How Many Mes Owners Here?

[dj mishima]

I have a Bass Pro Shops MES 30.  I got it as a Christmas gift last year.

 

[julliette]

I got my 30" MES a couple weeks ago, bought it at Walmart website, also purchased the MES cold smoke kit. This is a new adventure for me, so was excited to get started. first evening I put it together, was to late in the evening to start it up, soooo next day preseasoned it , got it ready to go for the next day, crap!!!! snow and rain next 2 days. LOL. Oh well, thats South Dakota for you.  Finally got my MES with cold smoker up and running.  First smoke was a 3# beef chuckie at 250 for about 6/7 hours, beef was done, did have a smoke ring, but just a tad tough, not bad, was eatable, just had to chew a little. good flavor.

   Next I tried my hand at making beef jerky, hmmmm a little to much smoke, not enough seasonings in marinade. took like 12 hours. next time I think I will turn heat up after 4 hours and also turn off smoke at that time.  Started out at 100 degree, after about 7 hours did turn it up to 150. I think it took a lot longer than it should have, not sure what I did wrong. (Yes I did use a cure, so beef should be fine.) 

  Plan to smoke a 6 # pork loin for Easter nand also a 6.8# turkey breast, Both will be put in a brine day before... any and all suggestions and tip would be greatly appreciated.

 

[old sarge]

Julliette - I don't think you have done anything wrong.  There is a learning curve to using the electric smoker, regardless of make. Experiment and enjoy.  And never get discouraged. 

Hopefully, some MES owners and users will chime in on this to help out.

 

[chef willie]

This thread is a long one....you may want to ask questions in a new thread started by you. I'd agree with sarge....it's a process to figure it out which is why we usually start with inexpensive meat & chicken. Chuckies can be a long smoke and I usually foil mine in a pan with juice to ensure tenderness and fall apart meat. Be careful with your Easter smoke...pork loin has little fat so is more unforgiving than a shoulder or butt. Same with the turkey breast, very lean....watch your IT"s

 

[bdskelly]

I've owned a MaterBuilt 40" Window for a few years now. I only used it on holidays for the first two years. But this year I'm really getting into the smoke so I've used it almost every weekend.  Being in Texas, brisket is king.  But recently tried a PB on my unit with the help of the pork forum here. It tuned our GREAT with the finishing sauce on the Pork Sticky.  I've had no real problems with my unit. Great smoker to set and forget.  This is not my first smoker.  I've been a propane guy for a number of years. I really enjoy the electric.  I get good bark when I dont use the water pan. 

 

[julliette]

i will do that. Thanks for the tips and suggestions

 

[foamheart]

I just recieved a 30 MES. I told a friend it was as idiot proof as they can come. So far I like it. I learned to smoke as a kid watching my Dad. I have wood pits and electric pits, never tryed a gas pit. I have smokers made of large diameter pipe, transite boxes, I have used an old washing machine shell, and burnt the bottom out of 3 redi-smokers while traveling around the country. My Dad showed me the difference in time and temp for different seasons, and the different woods pros/cons towards the type of meat. Anyway, I have burnt a few pits.

The MES 30 seems a fairly well made/insulated box. I used a probe the first time and cooked a chicken to the same specs I would have used in my old pits and it came right. Always when I was learning it was about time/temp and adjustments. Now its all about internal temp. It sort of takes all that time and training out of the equation. But it allows more people to enjoy smoking so I think its all good. I worry about electronics, its just one more thing to break down but we will see.

Anyway I am completely happy so far. Dad laughs at me because I used an old remote control probe I had laying around for the past 15 years. I set the smoker, and clip the remote on my pocket and it tells me when it ready. It completely baffled him. Of course it does cut down on the beer drinking while watching the fire. LOL

Just found the site, there is a load to take in here. Looking forward to learning more.

Opps...... I ordered mine from Wal-Mart. The blue light special on isle # 87.

 

[smokeitifugotit]

I marked the poll as a 30", but I actually have a 30" w/a window. However, the poll only listed a 40" w/window. I bought mine at Home Depot online. $289., freight free. I also have a Brinkman bullet that I don't use much since I got the MES. Too much of a pain trying to keep temp up. The less I have to fool with it, the better. MES took care of that and I end up getting all the credit.:grilling_smilie:

 

[themole]

Picked mine up at Home Depot. Gen 1 model 30. Just completed seasoning tonight, haven't cooked on it yet, but I think I'm gonna love it. I read a lot about the problem Masterbuilt is having with the new model and some with the model I have. If breaks, if Masterbuilt won't fix it I will.
 

 

[julliette]

late update on my Easter smokes of Turkey breast and Pork loin, both came out great, turkey did take longer that planned to come to temp, but all was good, Planned to get pictures, but had help getting dinner ready so it didn't happen and no left overs, lol. I just finished smoking bacon(setting in refrig mellowing out), will get some before and after pic of bacon. also have some salmon brining for weekend smoke.

