Masterbuilt elite 40" smoker

[travisitguy]

so the other day I pre-heated my smoker with no wood or water present to 225. I then added 2 medium size aluminum trays above where the stock water tray is and added my chips to the cast iron skillet. Placed my spare ribs 3/4 to the top. the smoker maintained a temp around 180*, is that ok? had the meat in there for about 2.5hrs and got a great taste. I did have to add chips at the 2hr mark so I figure if I was to go with wood chunks I could avoid having to open the door so soon. also the rear vent was half open.

 

[themule69]

180° is not hot enough to make tender ribs an 2.5 hour is not long enough. Have you checked your smoker temp with a remote gauge? Most likely it is off. Take a look at the 3-2-1 method for ribs. You can also go naked for 5-6 hours at 225°-250° 

Remember the search bar at the top of any page is your friend.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[travisitguy]

So when is the best time to Add the wood chunks and water trays? I did read up on the 321 & 221 methods figure this will be my next step.

Also I have seen/read that a number of guys are installing an aftermarket Vent to the top of the smoker. does the rear vent not work sufficiently?

many times when I search I get results for Electric smokers and such, I wouldn't think those would apply to gas smokers??

 

[travisitguy]

I really dug into the search feature and believe I have found most of my answers, now to start testing. my dual prob t-stat will be here Friday.