Mes 30, first time, ribs, 3-2-1, not done!

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aj comer

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 26, 2012
11
10
I didn't want to post but figured I may learn something. I tried my Mes 30 for the first time today. Seasoned it this morning then started smoking. I made spare ribs (st Louis style) and baby backs. Rubbed them down last night. Sat them out 30 minutes before to get closer to room temp.

First I discovered the rack was not wide enough for the ribs. So I cut 1/4 off each rack and put em in the smoker.

I did the spares 3-2-1, and baby backs 2-2-1. Water in the pan. Vent fully open. Sprayed with apple juice once an hour the first hours till in I foiled em.

Well once it was time to eat they seemed a bit hard to cut though. The big slab of baby backs were less done the further in the middle you got. Spares were the same but not as bad. But the small baby back I had to cut off, was pretty good. The bone was exposed, on the big slab of baby backs and spares, they were exposed little to none.

It seems the larger racks didn't absorb as much meat as the smaller rack.... So did I mess up somewhere, or is there something I don't know? I'm thinking cutting them in the smaller 1/4 sections next time?

The last few times I got ribs they turned out like this. Even in the oven at 230 for 7 hours.... Though I think I need a new oven I'm curious if it could possibly be the meat itself? I get it from krogers. Thinking of trying. Someplace else next time. Maybe a local butcher if I can find one...?

Thanks in advance.
 
Possibly add a hanging oven thermometer or a maverick that has the smoker temp probe to double check your temps.  My MES 40" runs about 20 degrees cooler than it says it is, so i bump it up to 250 so that im actually running at 225-230. Hope that helps! 
 
That was one of the thoughts I had.... Is there a prefered temp gauge I can buy for it? I have a temp gun, but once I open the door. It wouldn't be accurate...
 
I agree that temps could be low, but keepin the cooker closed is also important.  I heard somewhere that everytime you open the cooker, you add 10-15 minutes to the cook.  If your peekin you ain't cookin.
 
I agree that temps could be low, but keepin the cooker closed is also important.  I heard somewhere that everytime you open the cooker, you add 10-15 minutes to the cook.  If your peekin you ain't cookin.
That was a hard thing for me to learn, I always wanted to see how it was doing, but since I learned to trust it was cooking things have gone a lot better for me.
 
I have smoked many baby backs in my MES30. I smoked some yesterday. Water in the pan and vent wide open seems to work best for me. I spritz the ribs with apple juice and put in wood chips when I first put the ribs in the smoker. I spritz with apple juice and add wood chips every thirty minutes. I spritz them just before foiling with apple juice. I use the 2-2-1 method. After foiling I spritz and put them back in the smoker and spritz one more time during the last hour of cooking. As you can probably tell I like a lot of moisture in my ribs. The temp gauge on my MES30 reads 30 degrees hotter than my Maverick ET-732. I started using the Maverick to set my temps and the ribs came out much better. I have smoked baby backs from Krogers, Wally World, and ribs from a premium meat market. I think the ones from  Krogers and Wally World were just as good as the high priced ribs from the premium market. Good baby backs have to be tended. They are well worth the trouble.       
 
I'll pick up that temp probe to tonight. I'll remember that open door tip. I will admit I opened it a few times to peek. But also opened once and hour to spray. 

Really bummed my first attempt was a dud due to a possible off temp gauge. We had friends over too. lol. Oh well I'll try again next weekend. We are gonna cook the left overs in the oven tommorow, see if we can't finish em, and I guess take the extra meat trimming from the spares, pull it and make BBQ sammiches.
 
Sounds good. Is this a common issue with this smoker? And if it's say, 30 degrees colder that would make its max temperature 245 and not 275.... I'm new to smoking obviously but if that is the case if there any foods I couldn't smoke because it won't get hot enough?

Makes me want to act on the warranty but if a company puts out bs like this, even replacing the unit won't do any good. Seriously. We've been to the moon. The government is putting RFID chips in "federal IDs" to totally not track us, and we can use satellites in or it to guide us to a destination. But masterbuilt can't build a accurate thermometer? lol.
 
Sounds good. Is this a common issue with this smoker? And if it's say, 30 degrees colder that would make its max temperature 245 and not 275.... I'm new to smoking obviously but if that is the case if there any foods I couldn't smoke because it won't get hot enough?
Makes me want to act on the warranty but if a company puts out bs like this, even replacing the unit won't do any good. Seriously. We've been to the moon. The government is putting RFID chips in "federal IDs" to totally not track us, and we can use satellites in or it to guide us to a destination. But masterbuilt can't build a accurate thermometer? lol.


  That's the sad truth 
icon_cry.gif
 
I read a lot about thermometers when I was in the market to buy one and everything I read about the analog types is that they are not accurate, no matter who makes it. I think it's just the way they are made. I've seen quite a few that seem to get stuck and if you tap them then the needle will move. I wouldn't be upset at Masterbuilt, they probably didn't even make the thermometer.
 
Pretty much any thermometer that comes with any smoker is going to be off unfortunately at least in the sub $500 range and possibly the pricier ones too. It really is ridiculous that they can be so far off. Just get yourself a reliable thermometer(the maverick is a good choice) and calibrate it so you know exactly where your temps are, because thats gonna be the difference between "the best I've ever tasted" and "....I wonder what I did wrong"
 
Well, I ordered the maverick on amazon with free shipping. Apperantly that means they aren't in a hurry to get it to the shipper so I won't see it till next week.

Im trying baby backs again tomorrow. My plan is to set the mes at 250 instead of 220 this time, and try 3-2-1. Or unti they look done. Aside from the meat pulling from the bone, how else can I tell they are ready for delicious consumption?
 
Well, I ordered the maverick on amazon with free shipping. Apperantly that means they aren't in a hurry to get it to the shipper so I won't see it till next week.

Im trying baby backs again tomorrow. My plan is to set the mes at 250 instead of 220 this time, and try 3-2-1. Or unti they look done. Aside from the meat pulling from the bone, how else can I tell they are ready for delicious consumption?
A tooth pick or probe thermometer will penetrate the meat very easily. And/Or use a set of Tongs to lift the Ribs from one end the rest should bend down at a 90* angle. If you ran your MES at 220 last run, that was the problem. You may like this Foiling Juice...I have not needed to spritz since I started using it and that will save you from opening the Smoker...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110881/foiling-juice-chef-jimmyj
 
 
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That foiling juice method sounds awesome. I don't wanna run back to the store so I'll try it another weekend, but saved that page for reference later! But with that foiling method, the way I understand it you don't add BBQ sauce to it, but rather the juice when done?

Big casino. I saw a needle type at Kroger last night on sale for like $4, but decided to pass it up. Probably should have got it. Oh well. I'm sure this time I'll get em pretty darn good!
 
I run my MES at 250 to 270 to get the temps up to 230 . if it gets a lil high i drop the temps for a few or open the door for a min.
 
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