How much smoke @225? masterbuilt MES 130B

[FishInTheDesert]

baby chicken...about 4 pounds i figure

later edit:
it was a lot juicier (especially after slicing into it) than the pics looked...and delicious. Im not sure I wanna call it good since im expecting fall of the bone tenderness.....but it was tender and I would choose this chicken over a grocery store rotisserie chicken 10 times out of 10. Im not a skin guy...but the person I gave this chicken to ate the skin when they tried it....and had no complaints and said it was delicious!

This is making me so optimistic! Hopefully I can dial in my briskets this quickly.

Also...not to brag....but I just sourced some local oak, pecan and mesquite chips!!!! super fired up! lol

 

[foamheart]

For the grate probe you can always stick your probe thru a potato wedge to hold it in place. As for rubbery skin I believe it was foamheart who swears if you let the bird form a good pellicle on the skin before smoking then you'll get crispy skin at lower temps.

Chirs

Never lets me down..... o_O

 

[GaryHibbert]

Your. Latest chicken looks beautiful. How was the skin?? I cooked my last chicken at 300 degrees but the skin was still just bite through not crispy.
As for your other questions, tallbm has been giving you GREAT advice.
About the only thing I'd add is be sure to boil test your thermometers. They should read 212 degrees in boiling water at sea level. If you boil test the MES meat therm you'll probably discover it's way out. Mine was so I junked it and bought a 2 orobe digital therm.
Gary

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Looking good!

if I happen to be drinking beers while smoking....maybe that $15 is worth it! lol

Tp 08 alerts you too high or low temp settings, but has only one meat probe.
Tp 20 only alerts you too high temp settings, but both probes can be used for meat.

Giving them away to neighbors!

That's nice. Tell'em you want honesty in return. Some people are afraid to be honest. And, make sure you taste too....lol. Are you tasting too? Sometimes, I don't even want the food after I spent all day making it, but you gotta taste to know...lol.... especially when you're in the gettin'-it-right stage.

Looking forward to your ribs this weekend!

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Chiming in because the other day I checked the cooking section at Walmart and they actually had the wire meat probes there fairly cheap, I think 12 dollars? Some thing like that. I suggest having one as you can check the temp with out opening the smoker. Or go all out and get a Maverick Redi-check.... <Which that costs 70 bucks>. Just be sure it's grill/bbq grade stuff, not a fridge unit.

 

[foamheart]

Or go all out and get a Maverick Redi-check.... <Which that costs 70 bucks>. Just be sure it's grill/bbq grade stuff, not a fridge unit.

The Amazon "shop till you drop", had the Maverick single probe at >25.00 each. You can't buy a replacement probe for that.

 

[tallbm]

Yea it does! Just one question...and its a $15 question...

Im ordering the probes (prolly after you reply)....only need the 2 since its a small smoker and ill always be cooking just 1 meat 99% of the time. But...my frugal side is kicking in. Whats the difference between the TP-20 and TP-08? Is it just the presets and alerts....thats what ive got from reading the descriptions.

Is it worth the extra $15 bucks for those alerts? I love slow cookers...so im good with the set it and forget it mentality, and even tho I dont think ill need it...if I happen to be drinking beers while smoking....maybe that $15 is worth it! lol



So....my chicken came out drier than id like. But...my skin was edible! I live in a desert climate...so im not sure if thats helping the cause. Got chicken #2 and going no water in the tray, but also higher temp (265)....gonna see how this one goes. I like low and slow....but read everywhere chicken is better at higher temps, so tried to strike a balance and see how it goes.

Im gonna cook a chicken every day or every other day to try and fine tune. Giving them away to neighbors! lol...and theyre around $10 in 2 packs at my walmart....so makes the learning process relatively cheap!

I wanna do "3-2-1" ribs this weekend...lets see if I trust myself by that time. hate wasting food

The chicken looks pretty good and chicken is cheap to experiment with! Wait till you try brining a whole chicken in a simple salt and water brine for like 24 hours. Pat dry, season, and smoke that sucker and see how awesome and juicy it comes out!

To answer your question the TP-20 has 2 "hybrid" probes. They are pointy and can be used as meat probes or smoker probes hence the term "hybrid".
I believe the TP-08 has 1 dedicated smoker probe and the other is a "hybrid" probe so it is pointy and can go in meat or not. I also think the TP-08 has a high and low temp alarm setting or something like that where the TP-20 only has a single alarm temp settings.

