- Jun 27, 2017
- 9
- 12
Hello the Forum!
I have been Smoking in Western KS for many years and have drawn several awesome tips from this site. Until very recently i have smoked on a chargriller 50/50 with side fire box. I typically smoke Ribs (3-2-1) and Brisket and never have any complaints or leftovers. I also attempt the occasional Salmon.
While i loved the results with the side fire box i decided i needed more real estate and wanted something a bit more "set it and forget it" so last week i Purchased a Gen 1 MES 40 with the window and the digital controls. Got a great deal at Academy Sports (199) so couldn't pass it up. After the purchase i did a lot of research on here and though its bucking the AMZNPS trend around here i also purchased the masterbuilt cold smoking kit.
Had a bit of a disaster this weekend with my inaugural smoke on the MES. All turned out well enough (q view to follow) but it was a struggle to get there:
I decided to go big by doing Ribs, a pork butt, Salmon, and a couple of veggie items (obviously at different times)
First the good:
Big Thanks to Bearcaver and Mr. T for all the great step by steps! (used Mr Ts Salmon SBS and Bears Boston pork butt SBS)
the bad - Rain (not the end of the world), thermometer fail in mid smoke (doh! ivation from amazon DO NOT RECOMMEND), smoker temp fail (ordinarily overcomable but difficult without trust worthy thermometer), cold smoke generator did not show up so struggled with feeding chips into "the hole"
In short - started with the short time stuff for lunch appetizer (Brussel sprouts, bacon wrapped mushrooms) 1 hr @ 250, was slightly disappointed with brussel sprout softness so finished everything in the stove and moved on to the Salmon and didn't think much of it.
Salmon took forever to cook. meat thermometer was reading correctly (verified with other thermometer) but found out later smoker was not. ran out of time waiting for salmon to reach proper temp and finished it in oven as well. on to the center piece. put the butt and the ribs on and settled in for some long smoke. 4 hours at (supposedly) 225 and i hadn't seen the temp increase i expected so i started investigating. turns out even with the MES set to 275 highest temp i could get (even with the vent closed) was 212. ended up finishing everything in the oven and called master-built on Monday. they are sending a replacement controller and element so we will try again next weekend. any one else seen out of box issues like that with MES?
i purchased a tp 20 to replace the failed Ivation using a discount code i found on the site. will review once arrived (realize that is also bucking the maverick 733 trend guess I am a rebel)
Long winded intro/recounting of this weekend. Thanks for all of the tips over the years!
I have been Smoking in Western KS for many years and have drawn several awesome tips from this site. Until very recently i have smoked on a chargriller 50/50 with side fire box. I typically smoke Ribs (3-2-1) and Brisket and never have any complaints or leftovers. I also attempt the occasional Salmon.
While i loved the results with the side fire box i decided i needed more real estate and wanted something a bit more "set it and forget it" so last week i Purchased a Gen 1 MES 40 with the window and the digital controls. Got a great deal at Academy Sports (199) so couldn't pass it up. After the purchase i did a lot of research on here and though its bucking the AMZNPS trend around here i also purchased the masterbuilt cold smoking kit.
Had a bit of a disaster this weekend with my inaugural smoke on the MES. All turned out well enough (q view to follow) but it was a struggle to get there:
I decided to go big by doing Ribs, a pork butt, Salmon, and a couple of veggie items (obviously at different times)
First the good:
Big Thanks to Bearcaver and Mr. T for all the great step by steps! (used Mr Ts Salmon SBS and Bears Boston pork butt SBS)
the bad - Rain (not the end of the world), thermometer fail in mid smoke (doh! ivation from amazon DO NOT RECOMMEND), smoker temp fail (ordinarily overcomable but difficult without trust worthy thermometer), cold smoke generator did not show up so struggled with feeding chips into "the hole"
In short - started with the short time stuff for lunch appetizer (Brussel sprouts, bacon wrapped mushrooms) 1 hr @ 250, was slightly disappointed with brussel sprout softness so finished everything in the stove and moved on to the Salmon and didn't think much of it.
Salmon took forever to cook. meat thermometer was reading correctly (verified with other thermometer) but found out later smoker was not. ran out of time waiting for salmon to reach proper temp and finished it in oven as well. on to the center piece. put the butt and the ribs on and settled in for some long smoke. 4 hours at (supposedly) 225 and i hadn't seen the temp increase i expected so i started investigating. turns out even with the MES set to 275 highest temp i could get (even with the vent closed) was 212. ended up finishing everything in the oven and called master-built on Monday. they are sending a replacement controller and element so we will try again next weekend. any one else seen out of box issues like that with MES?
i purchased a tp 20 to replace the failed Ivation using a discount code i found on the site. will review once arrived (realize that is also bucking the maverick 733 trend guess I am a rebel)
Long winded intro/recounting of this weekend. Thanks for all of the tips over the years!
