MES30D w/4 Racks. How to use the lowest 3?

[BugHunter]

Recently did a whole pork loin into back bacon in my Masterbuilt 30" Digital.

I cut the loin into 3 pieces, both for the brine but also to fit it in the smoker. All 3 would not fit on one rack so I used 2 racks. The pieces on the bottom rack got dripped on by what was above. Essentially basting the lower ones. I got away with it doing back bacon because it really doesn't matter. But if I were to be doing other types of food (like all the marketing pictures show), I guess the lower stuff gets basted by whatever is above?

How do you guys deal with that (other than buy a horizontal smoker), or is that just all marketing nonsense and you simply can't use all the racks when anything sheds juices? I can't imagine the answer is a foil roof over every layer, but...

 

[normanaj]

Really depends on what your cooking. Love doing chicken thighs over beef or pork.But for the most part I do like cooks on my MES30 simply because of its size but I do have two 30s but I'm always keeping my eye out for a used 40".

 

[smokerjim]

Personally I dont worry about stuff getting dripped on, I think the only way to stop that would to use aluminum pans to smoke your food in.

 

[BugHunter]

Personally I dont worry about stuff getting dripped on, I think the only way to stop that would to use aluminum pans to smoke your food in.

When I did that pork loin, I just wanted it cooked, didn't care about the exterior moisture that much. But if I had been looking for bark on the outside, the lower shelf did not have that, which was why I asked. Thanks guys.

 

[zwiller]

I copied a few guys here and used aluminum angle iron and self tapping screws to make a "shelf" at very top so I can hang. I use S hooks. Not a fan of the "self basting".

 

[BugHunter]

@zwiller I JUST bought this thing and I was trying to not modify it in it's first use! I had considered putting in angle but just didn't get around to it. I was able to cut miters on the rods I made for the smoker I borrowed before buying this, and make them work. But they should be thinner. (not as easy as just cutting them down). I've got loads of angle here at work (literally miles of alum extrusion), and even have stainless angle. But the wooden bars worked for me so far... Those need re-made far smaller but with ends bigger to fit this crazy smoker interior. Not a trivial job.

 

[normanaj]

Personally I dont worry about stuff getting dripped on

This ↑

 

[indaswamp]

There is also an easy modification made with wood to make wood racks that slide into the wire framing on either side that has half moon cutouts which hold wood dowels for hanging. @chopsaw might be the guy that invented that. But I'm with @zwiller , I hang when I can in my smokehouse...

 

[BugHunter]

There is also an easy modification made with wood to make wood racks that slide into the wire framing on either side that has half moon cutouts which hold wood dowels for hanging. @chopsaw might be the guy that invented that. But I'm with @zwiller , I hang when I can in my smokehouse...

That would work on the smoker I borrowed to test-drive this whole endeavor, but the MES ins't constructed that way any more. Believe me, I spent 2 weeks searching for a smoker made the way my buddies 10 year old one was. No joy. That thing not only had a better rack system, it actually smoked without the external smoke gizmo at 130F. I never even considered getting the cold smoker gizmo till I bought my new one.

The new style has embossed sheet metal walls like the oven in your kitchen, but the tops and bottoms of those indentations were made at angles that make you think they intentionally wanted it to be impossible to use other racks. the old style also not only had more rack supports, but you could sit a rack on top of them if you wanted that extra 1/2" of space for whatever reason. Again, that ship has sailed...

Add to that, the top rack is down from the ceiling far enough that you loose your height for hanging sticks. Well, hanging long sticks anyway.

These two pics show the new system they use. Those angles in the steel mean I had to cut those miters on the hardwood rods, and made them tall in order to gaine what height I could because I lost so much height with where they put that top rack. And if I don't make those things far too wide to hang stuff on, they fall over because they have no footprint for support. This is why I say, making new ones isn't trivial. I may be forced to add extra rails as was suggested, but would really like it unmodified if I can make it work.

 

[Winterrider]

This is probably what @indaswamp is referring too

Sticks for hanging sausages in smoker?

