New Masterbuilt Electic Smoker Question

[rb66102]

I got my first Smoker for Christmas and am anxious to use it, but was wondering; I got a 30" electric Masterbuilt Smoker, it has a pan for the wood chips, but seems like an awful small pan. Should I put a few lumps of charcoal, or a few Lava Rocks in the pan also? The wood chip loader in the side, holds about a cup of chips at a time, and that just doesn't seem like very much wood at a time. But again, I am new, so I am not sure. I don't have any documentation that came with the Smoker to tell me any of this, so I don't know if I should add some coals or not.

Also, since it says only use wood chips, and not chunks, should I soak the wood in water so they don't burn up too fast? Any help and advice is truly appreciated. Thanks,  Ron

 

[chef jimmyj]

You gain nothing soaking chips as they don't smoke until they dry out. Never put more than 1/4C of chips at a time any more tends to catch fire or generates flammable gas that puffs and farts flame out the loading tube. First run I added a cup of chips and blew the loader tube 3 feet onto the front lawn. you can cut chunks down to 1/2-1" X 2-3" they last longer. A few guys put a Briquette of two in for a smoke ring but results are marginal. The big issue with the MES is it won't generate smoke unless you are using it above 180° and then it only last 30-45 minutes before you have to reload. The fix to Cold smoke at any temp from Ambient to 275°F is the AMNPS Pellet Smoke Generator from http://www.amazenproducts.com/Default.asp  . It generates perfect Thin Blue Smoke for up to Ten hours and the pellets are available in a big variety of 100% smoke wood, no fillers. Check it out...JJ

 

[byronwahl]

Howdy! rb66102

I have a similar smoker, the Smoke will start at 175-180 degrees.

Set your timer for 10-12 hours.

Marinating your meat over night will make your meat more tender I feel so that's what I do.

I start my smoker out at 100 degrees for at least 2-4 hours with my MasterBuilt just to dry the meat a bit.

and then I slowly creep the temp up over the course of the last half hour.

My thinking and info I have read is that you should dry the meat surface before allowing the smoke to start rolling.

You don't want to get food poisoning!

Add the wood at this point:

Once the smoke starts rolling I back the temp down to 168° you can add pellets/ saw dust/ chips as needed for as long as needed to smoke (I like to keep the smoke going at least 3-4 hours, longer if you like a big smoky flavor) check the internal temp with the  meat probe if your model has that feature, otherwise you will need to purchase a good meat thermometer.

I usually smoke brisket and/or ribs for the total time or untill the internal temp reaches 168°.

You can up the temp to 180-190 to finish the meat to tenderness, or when you feel the smoke has done it's job you can finish the meat off in your crock pot.

I would watch the smoker closely until you get the hang of how it operates.

Take your time, low temp and long cooking time is what you are going for!

Also I have not had the flaming problem on my unit.

PM me if you want!

Happy smoking

Byron

 

[bamafan15]

I just got myself at MBES30 and I to was wondering about how the amount of chips seemed so little. After reading up, it seems with these smokers you put about 1/2 of dry chips at a time in and refill about every hour (from the mb comments on their FB page). I have only done one smoke with my new smoker, but after the first hour it was still smoking away when I added the second load of chips. I think it may be one of those things that is each to their own and has to be felt out in regards to how much smoke you want and how long you want the smoke going. 

 

[hokahey]

I have seen talk of people "foiling" certain components like the water pan, the drip pan, and the grease tray.

I guess this is mainly for cleaning. Is their anything else I should consider?

Also, how important is the water pan?

 

[chef jimmyj]

@Byron...Unless  the meat you are smoking is Cured with Nitrite, your technique can be very Dangerous! While drying the meat for 1 hour to form a pellicle is fine, 2-4 hours at 100°F will cause any surface Bacteria to multiple to tremendous numbers. And, if the meat was deboned, injected or punctured in anyway the bacteria pushed into the meat can cause the meat to become  Poisonous. Uncured meats MUST be smoked at temps of 225°F or higher. Your choice of smoking to 168° will kill the majority of Bacteria however there are some common ones that will generate dangerous Toxins, which can cause paralysis or death. Many of these toxins are not affected by temps below 200°F. Additionally, the connective tissue that makes meats like Ribs, Brisket and Pork Butts tough, don't begin to breakdown until the IT reaches160°F. Any of these meats are smoked at 225° until they have spent some time at a minimum IT of 185° for slicing and 200+°F for pulling thus giving the time needed to make them tender. Ribs at 168° will be extremely tough unless they are held at that temp for many hours.

