Going to use my MES 30 for the first time

[canada3]

Couple of questions for you folks:

I am going to try smoking the first time this weekend. I want to try and smoke a whole chicken and a salmon fillet. Do you have any recommendations on how to do that? I am going to be using apple wood chips. Also, how do I know when to put more chips in the side loader?

Thanks,

canada3

 

[crazymoon]

C3, Hit the search bar above for all kinds of tips and recipes !

 

[vwaldoguy]

Good choice on a smoker.  I have the same one. 

 

[canada3]

Is it possible to smoke two things at the same time? I am planning on doing my chicken at 240, but I am seeing that people are saying that the salmon should be cooked at 200. Do I have to do the separately or is there a way I can do them both together?

 

[jonnyg]

Hey c3! I just bought my mes 30" 5 months ago and its amazing. Have you heard of the amnps? Ive only used it a couple of times but it eliminates having you constantly put chips in the loader every 45 mins. You should check it out it will change everything!

Also I'm sure it's OK to smoke multiple things at once, depending upon what you want to put in there. Ive smoked pork and beef together before but never mixed fish and other meats. Search for it here and I'm sure you'll find your answer!

JonnyG

 

[daveomak]

add I/4 cup of chips every 45 minutes or so.... I would not cook chicken and salmon at the same time... you do not want to over cook the salmon... If you see ANY white fat rise to the surface of the fish, while cooking, it IS done and very close to overcooking....
FWIW, I have a separate smoker for cooking fish... fish flavors can carry over and make everything taste like fish...

 

[mummel]

Dave how long does that flavor carry over for?  I'd like to try fish at some point but dont want to screw up my meats.  Some people have said there is zero diffs.  Others say never do it.  I dont know???

 

[jonnyg]

add I/4 cup of chips every 45 minutes or so.... I would not cook chicken and salmon at the same time... you do not want to over cook the salmon... If you see ANY white fat rise to the surface of the fish, while cooking, it IS done and very close to overcooking....
FWIW, I have a separate smoker for cooking fish... fish flavors can carry over and make everything taste like fish...

 I'm with Dave on this one!  

 

[canada3]

Forever? So I should not smoke fish in my smoker ever?

 

[daveomak]

Well, carry over, I'm not sure.... All I know is I smoked some fish in my smoker, then smoked a turkey... The turkey tasted like a walking and flying fish... horrible.... I kept that smoker for fish and built another for meats... As you are probably aware, fish odor is pretty penetrating... in the drapes, carpet etc... Now, in my dedicated fish smoker that I have had for near 30 years, I'm pretty darn good at smoking fish... I don't have to learn a new smoker... and the fish is very good... Sooooooo getting a second smoker is not really a drawback....
Anywho, that was just a warning.... keep a good drip catcher under it.... scrub the rack really good after the cook... look on craigs L. for a big chief or something like that for smoking fish.... IMO, they are the best smoker for salmon there is....

Here's my fish smoker.... and the smoker I built for other stuff... It is now retired... but I'm going to "rejuvenate" soon....

View media item 406041.. ..View media item 406042

 

[mummel]

I'd love to do some salmon but I think my wife will divorce me if I start talking about a second smoker haha.  Im torn about what to do.  Dont want to mess up my MES.

 

[canada3]

I am in the same boat! My wife purchased some Salmon for this weekend, and it will be my first smoke. The last thing I want to do is ruin it! Should I reach out to masterbuilt and see if they have any recommendations?

 

[daveomak]

I am in the same boat! My wife purchased some Salmon for this weekend, and it will be my first smoke. The last thing I want to do is ruin it! Should I reach out to masterbuilt and see if they have any recommendations?

They may know something... I doubt it.... Probably will say "Clean it really good"...

Like has been noted.... some folks say they don't have a problem.... All I know is I had a problem....

 

[canada3]

Just seasoned it last night with some Apple chips! Looking forward to Saturday!

 

[jonnyg]

Good Luck!

 

[cael]

 
Just seasoned it last night with some Apple chips! Looking forward to Saturday!

I'm very excited to hear how it went.    As a fellow Canadian who also just did there first smoke this weekend in a new MES 30.     I'd love to hear how the chicken went and if you opted in for the fish.   

My first smoke ended up....ok.   I will post separately for that.

 

[canada3]

Hello Cael!

So, I ended up getting the stomach flu last weekend, and just the mere thought of food was making me feel even more ill! And of course, this last weekend, we were out of town on a scheduled family trip. So I am going to give it another go this upcoming weekend! I have had the thing for about two or three weeks and not smoked anything yet! Arrrgggh! I do plan on doing the salmon in it, my wife likes that, and if it is too much of a pain or the smell does not come out, I may look at returning it. I need the ability to be able to smoke lots of different things. I did not see your post, how did it go?

 

[cael]

Hey canada3! 

No worries, I'm glad you are feeling better.    I'm sure if you air out the smoker after and clean it well it will be fine.   It would truly suck if you could not do fish and other things in it.    

So far I have done 2 small sirloin tip roasts, and those were ok, but need to be done to a higher temp in order to be tender.    I pulled the first one after about 2.5 hours at an internal temp of 145.    Tough and way too rare for me.    I popped it back in foil to cook with the other one, and we left it til bedtime and they both came out much better.   But surprisingly they only came up to 160 with the additional 4 hours of cooking.   A solid 3 hour stall.   I'd give the finished product a 6.5-7.

But I did Costco Baby Back Ribs on Canada Day.    Wow.   7 hours since I had some trouble keeping temps up in the morning.    But just wow.   9/10 for sure.   No foil, just olive oil and a rub and straight on the racks.    They were super tender and getting close to fall of the bone, but it was nice to have a little structural integrity to them.    My guests were so pleased, that for the effortlessness of doing them straight on the rack with no fuss, I don't know that I would ever bother foiling them.    Maybe 1 time as an experiment.   Nice thing about the Costco ribs is that the membrane is already removed.   So easy.

Last night I cut some boneless chicken breasts in half and wrapped them with bacon.  (I was in a hurry and figured the cut pieces would cook faster).    They cooked in 40 min at 275 degrees.    Fast.   Chicken was juicy and perfectly cooked, but bacon was too soft for me.   I popped the remainders under the broiler for 5 or so min, and I'll see what they are like for supper tonight.     I think that is the way to go.    Or if I had done whole breasts, maybe the bacon would have had time to solidify if not entirely crisp up.

I was supposed to do my first Boston Butt this Friday night to eat Saturday, but something has come up that I won't be home to monitor the smoker Friday evening.    So it just won't work time wise.    I guess I'll do ribs again for my guests on Saturday.    Fantastic, but disappointing for me as I really wanted to try the long slow smoke.

I can't wait to hear about your first go round when it happens!   

 

[mummel]

Man I wish I knew how you guys get your no foil ribs to be FOTB?  I cant get it right.

 

[cael]

To be fair, they were right in between.   Super tender, but still with structure.    But no tug like I get at my local smokehouse.    I seriously did nothing but cook them for 7 hours @about 240.