First smoking in my new Gen 1 MES 40.

[Brad4x4]

I will be doing my first smoking Friday in my new MES 140S 40 inch smoker. I had to retire my old Brinkmann wood/charcoal smoker after 13 years after it started falling apart. The new MES is already seasoned and ready to go. I bought a 10.2 lbs pork butt roast and i'm going for pulled/shredded BBQ pork sandwiches. Should I cut the 10.2 pound roast in half?? I'll be following some the recommendations i've read on here of cooking it at 250-275 deg until meat temp reaches 165ish spraying it with apple juice and cider vinegar mix each hour. Put it in a foil pan, then cover it in foil. add apple juice to the pan and continue to cook at 275 until meat reaches 195-205, remove from heat and let rest for 30 mins to an hour? sound about right? changes? recommendations?

 

[fivetricks]

Should I cut the 10.2 pound roast in half??

No.

As far as temps, I personally run closer to 225, but to each their own.

Panning/foiling is called crutching. It will speed up your stall. This is up to you entirely.

If it's bone in, start wiggling the bone about 198 or so. It's done when the bone wants to come out with your wiggling. May not be done until 203-205 though. 195 is a bit early for many, but not all butt roasts. May come out more like tender rib rather than tender pp at that temp.

Pull from smoker and rest for at least 30 mins imo. It'll still be darn hot to handle after 30 mins.

Save the juices. Perhaps a foil pan for underneath the roast for the entirety of the cook is in order for more juice retention.

Also look up some finishing sauces if that's favorable to you :-)

Good luck and enjoy your smoker.

Also; you're going to soon here and want to learn about a product called the amazen tray. Game changer for your smoker

 

[SonnyE]

You might like to consider a finish sauce for your YUMMIE Pulled Pork....
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search/7538785/?q=Finishing+sauce&o=relevance

 

[Preacher Man]

No cutting needed. I have an MES30 and smoked a 10 lbs. butt a month back. I pretty much followed the same method you outlined, except I rested 2 hours in a cooler wrapped it towels before pulling.

I put on latex gloves over cotton glove liners and dug right into it. Pulled like butter.

 

[dr k]

That would work. I've done that but have gone to the opposite side and do nothing until the alarm rings on the therm in the upper 190's to start probing for tenderness. With calibrated chamber and meat probe therms that boill test accurately at your elevation you can stay at/below 275 the whole time naked. Set the smoker so the highest temp during cycling at food level maxes at 275. I like bark and with the roast whole uncut you can't mess up a butt.

 

[verdade]

I’ve smoked a lot of butts on my MES30. I prefer to not foil at all. I like the bark better.

I tend to cook at around 225-235ish, applying smoke for about the first 6 hours. I’m pretty basic, I use Jeff’s rub and let it cook. I’ll pull it out at 205 then let it rest for at least an hour.

I do use a finishing sauce as well. I really like SoFlaQuer’s version. You can take a look here:

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork.49892/

If you’ve got a dual probe therm be sure to use one to verify the internal smoker temps especially with it being new to you.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out!

-

 

[smokinq13]

I've halved them before and still got great results! It adds to the surface area which means more bark is formed. It also cut down on the smoking time by a couple hours but not that significant. Key to good PP 1. If its bone in, the bone test 2. Resting, let it rest after smoking for a minimum of 1 hour, I've gone as long as 4-6 hours resting and still got steaming hot juicy results and 3. A finishing sauce... this is what makes the PP sandwich, a basic vinegar sauce adds so much to the sandwich, its hard to believe!

 

[Brad4x4]

Save the juices. Perhaps a foil pan for underneath the roast for the entirety of the cook is in order for more juice retention.

Tats what i'm looking at doing now is just start it in a pan for the entire smoke. makes clean up easier too inside. along with foil the water pan & drip pan on the bottom.

Also; you're going to soon here and want to learn about a product called the amazen tray. Game changer for your smoker

LOL. I had the 5x8 a maze n tray and 12" tube ordered from amazon before the smoker even got delivered. Some prefer the tray and some prefer the tube. I got both to see which works best for me for different smokes.

Yes i'm looking at finishing sauces. Sooo many out there that look good and trying to decide is the tough part. LOL.

Thanks Guys.

 

[dr k]

Menards has these $2.98 butane torches that lock on and has a flip out stand and a bottle opener. I'm just going to store it in my Amnts since I travel with it.

