Hello from Minnesota

[dnalsi]

Hello,

I'm an absolute beginner with smoking meat.

I have a lot to learn and I hope this is the right place to do it :)

Wife just bought me a Masterbuilt electric smoker 20070312 yesterday on sale $249 at Mill's Fleet Farm.

800 watt with remote control.
It is sitting on the deck now going through the "pre-seasoning."

Running it at 275 deg F for 3 hours.

In about 45 minutes I need to add wood chips.

We got a 1 gallon bag of both Mesquite and cherry chips. "Smokehouse" brand.

I wanted apple but they were out of stock.

Assembly went well, but I am fairly mechanical. Directions were actually pretty good. Only needed a Phillips screwdriver to assemble.

It seems like a fairly well made unit.

It is 44 degrees outside right now and the temp display on the MES is showing between 270 and 280 depending when I look.

Only thing missing was the battery cover for the remote control :(

I'll call Masterbuilt on Monday and see how that goes.

Interesting to note that the Assembly Care and Use manual that came with the smoker, says to add 1 cup of wood chips during the last 45 minutes of "pre-seasoning". However, there is an insert of "pre-season instructions" that says never add more than 1/2 cup of wood chips at anytime.

I just put 2 deer in the freezer and we raise our own lamb so I hope to put this smoker to very good use!

 

[s2k9k]

to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 40,000 members and over 800,000 posts so you should be able to find almost anything you want to know. Remember the search bar at the top can be your best friend for finding answers fast!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-course it will teach you all the basics and a whole lot more!

Here's some good reading that should help you get started with your MES:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search.php?search=mes+tips

 

[mossymo]

Glad you joined us Dnalsi and congrats on the new MES! :welcome1:

 

[dnalsi]

Thank You for the welcome.

I called Masterbuilt today about the missing battery cover for the remote.

I called 2 X and it just rang and rang until it finally went to a busy tone.

The 3rd try (a charm?) I got a recording telling me how important my call was and then got to listen to ads for 28 minutes on an endless loop, before a live person picked up.

He asked for name, address, phone, email, ect before we got to my problem - the missing battery cover.

I was put on hold, without warning, at one point and thought I was disconnected before he came back.

They are sending out the battery cover in 3 to 5 working days.

I'm surprised they don't have this set up to do all online.

I could leave a phone # and they could call if they have questions, or email.

We did 2 chickens yesterday and it worked good:)

 

[rtbbq2]

Glad you joined us..............

 

[smokinhusker]

Hello and welcome to SMF and your new addiction! Congrats on the new smoker. 

 

[humdinger]

Welcome Dnalsi. There's nothing like a new smoker! Glad to hear the chickens turned out good. Any pics? What kind of prep did you do before putting them in? Take care.

 

[dnalsi]

2 Whole chickens ,3.5 lb Golden Plump, all natural.

Soaked in brine of 1 gal of water,

3/4 cup salt, 2/3 cup honey, ¼ cup Old Bay seasoning for poultry, one cup red wine (all we had).

Brine soak for about 5 hours.

Rinsed birds after brine soak.

Rubbed with more Old Bay seasoning prior to smoking.

Smoked for 3 hours with MES set at 225 F.

Temp probe in breast got to 188 F for about an hour.

Wife loaded Hickory chips total of 3 X. ½, ¼, ¼ cup of chips.

1st chicken smoked.JPG

• dnalsi
• Nov 20, 2012

Smoke rises up to heaven for a reason!

 

[rtbbq2]

.....Gaaaawd we love Q-view pics....