First MES smoke

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dancg68

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jan 29, 2013
33
11
I have a new MES 130 and did my first smoke, rack of ribs. Set it up with the mailbox box.

Rubbed and ready for smoker.
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3 hours of smoking; into foil for 2 hours.

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Sauced and ready to eat.
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The ribs came our VERY tender. The only problem is the ribs did not have as much of a smoky flavor as when I did them in my offset smoker. I had the top vent wide open, if I closed the vent some would I get a smokier flavor?

Thank you,

Dan
 
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Dan, I don't have your smoker model but I leave my top vent about 1/3 open while smoking, You should of had a smokier flavor after 3 hours and closing the damper some will help.Your ribs look tasty !
 
What do you use for pellets ? Apple and pecan will not produce the smoke flavor as much as hickory or cherry in my experience. Tube also produces more smoke than tray, not sure what you used.
Ribs look delicious anyhow... 1st smoke, learning curve.
 
I used hickory pellets in a tray. Planning on doing some chicken this weekend.
 
Ribs look great . This is your first smoke , Take some time to learn it , smoke will get better but won't be the same as a stick burner .
 
Dan,what was your setpoint temp? Did i stay constant or did it fluctuate throughout the smoke? I have the original version of your smoker, which has a different internal design. I keep the top vent wide open, and I don't use the mailbox mod. Leaving the top vent closed might lead to over smoked meats. It might also overheat the smoker, but I'm not sure about that.

I use pellets in an AMNPS. For ribs I've used hickory, apple and pecan, all with nice smoky success. With my palate, I can't say I could tell the taste difference between any of them if I was blindfolded. For the most part, the smoke on everything I've cooked inside my MES 30 over the past 7 years has been perfect, but sometimes a little light as well. I exclusively use wood pellets from A-MAZE-N because they've proven themselves over the years.

How did the chicken turn out?
 
I have the mes 30 with the amnps tray and mailbox, I leave vent wide open, as dr k mentioned I always light both ends of amnps for the extra smoke, some people do some don't, try it next time and see what you like better, also I usually smoke the day before and let them sit over night and heat in the oven.
 
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I don't have a MES, but I have a AMNPS with a electric smoker. I would also burn the AMNPS from both ends, and start the cook at a low temp (enough for a good draft) for the 1st 30-60mins, and turn it up to full cook temp. I like to push it right at the 4 hour mark before the meat hits 140 to get max internal smoke flavor and then continue to smoke thru out for the max flavor in the bark.

I also only use lumber Jack pellets, Tried traeger pellets, they just do not have the same smoke Kick.

BTW, Those ribs look delicious!
 
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