It's up to what you want. I went with the TP-20 because I wanted the flexibility of being able to stab both probes into meat if I needed. Hell I run 6 probes total and 5 of them are "hybrid" probes. It may sound crazy to run 6 probes but it is nice to have 3 measuring smoker temps in various areas and/or rack levels as well as meat on those various racks. I know where my hot and cold spots are as well as how differently the meat is cooking across different racks :)
Also when I do a Brisket I stab it with 3 meat probes and usually I get one of them in the right spot hahaha

 

[FishInTheDesert]

Never lets me down..... o_O

You just leave the chicken out to dry out the skin...or how do you do it?

Your. Latest chicken looks beautiful. How was the skin?? I cooked my last chicken at 300 degrees but the skin was still just bite through not crispy.
As for your other questions, tallbm has been giving you GREAT advice.
About the only thing I'd add is be sure to boil test your thermometers. They should read 212 degrees in boiling water at sea level. If you boil test the MES meat therm you'll probably discover it's way out. Mine was so I junked it and bought a 2 orobe digital therm.
Gary

Thank you sir! I think its beginners luck and following the advice ive read here from surfing.

I actually didnt eat the skin...but the person I gave it to did and loved it! I dont think i wanna call it that JUST RIGHT crispy....but it was getting there! Definitely better than the skin all the rotissere chickens I ever bought. I didnt eat it, but did give it a feel and it did have a doneness...almost crispness. Ill try it on tomorrows bird....really hoping I can get a repeat performance and it wasnt just luck today!

Looking good!


Prolly be worth the price of preventing one ruined dinner, especially when you (or company!) been waiting for it allllllllll day looooong.

That's nice. Tell'em you want honesty in return. Some people are afraid to be honest. And, make sure you taste too....lol. Are you tasting too? Sometimes, I don't even want the food after I spent all day making it, but you gotta taste to know...lol.... especially when you're in the gettin'-it-right stage.

Looking forward to your ribs this weekend!

Tasting the breast of the chicken only, not the dark meat. Todays bird was GREAT! Prolly helps that I brined it! Im definitely asking for honest opinions cuz ive told them that i just got the smoker and learning now...im real critical of myself too tho! lol I love cooking....good food!

The "one ruined dinner" reasoning is why I just went with the TP20 earlier today.

Chiming in because the other day I checked the cooking section at Walmart and they actually had the wire meat probes there fairly cheap, I think 12 dollars? Some thing like that. I suggest having one as you can check the temp with out opening the smoker. Or go all out and get a Maverick Redi-check.... <Which that costs 70 bucks>. Just be sure it's grill/bbq grade stuff, not a fridge unit.

I ordered the TP-20 earlier this afternoon. It had loads of good reviews and seemed like a good one for me. Saved me 10 bucks instead of the redi-check...just hope its as good. I think it will be good enough for me.

The Amazon "shop till you drop", had the Maverick single probe at >25.00 each. You can't buy a replacement probe for that.

They must be good thermometers because the 2 probe models were a lot more expensive than the one I ended up ordering earlier. Thanks for your Nekkid Chicken posts by the way....thats what I followed.

The chicken looks pretty good and chicken is cheap to experiment with! Wait till you try brining a whole chicken in a simple salt and water brine for like 24 hours. Pat dry, season, and smoke that sucker and see how awesome and juicy it comes out!

Thanks man...its really thanks to you! I thought that the water was an absolute must...and the rest of the post got me going in the right direction.

Forgot to mention...the chicken I posted pics of was brined overnight, about 12 hours....its was good!!!! Thanks again!

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Whats the difference between the TP-20 and TP-08? I

Tp 08 alerts you to high or low temp settings, but has only one meat probe. Only rated to 575℉.
Tp 20 only alerts you to high temp settings, but both probes can be used for meat. Goes above 575℉, rated to 1000℉+.

 

[tallbm]

Thanks man...its really thanks to you! I thought that the water was an absolute must...and the rest of the post got me going in the right direction.

Forgot to mention...the chicken I posted pics of was brined overnight, about 12 hours....its was good!!!! Thanks again!

I'm glad the info helped! Understand that each smoker has it's quirks and type of behavior that we must figure out. On top of that each cut of meat has it's own quirks to learn as well.

