I have a MES 30. I can't seem to control the temperature on it at all. Maybe it's the AMNPS that's boosting the temperature, I dunno.
I had a 3-pound piece of pork loin brining for the last ten days or so.
I used a fairly conservative brine- 1/2 gallon water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 3/8 (ish) cup salt, 9 grams cure #1, pinch of ginger, pinch of cloves. I injected about 150 cc, then brined it for 10 days and a bit.
I took it out of the brine. patted it dry, and left it in the fridge for a day and a half to form a pellicle. Then I brushed on a light coat of maple syrup on the meat side and added a few grinds of CBP.
I also had a little bit of salmon I wanted to try as salmon candy, so I stacked it in equal parts salt and brown sugar and refrigerated it overnight, then rinsed it off.
So far so good, right? I spent a couple of hours tweaking the MES to get it holding at 150 degrees. I laid out the salmon on a grill mat and brushed on some maple syrup. I put the salmon on the second shelf (not shown in pic), the pork on the third, and the AMNPS full of apple pellets on top of the chip tray. (Can't seem to get the pic to rotate)
The temperature took a half hour or so to recover from having the door open, then started climbing. I kept turning it down, but couldn't get it to stabilize below 200. The AMNPS burned out in three hours, producing clouds of acrid white smoke and leaving no unburned pellets. After an hour or so, the salmon was an oozing, bubbling puddle of nasty with salmonish lumps here and there. I took it out and threw it in the trash, mat and all. I had intended to smoke the CB for eight hours or so, but the IT was over 170 at four hours.
I sliced the CB after six hours in the freezer. It looks OK inside and generally tastes pretty good, although the "bark" is quite strong, and the CBP a bit overpowering, but I'm hoping it will mellow.
I am a little discouraged with not being able to control the temperature. There is also a lot more moisture in the smoker than I would expect. There is nasty fluid oozing down the probe wire and puddling on the little table my thermometer sits on, and dripping out onto the deck when I open the door. I have never used water in the smoker. Do I need to cut some ventilation holes? There is only the one little hole in the back and the drain hole in the bottom. I see a lot of instructions for "dampers open", but I don't have dampers. I tried leaving the door open a bit (latch lever open and hook engaged- about 1/4" gap), but the temperature kept climbing. It works OK for cold smoking, with just the AMNPS going, but for that I could have thrown out the smoker and used the box it came in.
I guess I can stick to cold smoking, but it seems like there ought to be a way to get some control over the process so I can hot smoke too.
I had a 3-pound piece of pork loin brining for the last ten days or so.
I used a fairly conservative brine- 1/2 gallon water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 3/8 (ish) cup salt, 9 grams cure #1, pinch of ginger, pinch of cloves. I injected about 150 cc, then brined it for 10 days and a bit.
I took it out of the brine. patted it dry, and left it in the fridge for a day and a half to form a pellicle. Then I brushed on a light coat of maple syrup on the meat side and added a few grinds of CBP.
I also had a little bit of salmon I wanted to try as salmon candy, so I stacked it in equal parts salt and brown sugar and refrigerated it overnight, then rinsed it off.
So far so good, right? I spent a couple of hours tweaking the MES to get it holding at 150 degrees. I laid out the salmon on a grill mat and brushed on some maple syrup. I put the salmon on the second shelf (not shown in pic), the pork on the third, and the AMNPS full of apple pellets on top of the chip tray. (Can't seem to get the pic to rotate)
The temperature took a half hour or so to recover from having the door open, then started climbing. I kept turning it down, but couldn't get it to stabilize below 200. The AMNPS burned out in three hours, producing clouds of acrid white smoke and leaving no unburned pellets. After an hour or so, the salmon was an oozing, bubbling puddle of nasty with salmonish lumps here and there. I took it out and threw it in the trash, mat and all. I had intended to smoke the CB for eight hours or so, but the IT was over 170 at four hours.
I sliced the CB after six hours in the freezer. It looks OK inside and generally tastes pretty good, although the "bark" is quite strong, and the CBP a bit overpowering, but I'm hoping it will mellow.
I am a little discouraged with not being able to control the temperature. There is also a lot more moisture in the smoker than I would expect. There is nasty fluid oozing down the probe wire and puddling on the little table my thermometer sits on, and dripping out onto the deck when I open the door. I have never used water in the smoker. Do I need to cut some ventilation holes? There is only the one little hole in the back and the drain hole in the bottom. I see a lot of instructions for "dampers open", but I don't have dampers. I tried leaving the door open a bit (latch lever open and hook engaged- about 1/4" gap), but the temperature kept climbing. It works OK for cold smoking, with just the AMNPS going, but for that I could have thrown out the smoker and used the box it came in.
I guess I can stick to cold smoking, but it seems like there ought to be a way to get some control over the process so I can hot smoke too.