Best Overall Temperature To Set MES Electric Smoker Thermostat At

[red dog]

 
Red Dog, how long do you smoke your cheese? I'm doing 2-lb loaves each of mozz and sharp cheddar. I usually slice them up into roughly 1/2 sections so that they're coated on all sides with smoke. I then vacuum seal them for aging in the fridge. When I'm ready to use them in recipes or just eat them, I can use those individual sections instead of cutting into a whole loaf.

Hope you enjoy your Blackstone oven--please report back on the results. I went the cheap route and bought a Weber pizza stone for my Weber charcoal grill. I gotta get the heat right; last week the tops of the pizzas were perfect but the bottoms were burnt--second time it's happened after a glorious first time success. Weber advised cooking over direct heat but I'm going indirect next time. Wood and coal fired ovens in pizza restaurants get much hotter than my Weber but they use indirect heat. I'm definitely going to try grilled pizza with smoked mozz next.

Probably shoot for about about 2  to 3 hours depending on how warm it is in the morning. I don't want it too smokey for use on pizza. I tried grilling pizza on the weber with the same results. The problem is there is nothing to reflect the heat down on top the pie. I have seen people get good results by putting another stone supported by fire bricks about 5 or 6 inches above the bottom stone. The Blackstone works great. It has a rotating pizza stone with a single propane side burner and another stationary stone above the pizza to reflect heat down on top the pie. The bottom stone cooks at about 700 deg and I can cook a 14 inch pie in about 2-3  minutes.

 

[daricksta]

 
Probably shoot for about about 2  to 3 hours depending on how warm it is in the morning. I don't want it too smokey for use on pizza. I tried grilling pizza on the weber with the same results. The problem is there is nothing to reflect the heat down on top the pie. I have seen people get good results by putting another stone supported by fire bricks about 5 or 6 inches above the bottom stone. The Blackstone works great. It has a rotating pizza stone with a single propane side burner and another stationary stone above the pizza to reflect heat down on top the pie. The bottom stone cooks at about 700 deg and I can cook a 14 inch pie in about 2-3  minutes.

The double pizza stone idea is very intriguing. I grilled steaks on the Weber last year using a recipe for two cooking grates separated by bricks and it worked great. Pizza stones are about $25-$30 each so I'm going to try the indirect heat method first. My wife has her own pizza stone for the kitchen gas oven and I don't think she'd want me getting it all smoky.

A pizza in 2-3 minutes? You're right about the Weber, it took me almost 10 minutes to get the top the way I wanted it as I was unknowingly burning the crust. The video I watched said it would be ready in about 3 but it wasn't nearly done. Weber also makes a pizza oven insert for gas and charcoal grills but I'm not ready to buy one.

 

[oliver1]

sooooo if im smokin a turkey in the MES 30 i should have my damper wide open and temp set at what.......

 

[foamheart]

sooooo if im smokin a turkey in the MES 30 i should have my damper wide open and temp set at what.......

If you are not using an AMPs (which requires the ventilation), I would regulate the vent to maintain smoke in the box instead of throwing it wide open and complaining about having to reload it continiously.

When preping the smoker, close the vent and run temp to 250/275. Then add the meat, and reduce the box temp to whatever you decide to use for temp. Some say 225, some 250, some are balls to the wall at 275. I do mine at 220 to 250, the size of the bird matters to me also. Larger the bird the slower I cook it. but most folks today stay with a >15 lb. bird so any temp works.

Give it 30 mins to stablize and then insert the chip tray, open the vent. Walk away for 30 mins, the come back and regulate the vent . 1/2 way works fine if you are not familiar with it yet. I usually insert the probe when I add the chip tray.

Prime smoke absorption occurs I am lead to believe from 100 to 140 IT (Internal Temperature). So I add my chips after 30 mins, which allows the box to actually cool down a bit, and the heater will come back on and make smoke later in the cooking cycle. If you cook low, the chips have plenty of time to start to smoke, if you are cooking fast, the heater is going to be cooking continiously, so it works either way.

Everyone is different, this is what most easily works perfectly for me.

Whatever you do, remember to let it rest after reaching temp to redistribute, and Good luck.

 

[parrot-head]

 
If you are not using an AMPs (which requires the ventilation), I would regulate the vent to maintain smoke in the box instead of throwing it wide open and complaining about having to reload it continiously.

When preping the smoker, close the vent and run temp to 250/275. Then add the meat, and reduce the box temp to whatever you decide to use for temp. Some say 225, some 250, some are balls to the wall at 275. I do mine at 220 to 250, the size of the bird matters to me also. Larger the bird the slower I cook it. but most folks today stay with a >15 lb. bird so any temp works.

Give it 30 mins to stablize and then insert the chip tray, open the vent. Walk away for 30 mins, the come back and regulate the vent . 1/2 way works fine if you are not familiar with it yet. I usually insert the probe when I add the chip tray.

Prime smoke absorption occurs I am lead to believe from 100 to 140 IT (Internal Temperature). So I add my chips after 30 mins, which allows the box to actually cool down a bit, and the heater will come back on and make smoke later in the cooking cycle. If you cook low, the chips have plenty of time to start to smoke, if you are cooking fast, the heater is going to be cooking continiously, so it works either way.

Everyone is different, this is what most easily works perfectly for me.

Whatever you do, remember to let it rest after reaching temp to redistribute, and Good luck.

That's good information on the waiting 30 minutes for the MES to stabilize.  I have always gotten it up to 225, threw in the meat and chips right away. Will have to try the 30 minute wait next time.

 

[daricksta]

 
That's good information on the waiting 30 minutes for the MES to stabilize.  I have always gotten it up to 225, threw in the meat and chips right away. Will have to try the 30 minute wait next time.

I do what you do--just let it get to my set point-- but choose to cook at 235 since that's what Ray Dr. BBQ" Lampe recommended in his beginner's book. Another book uses 215. Myron Mixon says go full bore at 275. The MES 30 is so small that no matter how hot it is inside from preheating, when you open the door to put the meat in and then insert the meat probe, you're down 40-50 degrees. Yeah at 275 degrees you're only down to 225 but think how long you had to wait to get it up to 275 in the first place. With my MES it takes 30 minutes for it to reach 225. So, I just let it get to my set point, then I insert my fully lit AMNPS, lay the meat on a rack, insert the meat probe in the meat (I've already got the Barbecue probe clipped to a rack), close the door and let the temp return to its set point where it will swing above and below and even settle on the target temp for a few minutes at a time.