Once you get your smoker figured out and then a particular cut/type of meat figured out then you can consistently make amazing bbq! Keep on practicing with that chicken and understand that even switching from whole chicken to boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless thighs, etc. etc. will show you how each cut acts differently.

Keep it up!

 

[FishInTheDesert]

Just threw one in....didnt brine this one cuz I just got the chickens...but I injected with butter....lets see.

I wanted to inject...because I wasnt happy with my first chicken. I wanted to give it a little extra just in case. Ill prolly stick to brining whenever possible with poultry tho.

 

[tallbm]

Just threw one in....didnt brine this one cuz I just got the chickens...but I injected with butter....lets see.

I wanted to inject...because I wasnt happy with my first chicken. I wanted to give it a little extra just in case. Ill prolly stick to brining whenever possible with poultry tho.

I brine for the most part.

I have injected turkeys but not chickens. I prefer the brine over injecting on a turkey BUT I wouldn't wouldn't hesitate to inject if I didn't have time to brine.

I do a simple salt + water brine.

Also I only brine whole chickens and chicken breast. Wings and dark meat chicken are juicy enough on their own and don't need the help.
I brine pork loin (and would do tenderloin too if I ever bought it). A few months ago I bought a 10 pound pork loin that was on sale for $0.99/lb and I made 2 inch chops out of it. I brined those chops and smoked them and WOW they were AWESOME!!!! I did the same thing to the chops that I do with my boneless skinless chicken breast.

This weekend I believe Albertsons has $0.99 pork loin again. I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up another 10 pound loin to do the same :D

Oh and butterflying and grilling the 2 inch chops needs no brining just try not to go over 145F internal temp on the grilled chops and you are in heaven!!!!

Chop and chop goodness! :)

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'm a convert to the injection method, largely as I have problems tasting the rub, but injecting some in a buttery solution? I sure can taste it. Though I largely only do pork on my smoker, haven't seen the point of doing chicken. <Pan fried and oven baked crispy chicken is good..and I love my gravy>.

 

[FishInTheDesert]

I brine for the most part.

I have injected turkeys but not chickens. I prefer the brine over injecting on a turkey BUT I wouldn't wouldn't hesitate to inject if I didn't have time to brine.

I do a simple salt + water brine.

Also I only brine whole chickens and chicken breast. Wings and dark meat chicken are juicy enough on their own and don't need the help.
I brine pork loin (and would do tenderloin too if I ever bought it). A few months ago I bought a 10 pound pork loin that was on sale for $0.99/lb and I made 2 inch chops out of it. I brined those chops and smoked them and WOW they were AWESOME!!!! I did the same thing to the chops that I do with my boneless skinless chicken breast.

This weekend I believe Albertsons has $0.99 pork loin again. I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up another 10 pound loin to do the same :D

Oh and butterflying and grilling the 2 inch chops needs no brining just try not to go over 145F internal temp on the grilled chops and you are in heaven!!!!

Chop and chop goodness! :)

Ill stop by Albertson's this weekend. And im definitely TEAM BRINE...at least for poultry! Its a noticeable difference and its just salt and water overnight....no extra effort really.

Yesterdays chicken....was a disappointment. It was NOT brined....and I felt also overcooked even though I went less time. IT was 172 when I took it out. My neighbors loved it and said it was the best chicken they had...they thought it was a rotisserie chicken! lol Even tho im sure it was good to them....my people in El Paso, Texas dont have the most refined pallet for quality smoked meats...so I do think standards are low. The chicken was good....but not what I want, and am expecting!

Made it a point to taste the skin.....its not crispy yet. Still softer than I'd like.....so....Im not going full pellicle, but im air drying today's chicken (with a fan). Prolly too quick to get a good pellicle, but I do know the skins dry when I start it! Just been paper towel patting so far...so just another experiment while I learn. Sticking with just salt and pepper for seasoning again. Planning to make AND KEEP a chicken on monday (ribs tomorrow!!!)...but im gonna use Everglades seasoning on this one! I think itll make a good smoked chicken....we shall see!

Ill post pics of Todays chicken....thanks everyone. This has been a great thread for my learning!

 

[tallbm]

Ill stop by Albertson's this weekend. And im definitely TEAM BRINE...at least for poultry! Its a noticeable difference and its just salt and water overnight....no extra effort really.