@HokaHey...The purpose of Foiling the components are purely to make clean up easier. The use of the water pan with water is optional. Many fill theirs with play sand or gravel to help maintain a steady temp and speed recovery after opening the smoker...JJ

 

[byronwahl]

Yes!

I missed adding that! I do use Morten's tender Quick for all of my smoking!

You are the master

 

[palladini]

I have seen talk of people "foiling" certain components like the water pan, the drip pan, and the grease tray.

I guess this is mainly for cleaning. Is their anything else I should consider?

Also, how important is the water pan?

I do own a MBE 30 inch unit, I foil the drip pan, the water pan, the heating/smoking tray lid and have been know to cut out a long piece of foil and tape it at one end and hang it on the back interior of the unit.  Doing this makes for very quick, easy clean up.  I buy 2 wide and one normal foil packages at a time, use the small for the top of the water pan, then a large for the bottom, this way, no liquid or grease never touches the pan.  The heating/smoking lid, I cut a piece big enough of the small foil, to wrap around the unit

 

[danny miller]

i am a newbie. i am thinking of purchasing a masterbuilt 30. is this a good purchase? any info would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[kenosando]

Too small IMHO. I looked at the 40 and 30 side-by-side at Academy Sports and the 30 was very shallow. You'd have to smoke small cuts like loins or small roasts. Forget putting slabs of ribs in there too. If you aren't looking to do larger cuts of meats, I'd still say get the 40.

 

[thunder71]

Love my Masterbuilt 30!

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk

 

[palladini]

Too small IMHO. I looked at the 40 and 30 side-by-side at Academy Sports and the 30 was very shallow. You'd have to smoke small cuts like loins or small roasts. Forget putting slabs of ribs in there too. If you aren't looking to do larger cuts of meats, I'd still say get the 40.

Not shallow.  I get pkgs of vac Packed ribs, two ribs per pkg, cut them in half, so now there are 4, use a Masterbuilt Rib Rack, I own two of them rib racks, so on two racks of the smoker, you can do 4 full racks of ribs and still have two smoker racks to fill with whatever you want to smoke.  I have a 30 inch MES and that is what I do.

Masterbuilt Rib Rack

20100211-rib-rack.png

• palladini
• Jan 1, 2014

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Not shallow.  I get pkgs of vac Packed ribs, two ribs per pkg, cut them in half, so now there are 4, use a Masterbuilt Rib Rack, I own two of them rib racks, so on two racks of the smoker, you can do 4 full racks of ribs and still have two smoker racks to fill with whatever you want to smoke.  I have a 30 inch MES and that is what I do.

Masterbuilt Rib Rack

20100211-rib-rack.png

• palladini
• Jan 1, 2014

It's sinful to have to cut ribs in half to fit them in a smoker.  To me, it ranks right up there with selling 8 hotdog buns in a bag when hotdogs come 10 to a pack.   

 

[kenosando]

I agree, which is why I went with the 40 instead of the 30. If $50-$100 more is an issue, I can understand, but you really should do the 40.

 

[unkle ruckass]

My ex roommate had bought a MB30 in 2004. I was the designated Pit Master and I found that even though the chip loader was small, it worked GREAT !! I used chunks AND chips (alternating between the two) i found the 30 inch was large enough to smoke enough pork butts to feed 150 people (annual Halloween party). A 40 inch version is available, but unless you plan on feeding a whole lot of people, the one you have should suffice. The key is keeping an eye on the smoke.... If you dont see any, you need more wood. Enjoy!!

 

[danny miller]

Thanks for the suggestions everbody!! I am excited to try smoking my own meats!

 

[shimsham]

I just picked up an open box MES 40" from Amazon Warehouse deals for $252 with free shipping.

Stock comes and goes, but check frequently for great deals: http://www.amazon.com/b?node=1267877011