New to MES30, first cook q-view

fixer · May 14, 2013

Hullo lads and lasses. I just picked up an MES30 off craigslist for $70. Added an AMNPS and off to the races. seasoned the AMNPS with a full burn then tonight tried a simple one, moinkballs (sacriledge, turkey meatballs were used) and a couple ears of sweet corn. low overhead prep after work...mixed up he pellets with a handful of each oak, maple, hickory and cherry and I don't know why. Set the smoker to max and lit both ends of the AMNPS, figured too much smoke couldn't hurt these. Nothing on the corn, pulled it out just before they got dry. dunked the moinkballs in some sauce leftover from Sunday's BigMista's pulled pork.

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fixer
May 14, 2013

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fixer
May 14, 2013

fixer · May 14, 2013

I have a party on Sunday so diving right in, with a brisket cooking overnight, adding ribs in the morning and a chicken in the afternoon, all done around 4pm if I do it right. spatchcocked chickens and tri-tips on the charcoal grill, and rotisserie chicken over the propane grill. sweet corn & veggies will be cold smoked on Saturday night then in the fridge until going in an aluminum pan with butter & seasonings on the propane grill on Sunday.

I think my biggest risk will be adding the ribs and then the chicken to the smoker with the brisket. thinking when I tent the brisket at 160, I will start the first leg of the 3-2-1 ribs, then tent the ribs/untent the brisket/add the chicken at the next leg, then untent the ribs for the final leg, pulling the brisket whenever the thermo probes say 180. not having done brisket before, I may sound silly thinking I have hours between 160 and 180...

please weigh in, how do you stagger your cooking to deliver food at dinner time?

ats32 · May 14, 2013

180 is too low for your brisket. Check it with the probe around 190 and its ready to come off when it feels like a knife going through butter. My last one didn't come off til 201F. Then it still spent 3 hours wrapped in a towel and in my cooler. Do yourself a favor a try not to plan everything to be perfectly done at the same time. Maybe finish the ribs early and slow reheat them before serving?

seenred · May 14, 2013

With as much food as you have planned, ATS's advice is good: don't expect everything to finish at the same time. Your best laid plans can go awry if the brisket doesn't cooperate and takes several hours longer to power through the stall than planned (trust me, this has happened to me). Much of what you are planning to cook will reheat very well, so you might think about smoking the brisket and/or the ribs the day before. And also plan to take that brisket to around 200* IT to make it nice and tender.

And you may have already thought of this, but be sure you don't put the chicken in the smoker above other cuts of meat...plan to put it on the bottem rack. You don't want raw chicken dripping on anything else.

Good luck! And don't forget, we love Qview!

Red

roadkill cafe · May 14, 2013

Fixer...ATS & Red are spot on. Especially about not putting the raw chicken above the other meats to drip down on them. You never know what a brisket is going to do. Easier to reheat than to have folks waiting. Besides, you want the meat to have a chance to rest for a while so the juices can redistribute.

Steve

fixer · May 14, 2013

I definitely have the bottom rack earmarked for the chicken, but thanks for the reminders!

I have done ribs and chicken before, so I think that will be safer to cook on the day of, and I will work the brisket the day before and reheat. Q-View to follow, thanks folks!

fixer · May 20, 2013

Summary: fantastic weekend!

Brisket: needs work but not back for first time. Put it in late on Saturday, took it off at 2am. Reheated it next day but could have been better. Not sure I will bother often, too much effort for minimal payoff.

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May 20, 2013

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May 20, 2013

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fixer · May 20, 2013

The ribs were a different story! I've been cooking ribs a few years now, on cheap offset smokers, on weber kettles and now in the MES30 with AMNPS. 3-2-1 was just right, rubbed with BigMista's Perfect Pork rub then added some apple cider when wrapped in foil. 3 racks went fast! There's the drawback of the MES30, I had to cut each rack in half to fit so could only get 3 racks in (saved bottom rack for chicken).

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May 20, 2013

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fixer · May 20, 2013

By the time I was doing chickens, I didn't have time for pictures, but I spatchcocked two and left two whole, brined them all in SLaughterhouse recipe found here, then air dried in the fridge for a day. Smoked a spatchcocked one with the ribs and put one whole over the cajun cooker on a campfire rack. The one from the smoker also got a few minutes over the fire to crisp up. They were good, but the best was the 3rd (2nd whole) bird which I injected, smoked for 2 hours then finished over the first, spritzing also. That one was the best of the bunch for sure!

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fixer
May 20, 2013

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May 20, 2013

Cold smoked some veggies a couple nights before and then reheated them on the cooker, those were good too, along with the corn on the cob!

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fixer
May 20, 2013

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fixer · May 20, 2013

First time jitters out of the way, I'll try to figure out how to post just one or two key shots from here out :)

roadkill cafe · May 20, 2013

Looks like a success all the way around. Great job, fixer!!

smokinhusker · May 21, 2013

Looks pretty good from here. You sure cooked a load! I know most people take brisket to 200* or so, and I did the first time I did one, now I pull it at 180-185* internal temp and foil it. We just didn't like the fall apart meat and the two I've done since have both been tender, nicely sliced and reheats without cooking to death.

smoke slinger · May 22, 2013

Looks pretty darn tasty. I pulled my first brisket at 180* and it was good, but I'm going to go to about 195* next time so I can get some of the fall apart action and see which I like best.

jaybone · May 24, 2013

Seems I've read on the forum from multiple posts that it's a good idea to probe the brisket for tenderness when you reach your target internal temp. Should be able to insert toothpick or probe and have no resistance. Some folks have said that each brisket is unique and aren't always at the same tenderness at the same temp.

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