 

[Brad4x4]

Menards has these $2.98 butane torches that lock on and has a flip out stand and a bottle opener. I'm just going to store it in my Amnts since I travel with it.
View attachment 382657

Ya I just used my MAPP gas torch to light the pellets this morning. Had to break it out anyway. Went to turn on the MES and got the AEE1 error on the display. LUCKILY i had already just happened to see a post about the AEE1 error and how to fix it. I used the torch to warm up the thermostat and inside. tried it again and it was a go. set time & temp quickly so it would start warming up and lit the wood pellets while I got out the pork butt. Put it on at 4:30 am this morning. started out at 250 deg but 5 hours in internal meat temp hit 170 so i turned it back to 230. Dont want to cook it too fast. I still have 7.5 hours left before dinner time so plenty of time. Heres a pic of it 5 hours in. smell is awesome. Only thing i've had to do since putting it in is spritz it. Love this MES over my old Brinkmann wood and charcoal smoker. Dont have to feed it wood every 2-3 hours and go out and check and adjust firebox opening to adjust temp inside constantly. The A MAZE N 5x8 pellet tray 5 hours in is just under half way through. Sunday or maybe even tomorrow i'm going to smoke a couple big racks of pork spare ribs.

.

 

[tallbm]

Tats what i'm looking at doing now is just start it in a pan for the entire smoke. makes clean up easier too inside. along with foil the water pan & drip pan on the bottom.


LOL. I had the 5x8 a maze n tray and 12" tube ordered from amazon before the smoker even got delivered. Some prefer the tray and some prefer the tube. I got both to see which works best for me for different smokes.

Yes i'm looking at finishing sauces. Sooo many out there that look good and trying to decide is the tough part. LOL.

Thanks Guys.

Hi there and welcome!

I don't have an MES30 I have the MES40 but I have seen MES30's up close and personal. You should be fine not cutting the roast at all.

As for temp and technique you will get many varying approaches mentioned so it's up to your preference.
Know that a pork butt/shoulder does not really care about the smoking temp so you will see people go any where from 225F - 275F. I personally do 275F because the butt doesn't care and it gets the thing done faster.

Also know that you will get better bark and flavor if you don't foil/wrap/pan/etc. Meaning just seasoning it well and let it go until it is done.

As for the Internal Temp (IT) the pork but is done when it is tender enough for pulling. I find mine to be in the IT area of 205F-208F where accurate meat probe placement matters a lot for the 3 degree difference so I run minimum of 2 meat probes in my pork buts (3 in my briskets). Use the temp as a guide and then go stab all over with something (I use long bamboo kabob skewers) and when the stabbing has no resistance AND the bone will wiggle right out then it is shredably ready :)

You are new to the MES so understand the both the smoker temp probe AND the meat probe are going to be off. They are never accurate and this is a well known and documented issue with the MES. If you a wireless dual probe (or more probes) thermometer then use it, if not get one and I always recommend the ThermoPro Tp-20 for a good wireless dual thermometer but there are many out there that will work and possibly have more probes, which to me is a huge plus!

Finally, it is good you have both the AMNPS tray and tube. Based on many reports here, helping guys here, and what I've seen in person the MES30 does not seem to like the AMNPS tray to be placed inside the MES. The tube seems to have no issues with an MES30. If you want to use the tray it seems the mailbox mod is the only way to go for an MES30. I recently helped a guy via PM's figure this out with his MES30 so that is why I make the mailbox mod suggestion with the AMNPS tray and the MES30.

Phew, this is a lot of info hahaha.

Oh one more thing, my pork butt/shoulder approach with my MES40 is the following:

• smoker temp 275F
• season the pork butt heavily (it is a thick cut of meat) with SPOG+Paprika. I don't do sugar which can burn and get bitter. Sweet flavor for me is added with BBQ/Finishing sauces after the fact.
• I put the butt on a roasting rack and set the roasting rack in an aluminum pan and put the pan on my smoker rack. This catches juices (if any) and greatly reduces or eliminates the need for smoker clean up. It also keeps the butt elevated and off the pan so smoke hits all sides of the butt
• I probe with 2 meat probes and when the lowest one reads 205F I go and stab all over with a bamboo kabob skewer to check for no resistance which = pulling/shredding ready
• I pull, wrap in 2 layes of foil, wrap in 3 bath towels, and rest it on the counter until it is time to eat. This is often 3-4 hours. The meat is still piping hot 4 hours later and easily shreddable and the meal is always on time (never late)
• I shred and add any juices back to it if any existed in the foil pan
• I may add more seasoning SPOG+Paprika if needed and mix in because again the butt is a thick hunk of meat so meat deep in the roast may need it. I find I don't often have to add much if any at all
• I let people add any BBQ sauce or finishing sauce they want on their plate since everyone is different. I like a good dose of a savory slightly sweet type of bbq sauce. Rudy's BBQ Sause is my favorite but is kind of a local one to TX. Some people want thick sweet, some people want vinegar types, some people want ketchup and mustard on it on a roll. To each their own :)

Ok that is enough from me as I have basically written an encyclopedia. I hope this info helps and best of luck! :)

 

[Brad4x4]

Hi there and welcome!