I keep running into these "hanging sticks" when searching for snack stick recipes and am wondering what I can use in my MB vertical propane smoker. Considering the way my racks slide into shallow tracks on each side wall, I don't think the tracks are deep enough to support the ends of some sort...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[chopsaw]

That would work on the smoker I borrowed to test-drive this whole endeavor, but the MES ins't constructed that way any more. Believe me, I spent 2 weeks searching for a smoker made the way my buddies 10 year old one was. No joy.

You can still add the angles , and use smoke rods .

 

[chopsaw]

. chopsaw might be the guy that invented that.

As far as I know Richie was the first to do the wood with the cut outs . That won't work on the newer style because of the stamped rack supports .
You can add the angle at the top and use rods like I did . In a MES 30 you can get 20 " on the left side of the smoker .

 

[912smoker]

I use a rack in a pan on the upper grates to avoid the drippage.
Picked up and assortment of racks from Goodwill theu the yrs.
And easy clean up!

Keith

 

[indaswamp]

My mistake guys. I did not realize the newer models had stamped indentations for the racks now.

 

[indaswamp]

@Winterrider ; yeah, post #16 is what I was thinking of..

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sticks-for-hanging-sausages-in-smoker.319012/#post-2391251

 

[BugHunter]

There's some creative ways folks tried to solve this. Unfortunately no effort expended by anybody at Masterbuilt. A little ironic considering it's a "vertical" smoker, made with no provisions for items to go in vertically, no ceiling hooks, no attachment point for an air probe without the racks installed, and the chip pan so useless it may as well be used as a water pan and just steam instead. Lol. (Which I'm going to try.)

I have 1/8×1 stainless flats and ss angle at work which I can weld up into custom "rods" with their own fitted sides to raise them up higher. But that's not very helpful to anyone here on the forum without access to the metals or sanitary welding stuff, ss passivation, etc. Maybe I'll mock up a few today, but honestly, I would have been happier doing something in wood so I had the ability to mod it at home in a pinch.

 

[BugHunter]

@Winterrider ; yeah, post #16 is what I was thinking of..

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/sticks-for-hanging-sausages-in-smoker.319012/#post-2391251

I got parts out here and was ready to start cutting, but I'm really not sure I want stainless for this. I like being able to grab a wooden rod with no glove and remove it and cool things, and wood I can deal with easier if I decide to toss them and remake new. After thinking about the stainless, I was going to cut these to width, then cut 2 pieces about 3" long to weld to each side after bending a 90 on to fit in the rack slot. This buys me back that height, and all is great. But looking at it here with my current piece, I can do the same with a 1" x 1/4" piece of oak which I glue into another piece of oak that offers the axial support I need, while that piece can also give me the height I want, and now it's all wood. So, I think I'll try that. Cut something like a dado in the upright, glue the little 'floor joist' in to hold the sticks, and it can either go in the slot or have those miters shown in the pic to just sit on the angled areas the way those do now, but with more height.

 

[BugHunter]

Ok, not quite done yet till some glue dries and I pin them with dowels, but decided on the wood route vs steel and in about 30 minutes with mostly just a table saw, these are about ready. I'm sure these will be nicer than my stainless idea, and in a pinch, I can smash em up and throw em in the chip pan.

Did 1/4" pieces of what I think is maple. It's just 2x4 dunnage (stuff nailed to truck beds) for shipping. Needed 14" of one to do the whole thing. Made the sides out of what remained of that hunk of 2x and slotted them in the table saw. Then glued them and when they're set, I'll drill all 8 ends (made 4 pieces) and pin them so there's no chance they collapse, even if the glue joint were to fail, though I'm confident it never will..

I intentionally set the roundover bit a little low to just barely break the edges. And only rounded the tops.

Quick and dirty, but fairly nice for almost no effort. These anyone can make, and no mod to the smoker. Not that I mind mods, but less holes suits me fine too.

(edit). Finished. Put the dowels in and then recut the outsides to give a little more room between the walls,and clean up the outside faces. Never had gotten 4 bars in there, so odds are 3 will be the max anyway. But no sense not making a spare.