How Many Mes Owners Here?

[pc farmer]

Put up some pics.

 

[tiki guy]

Seasoned the MES 30 last night , the Thermometer  stayed about 7 degrees off ( showed higher in the smoker +7) my maverick  duel probe  read 270 ( spot on as per the owners manual for the smoker )  I can deal with that .

What amazed me ?   This morning when I went to empty the chip bin........it was almost empty !  I added a cup of chips as per the seasoning direction and was amazed only a small group of black ash  I always had a full bin in my old Brinkmann of full chips ( blackened but full )     Later today ....frist smoke will be a chicken or two I will Q-View . 

 

[themole]

lol Hey C, I have no earthly idea how to do that! It's probably time I learn though. wife has a couple of digital cameras laying around somewhere I care nothing about learning how to use.

I hate cell phones with a passion! I only carry them for work and my convenience. The Butt turned out great though.

I hope ya'll don't decide to kick me out for not providing pictures.
 

 

[domapoi]

Hey, Themole,

I read that you got an MES 30 but am curious as to why you would want to run the wire for the probe through the door. I have an MES 30 and just stick it through the vent on top. You should be smoking with the vent wide open anyway so there is no problem with having the probe wire running down through the vent openings. Even if you get two or three probes they will run through the vent.

Hey all you new MES users out there, if you are going to smoke chicken or turkey in your smoker, I strongly suggest that you Spatchcock your chicken. What is "Spatchcock" you say? Glad you asked, what you do is, turn your chick over so the backbone is up. Take some good butcher type shears or a good sharp knife. Cut along one side of the backbone from tail to neck. Then turn it around and do the same thing to completely remove the backbone. If it is a chicken just turn it over and spread it apart, pressing on the breast until it lays flat. Now you are ready to season/rub your chicken on both sides and lay on the smoker rack skin side up. You'll find that your chicken will cook more evenly, not have all that fat gathering and sitting it the cavity to spill out when you remove it and will be perfectly smoked every time. Since turkeys are usually a bit larger I will usually cut them completely in half and lay each half on a separate rack. It too will then cook just like the chicken did, to perfection.

Every time I cook my birds this way, everyone comments on how good they taste and how tender and moist they are. Just make sure you use the thermometer in your bird so you don't over cook them.

 

[rtbbq2]

I love mine....It's all good...........

 

[themole]

DOMAPOI, I have a chimney installed in the exhaust port on my smoker. Like electricity, I take the path of least resistance. So I didn't feel like removing the chimney.

My hope is to truly have a "Set it & Forget it" MES 30" Smoker. I've only had it a week and knew going into it that these things had potential for problems. I've learned from reading this great forum and threads like this, that these problems will be overcome.

 

[tiki guy]

 DAMAPOI   I have done that with my whole Chickens before in my old Brinkmann it does work great

.

QUESTION  on the probes and damper  I had heard on the MES 30 to leave the vent damper close to keep moisture & smoke in when doing meats like chicken pork beef , and open for fish .     Also  I was think about sticking the probe threw the vent but closing it down ( not to tight on the wire to kink it ) also hanging the probe with out the top rack in to avoid touching the metal to get a true temp.

I'm doing my first smoke in mine today ( two Butterball turkey breasts )  Q-View to follow  hope ya see this before I do , but I'm gonna try it with the vent damper closed and probe hanging 

 

[roadkill cafe]

Tiki, smoke with vent fully open, never closed. Need to have a draft moving the smoke through the chamber. Also, your Mav should have come with a clip for attaching the probe to the cooking grate.

 

[tiki guy]

Roadkill, Thanks I shall try it with open vents ( makes seance )  as far as the clip I never got one included with the Maverick , but I have had it for years and maybe never saw it in the box . I'm not disagreeing but always though when it touches the metal of the grate , the metal shows a higher temp and hanging it would show a truer chamber temp 

I will post after today's smoke with vents opened and see how that goes Thanks for the tip. 

 

[Bearcarver]

 DAMAPOI   I have done that with my whole Chickens before in my old Brinkmann it does work great

.