I don't have an MES30 I have the MES40 but I have seen MES30's up close and personal. You should be fine not cutting the roast at all.

As for temp and technique you will get many varying approaches mentioned so it's up to your preference.
Know that a pork butt/shoulder does not really care about the smoking temp so you will see people go any where from 225F - 275F. I personally do 275F because the butt doesn't care and it gets the thing done faster.

Also know that you will get better bark and flavor if you don't foil/wrap/pan/etc. Meaning just seasoning it well and let it go until it is done.

As for the Internal Temp (IT) the pork but is done when it is tender enough for pulling. I find mine to be in the IT area of 205F-208F where accurate meat probe placement matters a lot for the 3 degree difference so I run minimum of 2 meat probes in my pork buts (3 in my briskets). Use the temp as a guide and then go stab all over with something (I use long bamboo kabob skewers) and when the stabbing has no resistance AND the bone will wiggle right out then it is shredably ready :)

You are new to the MES so understand the both the smoker temp probe AND the meat probe are going to be off. They are never accurate and this is a well known and documented issue with the MES. If you a wireless dual probe (or more probes) thermometer then use it, if not get one and I always recommend the ThermoPro Tp-20 for a good wireless dual thermometer but there are many out there that will work and possibly have more probes, which to me is a huge plus!

Finally, it is good you have both the AMNPS tray and tube. Based on many reports here, helping guys here, and what I've seen in person the MES30 does not seem to like the AMNPS tray to be placed inside the MES. The tube seems to have no issues with an MES30. If you want to use the tray it seems the mailbox mod is the only way to go for an MES30. I recently helped a guy via PM's figure this out with his MES30 so that is why I make the mailbox mod suggestion with the AMNPS tray and the MES30.

Phew, this is a lot of info hahaha.

Oh one more thing, my pork butt/shoulder approach with my MES40 is the following:

• smoker temp 275F
• season the pork butt heavily (it is a thick cut of meat) with SPOG+Paprika. I don't do sugar which can burn and get bitter. Sweet flavor for me is added with BBQ/Finishing sauces after the fact.
• I put the butt on a roasting rack and set the roasting rack in an aluminum pan and put the pan on my smoker rack. This catches juices (if any) and greatly reduces or eliminates the need for smoker clean up. It also keeps the butt elevated and off the pan so smoke hits all sides of the butt
• I probe with 2 meat probes and when the lowest one reads 205F I go and stab all over with a bamboo kabob skewer to check for no resistance which = pulling/shredding ready
• I pull, wrap in 2 layes of foil, wrap in 3 bath towels, and rest it on the counter until it is time to eat. This is often 3-4 hours. The meat is still piping hot 4 hours later and easily shreddable and the meal is always on time (never late)
• I shred and add any juices back to it if any existed in the foil pan
• I may add more seasoning SPOG+Paprika if needed and mix in because again the butt is a thick hunk of meat so meat deep in the roast may need it. I find I don't often have to add much if any at all
• I let people add any BBQ sauce or finishing sauce they want on their plate since everyone is different. I like a good dose of a savory slightly sweet type of bbq sauce. Rudy's BBQ Sause is my favorite but is kind of a local one to TX. Some people want thick sweet, some people want vinegar types, some people want ketchup and mustard on it on a roll. To each their own :)

Ok that is enough from me as I have basically written an encyclopedia. I hope this info helps and best of luck! :)

Thank you. I'm kind of taking everyone's suggestions and blending them together to see how this first smoke comes out and make adjustments where needed for my taste. My MES is the 40 inch smoker. I dont think i could deal with the 30 inch as it would be to small for me. I do Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys every year for our family and usually have to do 20+ lbs each time. 18 lbs turkey is the biggest i could fit in my old Brinkmann smoker and I can just barely close the smoker lid. So I had to go to smoking two 12 lbs turkeys. This new MES 40 inch smoker I already test fit a 19 lbs turkey and it easily fit with room to spare and probably add a second 19 pounder on a second rack. I could probably fit a 24 lbs in there too.
So looks like as I'm sitting here typing this out and looking at my remote the IT meat temp is still 170 after turning the MES down to 230. But at least its getting some good smoke flavor now. I'll crank it back up at noon for the last few hours to finish it.
I do have a oven thermometer inside the smoker sitting on the rack next to the pork and temps are almost the same. I'll have to go out with my food thermometer next time i go out there and see what the MES meat prob reads vs my trusty food thermometer. I'll look at the ThermoPro. Wireless sounds good other then my old trusty dial food thermometer that I have to open the door, poke the thermometer in and wait a minute or 2 before needle on thermometer stops moving up.

