as yourself. Your responses and dialogue on this forum lead me to believe all the normal troubleshooting information would be a waste of your time if posted. I consider you to be an advanced diagnostician with many hours of experience with these devices. Sorry if I came across in a demeaning manner.

 

[Jim6820]

Hey folks, we truly are “all good“ here. My initial post was due to pure puzzlement on my part; my 340 had never done this before. Any and all comments were received in the spirit they were intended, and they were sincerely appreciated.

And—trust me—I still have a lot to learn so am never offended by going back to basics.

Grill on!

 

[Jim6820]

Have no fear @Jim6820 that's just the new firmware update that encourages periodic grill upgrades to the latest product line. We'll all get them eventually. So is it going to be a 1250 or an 1100? Operators are standing by....

(Good luck with the cook)

Yes, the "firmware update" is pushing me to "upgrade" my grill, but not to either the 1250 or the 1100. I'm going with the==wait for it==Two-Star General. Oops, that's not a RT model. Gonna have to keep the RT-340 too, I guess, or I'll get kicked off of this fun and informative forum.

 

[TheRicker]

All is well that ends well, I guess!

The tri-tip went back on the RT-340 at 450F for 12 minutes (6 minutes per side) to get a bit of a sear. It was pulled at 135F and rested for 30 minutes before slicing

View attachment 20787

And, it was a lovely medium rare, though next time I will pull it at 130F to get a true medium rare.

View attachment 20788

I was really impressed with the CIPT probe on this cook. With the goofiness going on, it was rock solid and the predictive feature allowed me to time the sear so that the meal came together as scheduled. The ambient temp readings of the RT and CIPT probes remained within 10F +/- throughout the cook and were usually within a degree or two.

Tri-tip looks good.

Question: looking at your slices, do you have to change your slicing angle to cut across the grain across the entire tri-tip? Seems to me the run of the grain changes as I get towards the wider end. Sometimes I rotate to accommodate the change in the grain. Other times I just keep slicing on the same angle.

 

[Jim6820]

Tri-tip looks good.

Question: looking at your slices, do you have to change your slicing angle to cut across the grain across the entire tri-tip? Seems to me the run of the grain changes as I get towards the wider end. Sometimes I rotate to accommodate the change in the grain. Other times I just keep slicing on the same angle.

Generally, yes; there is a change in grain direction about halfway. On this particular tri-tip, however, there wasn’t much change. I will halve the remainder seen in the photo and angle each half a little differently, but not too much. I will be slicing it thinly for sandwiches so it won’t matter much any way.

 

[RattleR]

Not sure what @Jim6820 ir others do but I follow this. I do take a photo before cooking for post cook reference otherwise I know, I will forget. That’s me, YMMV.

 

[Jim6820]

Not sure what @Jim6820 ir others do but I follow this. I do take a photo before cooking for post cook reference otherwise I know, I will forget. That’s me, YMMV.

View attachment 20789

That’s a good diagram for cutting tri-tip. ln the case of the one I just cooked, the difference between the two sides was less than half of what this diagram shows, however.

It WAS a “goofy day” all around, I guess.

 

[SmokeOCD]

You can trim the edges a little extra to show the correct direction to cut and put a score mark where the black dotted lines go. It'll all still make sense after the cook as to how to slice. ex., take the triangle off the left edge in the picture showing the angle to cut. Score the dividing line. Trim or score a straight line for the remaining piece as a guide for cutting direction.

 

[Greg Jones]

As a suggestion, I’d insert that probe to the hilt in a cut like that. That’s one of the great things about the Combustion probes-they have enough sensors that they will find the center (coolest) cook temp of the protein.

 

[TheRicker]

Not sure what @Jim6820 ir others do but I follow this. I do take a photo before cooking for post cook reference otherwise I know, I will forget. That’s me, YMMV.

View attachment 20789

Great tip! Thanks for sharing.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Not recteq - so apologies, but I just discovered velveting. I’m doing a giant stir fry, 7 lbs after trimming Chuck roast. OMG! I’m a bit sad I just started doing this. It’s soft, tender, super juicy…
Standard pack of frozen stir fry veggies over soba noodles plus of course the meat.

 

[Pacman]

All is well that ends well, I guess!

We all love a happy ending.

 

[Jim6820]

As a suggestion, I’d insert that probe to the hilt in a cut like that. That’s one of the great things about the Combustion probes-they have enough sensors that they will find the center (coolest) cook temp of the protein.

Ya mean, like this?

View attachment 20791

 

[Jim6820]

As a suggestion, I’d insert that probe to the hilt in a cut like that. That’s one of the great things about the Combustion probes-they have enough sensors that they will find the center (coolest) cook temp of the protein.

I should have inserted it a little deeper, all right; however, I like to leave enough exposed to get an accurate ambient reading. Is that now necessary? Is the ambient sensor on the yellow head?

 

[Greg Jones]

I should have inserted it a little deeper, all right; however, I like to leave enough exposed to get an accurate ambient reading. Is that now necessary? Is the ambient sensor on the yellow head?

Yup, it’s what looks like the screw holding the yellow head on. Which it is probably doing that as well.