- Jun 10, 2019
- 59
- 21
I'm looking at moving away from my current setup which is a MES 40 with the A-Maze-N pellet smoker and instead buy a smoker actually made to use pellets. I'm wondering if anyone has made this change and if you are happy with your decision? Have you noticed in difference in cooking / ease of use / reliability / flavor? Will the meat I produce now be equivalent to the meat produced in a pellet smoker?
My current setup has me placing the A-Maze-N maze on top of the water pan in the bottom left corner. I've never had issues keeping it lit though it is pretty annoying getting it setup by lighting it on fire and then making sure the fire burns for 10 minutes before blowing it out and putting it in the smoker. Either way, having it in that location limits me from placing meat over the top of it. Not too big of a deal as I typically cut my racks of ribs in half and don't foresee myself doing a full packer brisket since I don't have that many friends :-)
I do notice with the vertical orientation, the food on top drips onto the food below, but again, that isn't too big of an issue. The food turns out pretty good.
Also, it would be nice if the smoker could get above 300 degrees - if nothing else, just so I can get it hot enough to burn off a lot of the stuff that coats everything. I feel like the MES always has a layer of stickiness over everything.
I also already have a Weber grill (Genesis E-330) for grilling (steaks / burgers / etc.), so I don't think I'd be using the grilling aspects of the pellet smoker for much unless there is a big flavor difference.
The pellet grill I'm looking at is the Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 from Lowes. Seems like it has the best features and build quality for the price (unless others have better suggestions).
Thanks for any info.
My current setup has me placing the A-Maze-N maze on top of the water pan in the bottom left corner. I've never had issues keeping it lit though it is pretty annoying getting it setup by lighting it on fire and then making sure the fire burns for 10 minutes before blowing it out and putting it in the smoker. Either way, having it in that location limits me from placing meat over the top of it. Not too big of a deal as I typically cut my racks of ribs in half and don't foresee myself doing a full packer brisket since I don't have that many friends :-)
I do notice with the vertical orientation, the food on top drips onto the food below, but again, that isn't too big of an issue. The food turns out pretty good.
Also, it would be nice if the smoker could get above 300 degrees - if nothing else, just so I can get it hot enough to burn off a lot of the stuff that coats everything. I feel like the MES always has a layer of stickiness over everything.
I also already have a Weber grill (Genesis E-330) for grilling (steaks / burgers / etc.), so I don't think I'd be using the grilling aspects of the pellet smoker for much unless there is a big flavor difference.
The pellet grill I'm looking at is the Pit Boss Pro Series 1100 from Lowes. Seems like it has the best features and build quality for the price (unless others have better suggestions).
Thanks for any info.