OK, here is the situation. And I am posting it here because I currently have two Boston Butts in, smoking with Todd's AMNPS. And if a mod decides this should be moved to the smoking equipment forum, so be it. I have a new MES 40 that arrived the day before Thanksgiving and the Maverick ET-732 that I ordered shortly thereafter. When I was "seasoning" the smoker, the wood chips caught fire. After I was done, we smoked a turkey, and during the process, it started smoking so much I know it effected the taste of the meat, but at least it didn't catch fire.
A week or so later, I ordered and received Todd's AMNPS, a torch and 4 bags of pellets. Decided to smoke 4 butts for pulled pork. Could NOT keep the pellets lit for most of the night, but finally got them going and smoking, though after 13 hours of smoking, still had one row of pellets left over that didn't smoke. Fortunately, the pulled pork was AWESOME. Thank you for the rub recipe, Jeff. Ours is slightly modified since I don't like spicy food AT ALL, but it is great.
Well, I have a couple of issues. The remote control that came with the smoker worked for a little while and then stopped. Wasn't happy with the wood chips catching on fire, and after doing a little research, found that there was supposedly a recall on the chip tray assembly. Called Masterbuilt, talked to a nice lady, and they shipped out a new remote and chip housing and tray. Well, today is the first time I have tried smoking anything since a week or so after thanksgiving, and the remote doesn't work. Not expecting anyone to help with that, just an FYI. The new housing looks EXACTLY the same as the original, so I haven't bothered replacing it. Probably won't anyway since I have the AMNPS and it's working just fine apparently.
Now for the issue mentioned in the title. I set the temp at the max of 275 to preheat the smoker while getting the pork ready, and shortly afterward started my pellets after nuking them for awhile to dry them out as has been suggested. Since the torch that came with my AMNPS is defective, I had to light them with a fireplace type lighter. That took awhile, but it eventually worked. Yay. The smoke doesn't appear to quite be thin and blue, but thin and more white, but I have no idea what to do to change that. Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks more white. Probably just a matter of getting the airflow just right. Anyway, I set the temp for smoking the butts at 245. I have now had to set the temp at the maximum of 275, and the temp according to the Maverick is only at 223 currently. What is going on, because the smoker says the temp is 260. It is currently 45 degrees outside if that matters. The MES 40 comes with 4 racks, and I have the meat on the rack that is second from the top, with the smoker temp probe hanging from the top rack holder on the right side. Everyone says to trust the Maverick over the smoker, but this is a bit ridiculous, no? Just went out and checked what the smoker meat probe said the temp is, and it's within two degrees of the internal temp indicator.
Just for kicks, I'll attach a photo of what it all looked like when I put the meat in this morning. Thanks for any tips, suggestions, or comments in general.
A week or so later, I ordered and received Todd's AMNPS, a torch and 4 bags of pellets. Decided to smoke 4 butts for pulled pork. Could NOT keep the pellets lit for most of the night, but finally got them going and smoking, though after 13 hours of smoking, still had one row of pellets left over that didn't smoke. Fortunately, the pulled pork was AWESOME. Thank you for the rub recipe, Jeff. Ours is slightly modified since I don't like spicy food AT ALL, but it is great.
Well, I have a couple of issues. The remote control that came with the smoker worked for a little while and then stopped. Wasn't happy with the wood chips catching on fire, and after doing a little research, found that there was supposedly a recall on the chip tray assembly. Called Masterbuilt, talked to a nice lady, and they shipped out a new remote and chip housing and tray. Well, today is the first time I have tried smoking anything since a week or so after thanksgiving, and the remote doesn't work. Not expecting anyone to help with that, just an FYI. The new housing looks EXACTLY the same as the original, so I haven't bothered replacing it. Probably won't anyway since I have the AMNPS and it's working just fine apparently.
Now for the issue mentioned in the title. I set the temp at the max of 275 to preheat the smoker while getting the pork ready, and shortly afterward started my pellets after nuking them for awhile to dry them out as has been suggested. Since the torch that came with my AMNPS is defective, I had to light them with a fireplace type lighter. That took awhile, but it eventually worked. Yay. The smoke doesn't appear to quite be thin and blue, but thin and more white, but I have no idea what to do to change that. Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks more white. Probably just a matter of getting the airflow just right. Anyway, I set the temp for smoking the butts at 245. I have now had to set the temp at the maximum of 275, and the temp according to the Maverick is only at 223 currently. What is going on, because the smoker says the temp is 260. It is currently 45 degrees outside if that matters. The MES 40 comes with 4 racks, and I have the meat on the rack that is second from the top, with the smoker temp probe hanging from the top rack holder on the right side. Everyone says to trust the Maverick over the smoker, but this is a bit ridiculous, no? Just went out and checked what the smoker meat probe said the temp is, and it's within two degrees of the internal temp indicator.
Just for kicks, I'll attach a photo of what it all looked like when I put the meat in this morning. Thanks for any tips, suggestions, or comments in general.
