Greetings!

[placebo]

Hello fellow meat smokers. My name is Jeff and I have always wanted to master the art of smoking meat and at the ripe age of 42 I finally just purchased my first smoker. I got the stainless steel Masterbuilt from SAMS. So far I like it very much. I have only done 3 cooks in it so far, all were racks of ribs and all came out very good. In the instruction book it advises soaking the wood chips before putting into the smoker. From all I have read so far this seems to not be a good idea. Some say that the moisure from the wet chips creates creosote which is bad. My first two batches I soaked my chips the third I did not. Oddly enough I got better mileage out of the dry chips.

I'd really like to hear from others who have the Masterbuilt post-ban smokers and any tips or suggestions you may have.

All the best,

Jeff

 

[richoso1]

Hello Jeff and welcome to the SMF. There are plenty of members who can give you the skinny on wood chips/wet/dry. I would highly regard their words, as they have countless hours of trial and error.

 

[gypsyseagod]

welcome to smf. i'm not a chip man i'm a chunk & splits guy,but if it works better 1 way seems to me to stick w/ what works best.

 

[wvsmokeman]

Welcome aboard the SMF!! Masterbuilt makes a quality smoker. As for soaking the chips, I think it depends on the smoker.....find what works for you and use it. Glad you joined up!

 

[short one]

Welcome to SMF, and enjoy your smoker, ask questions if you have any, and some of the friendly folks around will help you out.

 

[blackhawk19]

Welcome, sign up for Jeff's 5-day eCourse and check out Deb's site for some great info also http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/
As for the wood, some soak and some don't, experiment and find what works for you. Oh Yeah-Post Pics of your Smoke

 

[az_redneck]

Howdy from Arizona...

 

[cajun_1]

Welcome to the SMF

 

[scrollman3]

Hello Jeff, welcome to smf, alot of good folks here.

 

[gofish]

Welcome aboard the SMF! When I use my Masterbuilt, i prefer the dry chips. I have tried both ways ....... I have also tried both ways at once ..... Dry has seemed to fit my taste, so thats what I do. Good luck and keep asking away!

 

[deejaydebi]

Welcome Jeff -

The general consensus is don't soak wood chunks. Some people use wood chips which are very tiny and soak them to slow down the time it taes them to burn up. Chucks really don't absorb much water other than on the surface anyway and kind of slows down the time it takes them to burn and make smoke.

 

[brennan]

On top of all that, If you use a water pan, it's kind of redundant when you soak the wood chips for the added steam. (I assume thats what soaking them is for since they burn about the same time either way) Also, chips tend to smoke more and faster and vice versa for chunks. less smoke longer. Some people use a combo of both to get the best of both worlds. But, I digress. we're talking about wet/dry wood not chips/chunks.

 

[placebo]

Wow thanks for all replies! This place is busy. Ok I have another newbie question. This morning I took my last rack-O-ribs out of the fridge to cut up and bring to work. As I cut them I noticed the meat was slightly pinkish near the bone, sorry I didn't get pics. I smoked them using the 3,2,1 method with temps ranging from 215 to 235. The ribs are very tasty and nobody has gotten sick thank goodness, but I am new to this, and it is pork, so I'm a bit concerend. Is that normal? This is an electric smoker so I know there will not be a smoke ring.

Thanks agian!

All the best

 

[meowey]

Welcome to SMF! Glad you found us!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[hawgheaven]

Welcome to SMF Jeff! Glad you found us!

I agree, don't soak the wood chunks... no need to.

 

[deejaydebi]

Was it reddish near the outside? Pork is whiteish (unless you brined it) when cooked so it was probably the smoke ring unless it was really raw.

 

[stillcajun]

Welcome to the SMF! Debi has a point. The ribs closer to the end are normally more redder due to smoke than the inside ribs.

 

[placebo]

Thanks for the replies. The pinkness was the meat nearest to the bone. It wasn't real pink like raw but just had kind of a pinkish hue to it. The rest of the meat that wasn't near the bone had no pink to it at all. If it happens again next time I'll make sure I get pics. Thanks again all!

I swear they taste better after sitting in the fridge overnight!

 

[deejaydebi]

Intetresting - yes do take pictures!

 

[hillbillysmoker]

Welcome Jeff. Nice to have you on the forum.