- Dec 9, 2009
- 87
- 15
All,
Greetings! I am first time poster and just getting into the smoking world. I researched a lot of different smokers and decided to get a Masterbuilt Electric smoker. I know some will say that electric smokers are not the best, but I thought it was the best thing for me to start out and learn from here.
I smoked my first set of ribs over the weekend. Tried them 2 different ways. Temp 225 (realized needed to keep my top vent closed to get to this temp – don’t have a bottom vent) for 5.5 hours. Tried ½ normal. Tried ½ 3-2-1 method. I thought the 3-2-1 method was just a little too much b/c you couldn’t even pick up a rib bone with any meat on it. Meat was good, but like to actually eat the meat off the bone. The normal way turned out great results.
I am still in the process of reading up on smoking techniques and tips but did have a couple of high level questions I thought I would post to this forum to get me started. I also understand that you have to smoke a lot to learn and get the hang of it…but learning can sometimes cost a lot of money! I appreciate any responses from the Pro’s!
Questions:
Thanks in advance.
Mark
Greetings! I am first time poster and just getting into the smoking world. I researched a lot of different smokers and decided to get a Masterbuilt Electric smoker. I know some will say that electric smokers are not the best, but I thought it was the best thing for me to start out and learn from here.
I smoked my first set of ribs over the weekend. Tried them 2 different ways. Temp 225 (realized needed to keep my top vent closed to get to this temp – don’t have a bottom vent) for 5.5 hours. Tried ½ normal. Tried ½ 3-2-1 method. I thought the 3-2-1 method was just a little too much b/c you couldn’t even pick up a rib bone with any meat on it. Meat was good, but like to actually eat the meat off the bone. The normal way turned out great results.
I am still in the process of reading up on smoking techniques and tips but did have a couple of high level questions I thought I would post to this forum to get me started. I also understand that you have to smoke a lot to learn and get the hang of it…but learning can sometimes cost a lot of money! I appreciate any responses from the Pro’s!
Questions:
- With an electric smoker, is it ok to also throw in some charcoal with the wood? I have read places (and I know people argue over this) that you need charcoal to get the smoke ring and the bark on the outside of meat. Is this true? Is there any benefit to throwing in a piece of charcoal when I load the wood when needed?
- Is it ok to use charcoal in an electric smoker?
- When reading about how long to smoke pieces of meat, I will read things like spare ribs at 225 for 6 hours. Does this mean adding wood the entire time to generate smoke for the entire 6 hours? I read somewhere that people will only add wood until the meat reaches a certain temp and then only cook with heat. Do you recommend to use wood the entire time (refilling the wood throughout the entire cooking processes when is runs low)?
- On an electric smoker, do you recommend to keep the top vent open, closed, or somewhere in the middle? On my first smoke, I tried to keep it ¼ open, but soon realized that my temp wasn’t were I wanted it and had to almost close it to get up to 225. Will too much smoke make the meat taste bad?
- My smoker has an electrical control box on the top of it. The box controls the time to cook for and the temperature of the smoker. Should I trust the temperature it states, or get a temperature probe for the inside of the smoker?
Thanks in advance.
Mark
