This is my 5th total smoke on my Gen1 MES30. 1 butt, 2x brisket, 1x faux burnt ends
Got a 8lb butt at Stater Bros on sale for 1.99/lb. Smoking it up for a Memorial Day gathering. Friend (who has recently gotten into competition BBQ) is doing a brisket on their pellet smoker.
Using my AMNPS with a 50/50 mix of Apple/Hickory. Added a 1/2 foil pan over the AMNPS as a grease shield per Bear's suggestion. Have two foil wrapped fire brick inside for thermal mass.
Having a lot of problems getting a good chamber temp on this smoke so far (went in at 11:15pm, now 2.5 hours in). Previously I found that if I kept adjusting the temp, I eventually ended up with the MES set to what I actually wanted it to be (i.e. if I was shooting for 230, the MES got set at 230). Temps are being checked by my Maverick ET-733. I now have connected on the underside of the rack holding the butt, but pulled to the front of the smoker (not directly under the meat). The second is dangling slightly above the meat. I've now had to bump the smoker temp all the way to 260 and both probes are reading in the 221-228 range which is more or less where I was shooting for. I've never had to bump it this high, but I usually have the probe on the same rack as the meat all the way at the back (trying something different this time). I'm wondering if maybe my longer than expected cook times are because of this (i.e. the temp around the meat was actually much lower than I thought due to probe placement at the rear). It would certainly explain a lot.
Anyways, here's the butt and after seasoning. Coated with yellow mustard and then a rub using a recipe from a friend. More pics as the cook proceeds.
Got a 8lb butt at Stater Bros on sale for 1.99/lb. Smoking it up for a Memorial Day gathering. Friend (who has recently gotten into competition BBQ) is doing a brisket on their pellet smoker.
Using my AMNPS with a 50/50 mix of Apple/Hickory. Added a 1/2 foil pan over the AMNPS as a grease shield per Bear's suggestion. Have two foil wrapped fire brick inside for thermal mass.
Having a lot of problems getting a good chamber temp on this smoke so far (went in at 11:15pm, now 2.5 hours in). Previously I found that if I kept adjusting the temp, I eventually ended up with the MES set to what I actually wanted it to be (i.e. if I was shooting for 230, the MES got set at 230). Temps are being checked by my Maverick ET-733. I now have connected on the underside of the rack holding the butt, but pulled to the front of the smoker (not directly under the meat). The second is dangling slightly above the meat. I've now had to bump the smoker temp all the way to 260 and both probes are reading in the 221-228 range which is more or less where I was shooting for. I've never had to bump it this high, but I usually have the probe on the same rack as the meat all the way at the back (trying something different this time). I'm wondering if maybe my longer than expected cook times are because of this (i.e. the temp around the meat was actually much lower than I thought due to probe placement at the rear). It would certainly explain a lot.
Anyways, here's the butt and after seasoning. Coated with yellow mustard and then a rub using a recipe from a friend. More pics as the cook proceeds.
