New Member, new smoker

[smokinghay]

Hi, All. I have been quietly stalking the posts on this forum for a couple months and finally decided to join this morning. I love smoked food, the real way to bbq. I have never smoked on my own until now. In fact I have a 12 lb turkey in my 40" Masterbuilt electric as I type this. This is the second time using this smoker and I likely need some advice. My first question is about smoke. I've read some of the posts about this topic. My chips burn up with no more smoke after about 20 mins. I decided I will add just a small amount at a time, maybe a 1/4 cup at most, and keep adding for about 1/2 the cooking time. Sound about right? Or should I make adjustments.

 

[gary s]

[h1]

Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything.   [/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]

 

[matt22556]

I own a 30" MES, and I have learned to close the damper at least halfway, and load the chip tray only once during a turkey or chicken. Thats all you should need. Just because the smoke isn't billowing doesn't mean its not there. We are all striving for the thin blue smoke, almost invisible to the eye. Don't soak your chips, preheat, and let it do its thing. Are you running it at a high temp? I always do for turkey and chicken.... Oh Also do open you MES unless you really need to, the MES needs a lot of recovery time, and that will affect your smoke too......

 

[smokinghay]

Thanks for the info Matt22556. I am running at 240. I've added a few chips 3 times now and it is 2.5 hours through cooking time now. I'll take your advice and leave it alone now.

 

[bdskelly]

Welcome to the forums! We are happy that you joined the group. You'll find plenty of information here with over 1 million posts! Make the search bar at the top of the page your new friend. Or, simply post your question in the area that applies. You'll get plenty of helpful advice. Also consider enrolling in Jeff's 5 day E course. It gives you lots of great information to start you off on the right foot! Best of all is that it's free! Again, WELCOME Brian