New guy with MB Pro Dual Fuel

[toddmog]

My wife bought me the 2 door model from Home Depot for Christmas.  Got it put together today and picked up a few of the necessary upgrades.  I ordered a Maverick ET-732 and a gasket kit from bbqgaskets.com...I also picked up an 8" cast iron skillet from Walmart.  I should have paid better attention to the dimensions though when I bought the lasagna pan...it must fit the XL, but not 2 door model.  I guess I'll have to find a different sized pan to replace the tiny water plan that came with the unit.  Can't wait for the accessories to arrive so I can get this thing seasoned and start smoking.

 

[dozerdude]

Hey Todmog

Our wives have great taste. I got the same smoker for xmas. Did some baby backs on monday with hickory chips. Great smoke flavour, but I pulled them out a bit early. I cooked for just over three hrs. After checking this site, I see a couple more hrs. wouldn't hurt.

I'm at the west end of Lake Ontario. The temp was about 15F. It was a constant struggle to keep an even 225 in the box

Good Luck!

 

[toddmog]

My Maverick arrived yesterday, and the gasket kit the day before.  I'm going to build a windscreen before I attempt to smoke anything.  I figure I'm going to try to set myself up for the most success the first time around.  I was going to season it today, but the 27* temp and 70% chance of snow have convinced me otherwise.  I'm ready to get something going though...my wife picked up 3 racks of baby backs and 2 pork shoulders at the last meat sale at the grocery store.

 

[island smoke]

Hi, I got my Dual Fuel Pro for Christmas also.  I did some mods right away before I got started.  I ordered the 9 1/2" cast iron griddle (handle-less) from Amazon.  Put that over the top of that round chip tray in the 2nd door.  I removed the original water pan and rack with the hole in it.  I put in a 10 x 14 catering pan (get at Amazon or restaurant supply store)  that is 4" deep for the water in the bottom rack of the main smoker.  This helps because no matter how long I smoke this is enough water that I don't have to refill it and it has enough room to catch drippings too.  

I also removed the original external thermometer and installed the River Country 3" calibrating thermometer.  The dial is nice and large.  It is also very accurate, and the numbers are large to see from far.  This thermometer is also calibrating with the screw on the back of it if it does get off.  Really love it.  Amazon, of course.

I also bought the shelf that Masterbuilt sells for its MES model but they say that it works with all of the MB smokers.  Well, I bought it and with a slight mod to make the screw holes bigger on the shelf (to mount it), it works well and looks really great.  It also folds down when not in use. It is a really nice size and holds a lot, like the maverick, mopping bowl, gloves, etc.  I got it for $9 at walmart.com

I am also getting a garden cart (wagon) this weekend so that I can put the smoker, propane tank and my bags of wood chunks on the wagon so I can wheel around and away from the house.  It will also help because I can install 1/4' plywood or plexi sides around the inside of the wagon and smoker so that the wind does not cool the box and blow out the pilot light.

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• island smoke
• Jan 31, 2014
• 1

 

[toddmog]

Do you have a link for the $9 shelf? I've found one for $20 and one for $19 on Walmart.com.

Here is a pic of my wind block...still need to paint it. 1x10's on the sides and back, 1x6 along the front.

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• toddmog
• Jan 31, 2014

 

[island smoke]

Hi, those rascals...I went back to look at the shelf that I bought on walmart. com tonight. They have raised the price to $20: It is this one:
URL: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Masterbuilt-Smoker-Side-Shelf/22172492


Geesh...and I thought $9 was a great price. Thought about buying 2 at the time, should have done that. Well, you know..it is also worth $20, its real nice.

I also bought the Masterbuilt mats for the grill and smoker to do fish and vegetables and stuff. You get two for $10.

Here is the URL link: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Masterbuilt-Fish-and-Vegetable-Mat-for-30-Smoker-2-Pack-20090213/30579740

They work really well. I did some salmon on them earlier this week. Just pull them off and wash the mats with Dawn dishwashing soap which is a miracle product anyway; but I am finding very useful with the smoker to clean the racks.

One tip that I found...there are these anti-stick cloths that they sell at Home Depot for the grill racks. What you do, is heat your smoker and then rub these cloths over all your racks and then after about 15 minutes. Let the smoker cool. Man, these things I used in the beginning, they are still keeping my racks non-stick.

By the way, I also bought some of the self-stick high temperature sealing tape from Amazon and went around the inside of the doors of my smokers, really works great and keeps the heat and smoke from escaping unless you want it to through the vents. It is now easier for me to manage the temperature with this and the change to adding that cast iron pan. It sticks really well and after one smoke, it is nice and seals great.

High temperture smoker sealing tape at Amazon:
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Well, I hope this helps,

If you ever want some Island-style rubs, have some good recipes to make some good teriyaki type and kalua pork type tastes. If you like Asian or Island style, (lived in Hawaii) for a while in the military.....

Thanks for the idea of the wind guard, looks real nice. I was using heavy cardboard and it works great. But, it does get wet and soggy and blows away sometime. So, I am no smoking this weekend cuz it is supposed to be windy so I am off to Home Depot on Sunday to get some wood to do a wind guard and put that wagon together. It is made of steel and looks real nice ...dark green. Kinda of heavy duty real farm wagon which is painted with rust proof paint.