QUESTION  on the probes and damper  I had heard on the MES 30 to leave the vent damper close to keep moisture & smoke in when doing meats like chicken pork beef , and open for fish .     Also  I was think about sticking the probe threw the vent but closing it down ( not to tight on the wire to kink it ) also hanging the probe with out the top rack in to avoid touching the metal to get a true temp.

I'm doing my first smoke in mine today ( two Butterball turkey breasts )  Q-View to follow  hope ya see this before I do , but I'm gonna try it with the vent damper closed and probe hanging 

Tiki,

I have an MES 30 and an MES 40 for a combined total of 7 years. I have never seen a circumstance that needed my top vent closed.

95% of the time wide open, and 5% of the time half way open.

Some people stick their oven probe through a cut tater, leaving the tip sticking out, to keep it from touching metal. I just let mine hang through a rack, so the whole probe is below that rack.

Bear

 

[tiki guy]

Thanks Bear  check back for a Q-View  Looks like the Neighborhood will be smelling like Apple wood ................mmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

[roadkill cafe]

Roadkill, Thanks I shall try it with open vents ( makes seance )  as far as the clip I never got one included with the Maverick , but I have had it for years and maybe never saw it in the box . I'm not disagreeing but always though when it touches the metal of the grate , the metal shows a higher temp and hanging it would show a truer chamber temp 

I will post after today's smoke with vents opened and see how that goes Thanks for the tip. 

You are correct. If the tip touches the grate, or any other metal inside, it will throw the temp off. There's a hole in the clip for the probe to slide through so the tip will not touch the metal grate. Temp can be several degrees different at top of chamber near vent than at the grate where your food is cooking. Bear's tip of some people using a cut tater (or a small one) with the tip sticking out is spot on. I've also seen some folks drill a hole in a wood chunk and place the probe through it. Same principle.

Applewood smoked yardbird....Yum!!! Glad I'm not your neighbor today. You'd be driving me crazy with the awesome smell. Looking forward to the Qview.

 

[terrymn]

Can I use Traeger pellets in my MES 30"?  Ever tried them in your MES?

Hi Robb - I use nothing but Traeger pellets in my MES - but never in the chip pan - always in my 5x8 AMAZN-PS.  Works great.

 

[fishinchik]

New MES 30 owner.. old style, no window, digital.  Only regret is not buying the 40.   Love it!

 

[kofseattle]

I think we are going to try some bacon. Mmmm BAcON!

 

[tiki guy]

 Well.......First smoke with the new 30  ( here is a Q-View  ) 

I made a few "Rookie" mistakes  #1. powered on and set temp to 245 and set the time instead of powering it up to max temp and then after it reached max back it off to 245 

                                                         #2. Did EXACTLY what the directions said NOT TO DO   pulled out chip loader to add more chips to soon...got a flair up 

                                                         #3  got nervous  because temp on the Mav. was way higher than the smoker temp ( I think that was because I did set it high and back off to 245

  Over all ....I liked it a lot great seal on the door , easy use easy clean up  I love the chrome racks  drip pan design  and again AMAZED  very little un burnt chips in the chip pan I had maybe 1 quarter of the box with white ash , and I added chips 4 times during the smoke   ( the Brinkmann used to be full of dark chips , black full chips ) 

2013-04-14 11.07.14.jpg

• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

  Apple Juice  in the water pan 

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• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

Two Butterballs  

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• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

 Here we go ......

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• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

  Done .....

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• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

  Foiled and resting I'll let ya know how they came ou BUT they look great       

 

[smokinmilkman]

I got mine through QVC and soo far i love it. I also own a charcoal smoker which great as well. Just did a 12 hr smoke on my MES and it was amazing and easy. Could cut it with a butter knife.

 

[tiki guy]

Just unwrapped one ....sliced it thin for Sammy's    Moist ! sweet Apple flavor !     I very Happy right now ....next some Brisket ......

photo-41.jpg

• tiki guy
• Apr 14, 2013

 

[Bearcarver]

Awesome Sammy, Tiki!!!!

Bear

 

[rtbbq2]

Looks great...As far as the Maverick temp being higher than the MES30 unit temp. My MES30 runs 25-30° hotter than the set temperature. Sounds like yours does too. I would adjust the

cooking time accordingly...Good luck............