How to get bark or heavy smoke flavor on Old Smokey Electric Unit?

[Electric Rookie]

Newbie here. I just purchased an Old Smokey electric smoker. There are no vents or air flow. I smoked a butt at 225 for 11 hours. Wrapped it around 170 in foil. Threw it in a cooler once the temp hit 203. Is it possible to get a good bark or a heavy smoke flavor on this device? The meat was perfectly tender, but only tastes lightly smokey.

 

[thirdeye]

Welcome aboard.

From the instructions on their website it seems like this smoker was designed to keep moisture (in the form of steam) and smoke inside the chamber, instead of a more traditional design that would have some sort of air intake and exhaust. At first look, it sounds to me like the food would be cooking in steam and stale smoke, but it sounds like the smoker has been around for a while and has a lot of positive reviews.

Are there small vents to give air to the pan of chips? And what is the procedure for adding more chips?

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I bought one years ago. I did not like the moisture from the lid dripping on food and really no good way to get good smoke flavor. Also make sure you clean after every use. The unit is completely sealed and I forgot one time and the whole inside was moldy from top to bottom. I just recently threw it in the trash. More of an oven than anything. It did make tender meat from the steam it produces. Good Luck.

 

[Cajun Smokes]

Use their BBQ pit all the time. Got it down to an art now lol. Never knew they made an electric smoker, hope it gets worked out for you.

 

[Cajun Smokes]

As a fabricator my wheels started turning. Looking at the unit on the website, it seems to be uninsulated, which leads me to belive it may not be a big task to add a vent to the top of the unit. Shouldn't need to be any larger then the one on masterbuilt 30. A vent would then allow smoke to flow freely and tremendously cut down on the build up of moisture. Just my thoughts after a quick look.

 

[golfpro2301]

I was thinking same as cajun. Add a vent to top

 

[Workaholic]

Looked at it, and have to agree, a vent on the top would probably help. Me, myself, I'd probably use a replacement vent for something like a weber wsm or smokey joe, or the like.

 

[chopsaw]

There are a couple of threads on here about your question . For some reason the forum won't let me copy and paste today .
Looks like at least a couple of the guys finished in the oven , under the broiler , or slide the lid to the side at the end of the cook .
A vent also comes to mind , but I think I would start small with a single hole like a smokin Tex or one that style .
I also wonder if the air flow will effect flare up .
Cool smoker though . I've looked at the charcoal models .

 

[Cajun Smokes]

There are a couple of threads on here about your question . For some reason the forum won't let me copy and paste today .
Looks like at least a couple of the guys finished in the oven , under the broiler , or slide the lid to the side at the end of the cook .
A vent also comes to mind , but I think I would start small with a single hole like a smokin Tex or one that style .
I also wonder if the air flow will effect flare up .
Cool smoker though . I've looked at the charcoal models .

Agree with starting small on the vent. The charcoal models are a simple hole with a plate sliding over to adjust. Very simple and works well.

 

[zwiller]

Guys have you covered on the smoke but for the bark I needed to do an overnight uncovered rest (aka pellicle) for decent bark in my MES.

 

[Ringer]

Guys have you covered on the smoke but for the bark I needed to do an overnight uncovered rest (aka pellicle) for decent bark in my MES.

I recently tried the yellow mustard layer before applying the rub and it resulted in great bark in my mes 30. There was zero mustard taste in the final product.

 

[Electric Rookie]

You all are extremely helpful! Thank you!

 

[zwiller]

I recently tried the yellow mustard layer before applying the rub and it resulted in great bark in my mes 30. There was zero mustard taste in the final product.

I tried that but not much different for me and definitely not as dark as we like: think meteor.

 

[dr k]

Zero problems getting bark in an Mes. Never put liquids in the pan, never wrap, Cook ribs, brisket, butts at a true 265-275 on a calibrated therm near your food. Other sites call it Team 275. Do absolutely nothing till done. Had to go to a PID because most Mes max at a true 255 and I want to cook low and slow at a higher temp. Cuts out the stall and equate to about a little over an hour per pound but IT tells you it's not done but to probe for tenderness. And yes I have a therm in ribs and probe at 195+. It's just too damn easy once you get the true temp you want in your smoker.

 

[Ringer]

These came out of my mes30 recently, no mustard coating but I did cook at 265.

 

[DougE]

I recently tried the yellow mustard layer before applying the rub and it resulted in great bark in my mes 30. There was zero mustard taste in the final product.

I've been using yellow mustard to help my rubs stick for years. It lets you get a pretty thick coat of rub on, making a really nice bark. And as you said, the mustard flavor doesn't come through at all. It pretty much goes away during the smoking process. You do need to use a rub that's heavier on sugar than salt, or all that rub is going to make the end product too salty.

Back when I joined SMF, TulsaJeff was using yellow mustard to help his rubs stick, so I figured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me.

 

[zwiller]

Nice! Ringer like I said we like meteor. Seriously, first time I was convinced it was ruined, not so. Nowadays I cut the butt in half so it doubles the bark with the side benefit of being done in near half the time.

 

[old sarge]

Any one or more of these vents should do the trick. Several different vents are on the page:

 

[Steve H]

Why not just leave the lid cracked/cocked open a touch? Wouldn't need much at all really.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

There is no easy way to get it to produce smoke also. Pretty hard to get to the bottom of that thing during a cook. My old one was set up to use dust, than suppose keep the smoke locked in since its sealed. Going to have to figure a way to get the smoke. Also with only one vent on top there not going to be a draw of fresh oxygen. Might be able to put another hole in bottom to allow air flow and add chips.