Recent content by mikedaub

I do not, no. Mostly because we are eating portion of what I cook, and the intentional left overs are what I freeze.

For most things, I just reheat in my toaster oven. The flavor is already there, it just needs temp to get it to preference. And if you are concerned about it drying out at all when reheating, I just add a little sauce (bbq- hot sauce, etc) to it and all is good.

I know I am late to this party with a reply, but get yourself a vac sealer and you will be all set. Because I hate cleaning my grates, when I smoke, its a full weekends (2 days) worth of smoking.. Usually a couple pork shoulders, some brisket, wings, chicken breasts, ribs, etc etc. Once its...

Thanks for the info.. I will keep it in mind when I fire the smoker up next time..

Awesome post and thanks for the info.. I did roughly the same with the cooking of the pellets, and lighting, just not to the same level. Fortunately, I really enjoy cooking/smoking, so lots of opportunity to figure it out. If you get a chance, I'd love to see the set up on the air intake...

Thanks..I can easily take a brush to it and give it a little clean. I never even thought of that. With my version of the MES, I am almost stuck with just pulling it out. I tried it pulling all the way out and and putting it back in, but no go. I will just keep trying with what I can, and...

Sorry all.. I was away from the net for a while with a very pregnant wife, so that has kept me busy.. Just to follow up, this is what my shoot looks like: You can see how that "lip" won't let me turn it. But, during the burn, I did have it pulled out a solid 3=4" or so.. For my pellets...

Do you attached the chimney to the smoker at all, or just kinda sit them there? I can give that a shot. Plenty of soup can things around the house to make one out of.. I did essentially the same as you.. pellets in stove for 20ish minutes, and pulled the loader out about 3ish inches.. It...

I have a bunch of dust.. I could certainly give it a try.. Can't hurt really since I am not getting a full burn with the pellets

A couple of the holes on the bottom are clogged, without a doubt. I would think its from drippings getting into the ash.. I wouldn't think that the small amount would cause issues, but something to give a shot..

I would have to check it tonight to see if the turn was tighter or looser packed. I would guess it was about the same, as I try to fit as many pellets in there as possible.

Once the coals started to burn, they weren't super tight in the 5x8 anymore, as they spread out a bit. I pushed all the ash/coals towards the hole in the end just so I could pack more pellets in there for more smoke. I will take a picture later, but no, my chip loader only will go in the hole...

Quick update from last night's smoke.. I reused the pellets that didn't burn on my Sunday go around, but first, I put them in my toaster oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. I wanted to make sure they were nice and dry. Loaded up the 5x8 and let it burn for about 20-25 minutes. At that point, I...

Thanks.. Yes, my exhaust is open 100% of the time. I learned that trick a while ago when someone called the MES30 a Sauna, which it truly is.

Thanks for this info.. I appreciate it. It looks like I am on the right track, but the biggest thing is, 1)I fill the pellets right up to the top of the 5x8 (but not enough so that it jumps over and prematurely starts the next row) and 2)I usually light the pellets, and blow the flame out...