 

[tallbm]

Thank you. I'm kind of taking everyone's suggestions and blending them together to see how this first smoke comes out and make adjustments where needed for my taste. My MES is the 40 inch smoker. I dont think i could deal with the 30 inch as it would be to small for me. I do Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys every year for our family and usually have to do 20+ lbs each time. 18 lbs turkey is the biggest i could fit in my old Brinkmann smoker and I can just barely close the smoker lid. So I had to go to smoking two 12 lbs turkeys. This new MES 40 inch smoker I already test fit a 19 lbs turkey and it easily fit with room to spare and probably add a second 19 pounder on a second rack. I could probably fit a 24 lbs in there too.
So looks like as I'm sitting here typing this out and looking at my remote the IT meat temp is still 170 after turning the MES down to 230. But at least its getting some good smoke flavor now. I'll crank it back up at noon for the last few hours to finish it.
I do have a oven thermometer inside the smoker sitting on the rack next to the pork and temps are almost the same. I'll have to go out with my food thermometer next time i go out there and see what the MES meat prob reads vs my trusty food thermometer. I'll look at the ThermoPro. Wireless sounds good other then my old trusty dial food thermometer that I have to open the door, poke the thermometer in and wait a minute or 2 before needle on thermometer stops moving up.

I hope the butt finishes in time, the stalls can suck. Finishing early is never an issue. I like to have mine finish at least 4 hours before I plan to eat it. Double wrapping in foil, and then wrapping in 3 bath towels will keep it super hot for 4 hours no problem. Don't be afraid to ever finish 4-6 hours early, you can easily hold the meat until meal time... can't really speed up the process so better to be done early :)

 

[Brad4x4]

I cranked up the temp at noon to 275 and the meat temp is now at 200 and seems to be climbing about 10 degrees every hour. About another hour and a half it should be above 210 internal temp. Gives me an hour + to let it rest and then I can shred it for dinner.

Temp difference between my Taylor food thermometer and the MES meat prob thermometer varies from 10 degress to just a couple degrees. Seems the higher the temp the closer the 2 thermometers reading is. BTW I added the ThermoPro to my Amazon wish list so hopefully someone in my family will see it and get it for me for Christmas. :D

Pic of it at about 11 hours.

 

[Brad4x4]

My A MAZE N 5x8 tray is on hour 11 with whatever pellets came in it when I bought it. I'm assuming probably a competition blend. but about an inch left in the last row so I had to go to Big R store right down the road from me and bought a 40 lbs bag of Pit Boss competition blend wood pellets. $16.99. 40 lbs will last me quite a while but I still need other flavors like the Whisky barrel, cherry, hickory, mesquite, well ALL of them I need on hand for different meat smokes and what mood or flavor i'm wanting.

 

[Brad4x4]

Just pulled it out at 210 internal temp and almost didn't get it out of the pan in 1 piece to foil it and let it rest. It just started falling apart so i grabbed 2 big spatulas to get it out of the pan. The bone I tried to pull out, got it half way out and realized if i pull it out then it will definitely come out in pieces. The bone was coming out clean too. Cant wait to dig in.

 

[Brad4x4]

Well first smoking in MES I would call a success. I let it rest for at least 40 mins. unwrapped it and grabbed the bone and it pulled right out clean. Started grabbing chunks and putting it in the pan to shred. wife grabs the hand help potato masher to shred it. its just smooshed and fell apart. got it all shredded after MANY MANY taste tests and added the finishing sauce using the juices from cooking it. Again MANY more samples and taste testing. After so many samples and taste testing I could only eat 2 big sandwiches. It tastes amazing!!! good smoke flavor and just fall apart juicy tenderness. I have never had this kind of success from my old Brinkmann. Best Black Friday, Christmas present i've/my wife has gotten me.

Thank you ALL for your suggestions and help with my first smoking the MES.

Some pics of the finished product.

 

[tallbm]

It's lookin good!

