Brand new to smoking!

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chops1sc

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 6, 2016
28
41
South Carolina
Hello! My name is Chris and I'm from South Carolina. I've been wanting to get a smoker for a while now and a coworker mentioned that he had a new Masterbuilt 30" analogue electric smoker that he didn't want so I bought it!


I'm looking forward to learning all about smoking and all about the nuances of electric smoking. Any tips y'all can throw my way are greatly appreciated! I see a ton of acronyms on here that I need to get up to speed with, lol!
 
Hello Chris, welcome to you.

Congratulations on your new MES (Masterbuilt Electric Smoker).

There is an acronym post on here, just go up into the search

and type in (acronyms)  follow that one and you'll come upon

99 percent  of them.

Take it easy and slow, you'll get there.

Most of all remember to send me samples of all  your 'que.

Nah, just have FUN.

    Ed
 
Welcome to the forum Chris!

Congrats on the new smoker!

Looking forward to seeing it in action!

Al
 
Welcome from the upstate, Chris. It's really good to have you on this great site. There are some great folks on here who are always ready to share their ideas, recipes and tips. All you have to do is ask and keep reading.

Good luck and good smokin', Joe. :grilling_smilie:

What part of the state are you in?
 
Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm from Sumter aka Merk City lol! J/K

I'm hoping I can try my smoker out this weekend. Any suggestions for an easy going smoke to break her in?
 
Welcome! Congrats on the new MES!

I always recommend pork butt because it's forgiving and builds confidence, but the long smoke time is a good way to "wet your feet!"

Riibs are smother classic way to go! If you do chicken use at least 275 for heat to reduce rubbery skin and possibly have gas/charcoal grill on standby to crisp them a few minutes before serving!

Have fun!
 
We just had a graduation party with 4 Boston butts so I'm about sick of pulled pork ATM, LOL! I was thinking a pork tenderloin and some wings.
 
We just had a graduation party with 4 Boston butts so I'm about sick of pulled pork ATM, LOL! I was thinking a pork tenderloin and some wings.
I would recommed if you go pork tl that you go IT of 150-155 and no more it will make tender slices. If you like your pork aluttle punk you can take it as low as 145 but some may thinks its undercooked at that point.
Try a couple tbsp of soy 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1/8cup brown sugar reduced in a small pan makes a great glaze for TL!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac(Aaron)
 
Congrats on the smoker and glad you decided on being part of the family here. Can't wait for the pics on your smoking adventures.
 
texas.gif
  Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a sunny and hot day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary
 
I'm trying to get things going today but I can't seem to get the wood chips to smoke. They soaked for 30 minutes and the smoker was preheated for about an hour before I added the water and chips. Any ideas?
 
I'm trying to get things going today but I can't seem to get the wood chips to smoke. They soaked for 30 minutes and the smoker was preheated for about an hour before I added the water and chips. Any ideas?

I assume there's a water tray in your smoker ? If this is the case, which I'm sure it is like in my MES & WSM I just put some sand in the tray & foiled over it for easy clean up. The tray is just a heat sink ! Also, try some dry chips... No need to soak IMO ! I'm sure others will chime in, this is just my 2 cents !
 
Ok, switched out the wet chips to dry ones. I don't have any sand on hand though. Do you put water in with the sand? What purpose does the sand serve?
 
Last edited:
Ok, switched out the wet chops to dry ones. I don't have any sand on hand though. Do you put water in with the sand? What purpose does the sand serve?

I think the dry chips will help with the smoke issue. Since ya already have the water in your pan, I'd probably just roll with that for this smoke... I don't mix water with the sand... The sand is just a heat sink ! Some folks will keep refilling their water pan as it evaporates which will drop your smoker temp & takes a bit for your temps to recover... The sand just makes it easy cause ya don't have to deal with the water trying to reheat when ya fill the pan back up & it makes clean up easy if ya put a few layers of foil over it !
 
Ok I get it now. I thought the water was there to keep things "moist". I've got it cranked up right now waiting for the smoke. I'm going to try some chicken wings and a bacon explosion ( I've always wanted to try one lol)

Thanks for the help!
 
Ok I get it now. I thought the water was there to keep things "moist". I've got it cranked up right now waiting for the smoke. I'm going to try some chicken wings and a bacon explosion ( I've always wanted to try one lol)

Thanks for the help!

No, water has nothin to do with moist ! I'll be honest, back in the day I thought that too ! On all my smokers, I run dry (no water) & get juicy Q out of each of them ! Just go by IT & you'll have some great BBQ ! Thumbs Up

No prob, glad to help ! Post up a pic or two of your smoke... We like pics ! Thumbs Up
 
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