 

[redclaymud]

Since I'm getting up there in the years, sitting out there in the weather and watching over a weber doesn't excite me anymore.  Love that the MES is plug and play.  If you have payed your dues and learned how to make great bbq, it's a good oven to fall back on.  Get your rub right and have the proper wood chips, no way you can fail.

I use a combination of wood chips and amazing pellets (50/50) to give a first "huge" hour of smoke.  The ham I smoked two days ago had a fantastic smoky flavor.  My family couldn't remember any better..

 

[pc farmer]

Never thought of using both for more smoke.

 

[hub0000]

I think I have the 30". I bought mine from Bass Pro about 5 or 6 years ago, it's green and has NWF on the door for the National Wildlife Federation. Before that I used my gas grill and a coffee can with small wood chunks in it. When time came to replace my grill, I decided I wanted a smoker too. I picked the MES because I figured the more convenient it was the more I would use it. I have it in the garage on a little cart with wheels by the door and when I want to use it I just roll up the door and push it over about 4 feet and fire it up. Just did 2 racks of St Louis ribs in it yesterday. I love to do whole chickens and put them on those beer can chicken racks to cook them vertical. I've been very happy with mine and the family loves the food. Lately I've been thinking about a pellet smoker like maybe a RecTec.

 

[round rock dave]

Got mine about 2 months ago, so far the oly drawback I have seen was that it is so low to the ground.  Fixed that by getting the masterbuilt smoker stand.  Raises it 16" and makes it much easier to use.

Been smoking alot of ribs, and jerky since I got it.  So much better than my old Brinkman Electric. 

First time using my MES 30 (mod #20070612), bought at Home Depot last week, and I need a stand too. Tthe legs come off the smoker and the stand bolts to the smoker, right?  Looking at the MB site, the stand has a cut-out in the left-rear corner.  What is the purpose of that cut-out?  First bad thing that has happened:  went to check drip-tray, pulled it and it is/was stuck.  Pulled 'agressively' and the 'handle' broke at the tack welds.  It was tacked to the outside of the tray, not the inside!  I'll fix it with nuts/bolts and spread the wings a little.

 

[wood chuck]

I received my MES as a gift from a friend . I had been using an off set set stick burner & never tried any other way to smoke. I had used this type stick burner (Barrel)  for yrs. .  But now have

C.O.P.D. My friend was being thoughtful of me. Being around the smoke from the MES still bothered me. I now use an indoor smoker. You can Read about that in another tread on here.

I failed to mention that I use the The amnps when I do use the MES & I would never be without it.

 

[veryolddog]

Hello, 

I am new to this forum and a couple of months ago I purchased the Masterbuilt 30 inch Electric digital SS smoker with RF Remote. I had been using a propane smoker for the last 3 years, and I can positively say that I could not be more pleased with this purchase and the results. I purchased this unit from the Home Depot online store over the phone. The purchase price was $289.00 and I received my 10 per cent military discount which dropped the price. There was no shipping charge. They delivered the product in five days via UPS. In the last two months, I have done brisket, pulled pork, whole chickens, ribs, pork tenderloins, and a rib roast. With this unit, the results have been much improved over the propane unit. The smoker is located on my patio, and plugs into an outdoor  outlet. The major convenience provided is that I do not have to watch the power source and be concerned about the replenishment of that power source. I can simply focus on the process of smoking. I also find that because the unit is sealed really well, the smoking time has diminished by an hour or two for the same effort. In addition, the RF Remote is really handy because I can watch sports and check meat temperature and times in order to reload the smoker with fresh wood chips. 

The assembly was very simple, following the directions provided and the "seasoning" process took only two hours. I had a concern about the digital read out on the top of the unit and called Masterbuilt. They said: "don't worry", and I received a new unit two days later. I found that the problem that I had was operator error, self inflicted which corrected itself, so I have a brand new spare digital controller in inventory thanks to their good customer support.

My wife wants to smoke meat loafs in there. I guess that we will be trying that fairly soon.

Thanks and have a great day!

 

[smokinjo1]

I've had my mes for about 5 year now, no problems.  The window stays clean for about 3 smokes then you can't see through it.  I suppose if you cleaned it after every smoke it would stay clean but who does that

 

[Bearcarver]

I've had my mes for about 5 year now, no problems.  The window stays clean for about 3 smokes then you can't see through it.  I suppose if you cleaned it after every smoke it would stay clean but who does that

I do---Makes it very easy to clean, and only takes about 2 minutes each time.

Bear

 

[ron burgundy]

I have the 30 incher from Fleet Farm.  Only used it once.  I'm going to try to do something in it every weekend.

 

[tiki guy]

 Well I "HAD" a Brinkmann  Electric and WAS very happy with it , till this past week end , I went to use it and the left top, and rear completely rusted threw !

After bitching a while I stated looking at this thread , and checking out new smokers.  I think I'm going with the MES 30 inch , looks great , also great reviews 

 So anyone have any tips , tricks , complaints or modifications I should look into ?