You wont be disappointed with the TP20 it is very good.
Nice pick up on the pellets I rock the Pit Boss Competition Blend (PBCB) but I usually supplement it with more 100% Hickory. The PBCB can be a little on the mild side for my taste buds but it is my go to when I'm not sure what pellets to use and I usually burn 2 rows at the same time in my AMNPS to get more flavor.

Here's a little pellet education for you.
Most brands of pellets don't give you 100% of the wood showing on the label of the bag. They give you a blend :(

For example, Pacific Pellet's Mesquite pellets are only like 20-25% Mesquite and the rest is Alder.
Your brands like Pit Boss, Camp Chef, Traeger, Louisiana Grills, etc are like this where they give you 20-35% of the wood on the label and then usually use Oak, Alder, or Maple for the other 65-80% of the pellets :(

I really like the Lumberjack brand of pellets which are 100% of the wood on the bag/label or will clearly tell you if the bag of pellets is a blend. A few other brands like Cabelas and A-Maze-N are the same way though I have a very very very strong suspicion they get their pellets from Lumberjack and rebrand them :)
Lumberjack can now be found at Dick's Sporting Goods stores if you have one near you.

Pellets you may want to get are:

• 100% Hickory - most people consider the best wood for smoking pretty much everything and is a strong wood
• 100% Mesquite - to me is the best beef wood out there and with the AMNPS you get perfect smoke so no overpowering mesquite flavor
• 100% Apple - the strongest of the fruit woods and to me is great for pork and poultry
• 100% Cherry - I love cherry on beef, just know it is the wood that causes problems staying lit so blending is a god idea
• 100% Maple - my favorite of the middle of the road/mild woods. Great for anything sandwich meat like (pastrami, turkey, pork loin, bacon, etc.) and is awesome to blend with.
• You have PBCB which is Like 50-60% Maple, and then equal parts Cherry and Hickory and is a good mild general flavor pellet. If you get all the woods above you can blend the Maple, Hickory, and Cherry in equal quantities or however you like
• Hell with the woods above you can blend any combos you can think of. 70% Apple / 30% Hickory is one of my favorite for making bacon and/or sausages :)

I hope this info helps! :)

 

[Brad4x4]

That's what i plan on next time for larger pieces of meats I smoke is burn both ends at the same time for more smoke. or add the A MAZE N tube in also.
Yes we have Dicks Sporting goods here in fact there's one maybe a half mile from my house. And a large super store just a few miles away. We also have Cabala's and Bass Pro Shops. I've also seen Ace Hardware stores carry A MAZE N pellets too and also have one of those right down the road from my house across the street from Big R. Ace has several stores all over Denver area.

I gotta say I was skeptical of the A MAZE N tray lasting up to 12 hours. but mine went 12.5 hours and was just starting to die out when I pulled the meat out at 12.5 hours of smoking. Best MES accessory yet. I felt bored today not having to go out and load wood chunks or wood chips in every hour or 2 like my old Brinkmann smoker. Didnt have to go out and check temperature and make adjustments to the vent on the side of the firebox every hour either. Wind coming up and causing temps in my Brinkmann to go up to 350 deg. Dumping $40 in charcoal or wood for 1 smoking. Ya, i'm going to like this MES a lot better and use it a lot more.

Again, Thanks guys for the help.

 

[tallbm]

That's what i plan on next time for larger pieces of meats I smoke is burn both ends at the same time for more smoke. or add the A MAZE N tube in also.
Yes we have Dicks Sporting goods here in fact there's one maybe a half mile from my house. And a large super store just a few miles away. We also have Cabala's and Bass Pro Shops. I've also seen Ace Hardware stores carry A MAZE N pellets too and also have one of those right down the road from my house across the street from Big R. Ace has several stores all over Denver area.

I gotta say I was skeptical of the A MAZE N tray lasting up to 12 hours. but mine went 12.5 hours and was just starting to die out when I pulled the meat out at 12.5 hours of smoking. Best MES accessory yet. I felt bored today not having to go out and load wood chunks or wood chips in every hour or 2 like my old Brinkmann smoker. Didnt have to go out and check temperature and make adjustments to the vent on the side of the firebox every hour either. Wind coming up and causing temps in my Brinkmann to go up to 350 deg. Dumping $40 in charcoal or wood for 1 smoking. Ya, i'm going to like this MES a lot better and use it a lot more.

Again, Thanks guys for the help.

Yeah it's awesome!

At some point if you run into pellets going out on you or having problems lighting up, just microwave them for 1 min 20 sec, stir and wait 2 min, and microwave another 1 min and 20 sec and that should zap the moisture they naturally pull from the air over time :)