Yesterdays chicken....was a disappointment. It was NOT brined....and I felt also overcooked even though I went less time. IT was 172 when I took it out. My neighbors loved it and said it was the best chicken they had...they thought it was a rotisserie chicken! lol Even tho im sure it was good to them....my people in El Paso, Texas dont have the most refined pallet for quality smoked meats...so I do think standards are low. The chicken was good....but not what I want, and am expecting!

Made it a point to taste the skin.....its not crispy yet. Still softer than I'd like.....so....Im not going full pellicle, but im air drying today's chicken (with a fan). Prolly too quick to get a good pellicle, but I do know the skins dry when I start it! Just been paper towel patting so far...so just another experiment while I learn. Sticking with just salt and pepper for seasoning again. Planning to make AND KEEP a chicken on monday (ribs tomorrow!!!)...but im gonna use Everglades seasoning on this one! I think itll make a good smoked chicken....we shall see!

Ill post pics of Todays chicken....thanks everyone. This has been a great thread for my learning!

Good luck with today's chicken!

As for IT, yeah a 165F IT in the breast is as high as I ever want to go.
As for seasoning, Salt (omit if you brine), Pepper, Garlic, and Onion do wonders on basically every meat out there so feel free to give that a shot some day and be prepared to be shocked at how flavorful such a simple seasoning is! :)

Keep on fighting the chicken skin battle lol. If you get bite through I consider it a win in the MES :)

 

[FishInTheDesert]

Best results today...especially on the skin!

I did more googling and came across another Foam thread...so I decided to work it in. This chicken was brined for prolly 20 hours or so in salt and water. I then took it out, pat dry it as much as I could.....and then left it on a rack with a fan blowing on it for about 2 hours. I would rotate the bird every half hour or so. Not sure ill call what I got a full pellicle...but allowing the bird to dry really did wonders for the skin!

Skin wasnt crispy...but it was dried out, and maybe with a little more dry time will get that crispiness that I keep missing. Ended up seasoning with pepper...and a little more salt. Cooked 3 hours 15 minutes.....Im think Ive noticed that the brined chickens take a few minutes longer to cook. The other days non brined chicken cooked in 3 hours....and was reading above 165!!

VERY JUICY AND VERY TASTY! RIBS TOMORROW! I got some good looking spare ribs. Planning the 3-2-1 on them...and gonna use this as the rub procedure

 

[FishInTheDesert]

SO....back to the original post.

I think that my smoker might not give steady and consistent smoke. Im waiting for my damn thermopro thats supposed to be in the mailbox by now. But im thinking that the Amazn pellet tray might be the best way to get steady smoke.

Is there a video or site that explains it? I get that you load it up and light one end....but how do you know how many pellets to put in? I'd rather not buy it...but if I keep seeing blackend instead of ashed wood chips...i think I have to do something.

 

[Bearcarver]

SO....back to the original post.

I think that my smoker might not give steady and consistent smoke. Im waiting for my damn thermopro thats supposed to be in the mailbox by now. But im thinking that the Amazn pellet tray might be the best way to get steady smoke.

Is there a video or site that explains it? I get that you load it up and light one end....but how do you know how many pellets to put in? I'd rather not buy it...but if I keep seeing blackend instead of ashed wood chips...i think I have to do something.

There are YouTubes of lighting & using the AMNPS (Amazing Smoker Tray).
Get an AMNPS, and your problems will be solved.

BTW: For you youngsters on this forum; Years ago there was a Model of MES that wouldn't light the chips in the Chip burner until the heat was up to at least 230°.
I had one of them, and I found there was an extra piece of metal between the Heating element & the Chip drawer.
Master built made a "Retrofix" & sent it out FREE to anyone who needed it. There was also a Video on Masterbuilt's Web Site showing how to make the change to the Retrofix Chip burner. It was an easy 2 minute swap, needing only a Phillips Screwdriver.

Bear

 

[daveomak]

Bearcarver........ I thought "WE" were youngsters !!!!

 

[Bearcarver]

Bearcarver........ I thought "WE" were youngsters !!!!

LOL---Just informing those who weren't around here when that bad chip-burner was replaced FREE by Masterbuilt for an awful lot of MES owners.
In this case I replaced "Newbies" with "Youngsters on this forum".

Bear