Masterbuilt MB20071117 Digital Electric Smoker, 30", Black

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larryfoster

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jul 21, 2013
105
30
Peach Hill, Pa.
Expecting to receive this on Wed. 12/22.
Also picked up the cold smoker accessory for it

I am replacing my Dyna-Glo 36" Vertical Charcoal Smoker
I've made some pretty tasty stuff on the Dyna-Glo but I never could get the hang of regulating it and it took a lot of baby-sitting.

Being more about results than process, I thought the electric smoker seemed an easier way to get results with a lot less fussing.
Hope I'm right.

Didn't see a lot of pros or cons here, so hoping for pros.

Any input would be welcome.

I still have a Weber Kettle if I have a need for something charcoal.

Thanks



 
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What types of meats do you normally smoke? Keep that Weber Kettle, for sure.

Thanks for your reply

I've done pork butts, chicken, turkey, meatloaf, chuck roasts, deer bologna.
I sort of failed at some Andouille sausage that I wanted to start off real low and gradually build up the temp.
Haven't done a brisket yet but have one in the freezer.
I'd like to do more sausages and they seem to want to start low.
 
With your setup you should do fine.
Pros are basically set and forget with little hassle and it will make fantastic BBQ! You will love how easy your MES is to deal with and how good your BBQ will come out, which is the main thing about doing smoked food!

Cons are a bit more of a list but don't be afraid of this list. Every system and setup has its cons or quirks:
  • Can't trust any of the MES thermometers (smoker or meat) so 1st purchase should be a dual probe (or more probes like 4-6) wireless thermometer
  • Your sold smoker attachment may need a little assistance if chips get stuck feeding but shouldn't be too much of an issue
  • MES has some weak spots that you can overcome if you hit issues. One is they use very poor electrical wire connectors so if it dies on you that is likely the issue. The controller electronics may die on you as well but a rewire and buying a new controller will turn your MES into a whole new animal that runs better then it will brand new, so you have options for less money than buying a new smoker
  • MES 30 is a little small in size. Can't do whole racks of ribs or a whole packer brisket, you will have to cut them down to fit
  • You may not hit a max temp of 275F. A max temp of 275F will likely give you rubbery chicken skin so remove chicken and turkey skin and no problem with it
  • Temp swings.... the MES doesn't hold at a temp it swings like 10-15 degrees on either side of your set temp. This is important to know and measure with a wireless thermometer for when you tackle sausage.

I highly recommend you start out with some boneless skinless chicken thighs as they are almost impossible to mess up and are the easiest meat with no quirks to smoke!
Do a few rounds of those guys to figure out how your system behaves and how your smoke is generating.

From there I would say do some pork ribs.

Do a few pork butts and really really learn our system timing with such a long smoke. If you can CONSISTENTLY figure out how your setup behaves and how long it takes with pork butts then you are waaaaay closer to being able to do a whole packer brisket without it being a major disappointment.

If you have a slicer, I'd recommend you do bacon before you tackle sausage. You can use the same smoking process on bacon that you use on sausage but with way less risk of things going wrong and being disappointed. Plus its a lot less work to do bacon.
This would allow you to understand what your system is doing when you are attemping sausage smoking techniques and process which is way different than smoking other kinds of meats mentioned above.

There's a nice roadmap for you and your new smoker. I hope this info helps :)
 
Tallbm, thanks for all the detail.

I do have additional thermometers so that should help.
I have seen that there seem to be some problems with the electronics.
The swing in temps can't be any worse than my Dyna-Glo.
I have done bacon once before.
Been making breakfast sausage and baloney for a few years now.
Have a whole pig on order but don't have a delivery date.
There's some bellies for bacon.

Just got a half cow a month ago so I have lots of meat here.
Butchered 14 chickens in October.

No shortage of things to try.
Considering putting some smoke on my Christmas spiral cut ham.

I may be wrong, but this might be easier to use in cold weather.
Aren't they supposed to have some insulation?
 
Tallbm, thanks for all the detail.

I do have additional thermometers so that should help.
I have seen that there seem to be some problems with the electronics.
The swing in temps can't be any worse than my Dyna-Glo.
I have done bacon once before.
Been making breakfast sausage and baloney for a few years now.
Have a whole pig on order but don't have a delivery date.
There's some bellies for bacon.

Just got a half cow a month ago so I have lots of meat here.
Butchered 14 chickens in October.

No shortage of things to try.
Considering putting some smoke on my Christmas spiral cut ham.

I may be wrong, but this might be easier to use in cold weather.
Aren't they supposed to have some insulation?

Your MES will fantastic insulation and moisture retention. The physical construction is the strength of the MES.
All of us MES guys smoke with never adding water to a pan and leaving the vent completely open (other than to get up to temp faster).

Sounds like you have lots of food to smoke, which is awesome!!
Feel free to smoke that ham, may guys do it. This year I cured pork shoulders that were on sale and made "ham" out of them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Best ham I've ever eaten haha. Not exactly what you are doing but super cool either way.

You'll enjoy it for sure :)
 
Hey neighbor! I have an older model MES 30 and really like it. It did take several smokes until I figured things out so don't get discouraged. Tallbum gave you some solid advice above. I added sand to my water tray to make it act as a heatsink but that's just me. I have done the double smoked spiral ham a couple of times (using Bearcarvers method) and they turned out great! I even made the carousel with one. if you have any questions just ask.
 
Did my first smoke yesterday in the new smoker with the cold smoker attachment.
I had an Aldi's 10# spiral ham.
Used hickory chips.
Used Malcolm Reed's Maple glazed ham recipe.
Really simple and really tasty.

I had the temp set at 270 but the digital read out showed 255 when I looked.
I did not use a different thermometer this time because the ham was already cooked and I was just reheating it.

Smoke time was about 2-1/2 hours

The cold smoker accessory claims to give up to 6 hours of smoke.
I didn't get much more than a couple hours; maybe three.
Although the ham turned out great, it wasn't as smoky as I expected.

Have a few more days of above normal temps so I have to decide what next.
My son suggested a brisket flat I have in the freezer.
Might be a good idea.

Thanks for all the good suggestions and Merry Christmas
 
Smoked a rump roast with potatoes and carrots.
Wanted medium so went to 145.
I had a bottle of some kind of Kansas City Rub and used it.
It was pretty good but not great.

Also, used pellets in the cold smoker accessory.
Had hickory so that's what I used.
rumproastelecric.jpg
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I've been using a MES 30 for years and love it. My controller went south so I rewired it, added a PID (followed tallbm tallbm instructions) and it was not only fairly simple and inexpensive, but rejuvinated my MES and made it WAY better than new. When my heat element died, I replaced it with one made for a MES 40 for more power.
Like tallbm said re: ribs and brisket, they don't fit whole. So just cut the rack in half, separate the point from the flat, and cook them on 2 racks--one above the other (point above flat).
I also filled the water dish with sand, and ALWAYS KEEP THE TOP VENT WIDE OPEN.
On cold windy days, a welding blanket wrapped around it will fix any problems with heat retention.
So enjoy your MES.
Gary
 
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