First smoke in New MES 40

[workman215]

Well my new MES 40 showed up Thursday and my AMNPS & Mav showed up Friday.  I went through the initial burn off Friday evening, and checked the Mav with the boiling/ice water.  I was ready to go right out of the box thanks to all the helpful information from this forum.  I cold smoked some cheese Sat morning and some ABT's later that evening but I forgot to take pics.  So after church this morning I decided to put on some chicken... and I remembered the pics this time. 

Thighs with skin removed...

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• workman215
• Dec 2, 2012

I used the following marinade.  It's a mexican grilled chicken recipe that I've tweaked a little.  The girls like it so it stays in the rotation.  

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup water

2 Tbsp ancho chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of clove

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup olive oil - goes in last after all the other ingredients are whisked together

Into the ziploc bags - this was about 7.5 lbs before I removed the skin.  I'm guessing it was about 5 lbs or so after.  

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• workman215
• Dec 2, 2012

I usually leave it overnight but I didn't think far enough ahead so it only got about an hour and half.

Into the smoker for a couple hours.

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• workman215
• Dec 2, 2012

It's been overcast and rainy and started to drizzle so I backed the smoker up under the umbrella of the patio furniture

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• workman215
• Dec 2, 2012

Ready to plate

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• workman215
• Dec 2, 2012

All in all I'm very happy with the new smoker and I'm looking forward to trying a lot of the recipes here.  The girls approve anyway so I won't be eating alone. 

I have to say the AMNPS is great and is certainly going to make my smoking ventures easier.  I like the set and forget, instead of  loading chips every half hour.  

There are a couple things I learned that I'll try next time.  I put the AMNPS under the water pan (no water) and pulled the chip tray and loader out.  The grease actually dripped on the AMNPS because the water pan doesn't cover it completely in the front.  I tried sliding it over under the heating element but it's pretty tight and I don't think there is enough air flow.  I ended up moving it back  under the water pan and putting a small piece of foil on the left side of the bottom rack.  That did the trick but I may try tenting it next time.

I also had a hard time getting and keeping the temp up.  I cranked it to 275 but it stayed around 225 - 230 most of the time, and when I opened the door it dropped to 160-170 and took a bit to get back over 200.  I put the chip loader back in and closed it all the way and the temp went to 250 pretty quick.  Chicken was pretty much finished by then so it never got the chance to get to 275.  I'm thinking next time I'll leave the chip loader in but pull it 1" or so like has been suggested in other posts.  I just wanted to see what happened with them all the way out.  After reading some other posts I'll try the sand in the water pan trick to help level out and hold temp.  I also thought about maybe putting a brick in the bottom, has anyone tried that?

Anyway thanks for looking and thanks for all of the helpful information on the site.  I can't wait 'til next time.

 

[daveomak]

Congrats on getting the new smoker up and running....   The thighs look good to me....  

...  Dave

 

[roadkill cafe]

Those thighs look pretty dang good!! Congrats on the new "toys" and the first run. The AMNPS should fit if centered under the water pan. The AMNPS is 8" long and the drip diverter the water pan slides into is 8-7/8". At least it is on mine.

Question for ya, how big of a difference was the MES temp reading in the chamber from the Maverick chamber temp reading?

Tip: Foiling the drip diverter, bottom drip pan & water tray takes a lot off the clean up time as does spraying the grates with Pam.

Happy Smoking,

Steve

 

[workman215]

Thanks for the tips.  You're right on the drip diverter, I guess I just didn't have it centered good enough.  I had to use a little extra elbow grease on clean up, will definitely be foiling next time, and spraying the racks.  The temp readings for the MES were about 10-15 lower than the Mav.  I only checked the MES temps a couple times because I knew the Mav was right.  I'll keep a closer eye on it next time and let you know if it's much further than that.  From what I've read, that seems about the norm but can be much worse.  

 

[roadkill cafe]

Thanks workman. I've had at times as much as a 40* difference with the MES being higher than the Mav. I trust my Mav though. Also, a brillo pad will clean that baked on stuff pretty quickly. Racks I get the heavy stuff off and toss in the dishwasher. Come out like new. The window, now that's a PITA to clean. I've been using a sponge with the blue non-scratch scrubber on the back. After one use it's trashed though. However, it does a good job of removing the brown crud.

 

[workman215]

Thanks workman. I've had at times as much as a 40* difference with the MES being higher than the Mav. I trust my Mav though. Also, a brillo pad will clean that baked on stuff pretty quickly. Racks I get the heavy stuff off and toss in the dishwasher. Come out like new. The window, now that's a PITA to clean. I've been using a sponge with the blue non-scratch scrubber on the back. After one use it's trashed though. However, it does a good job of removing the brown crud.

I hear you on the window.  I trashed one of my wife's good washrags and then she handed me a scotchbrite pad.  It did the trick, but I'll be buying some new washrags tomorrow 

.

 

[jarjarchef]

Congrats on the new toys...., food looks good....have fun playing

 

[frosty]

Good looking thighs!  Congrats on the new toy, The MES 40" is a great smoker.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Chicken looks great and the Marinade sounds like a keeper...JJ