New MES 30 inch

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sjrizzle

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 27, 2016
4
12
Wilson, NC
Just got this sweet little cooker for $179 marked down from $269 at Lowe's. Not to mention my additional 10% military discount. Now on the the fun part. This is my first time smoking with an electric cooker. I seasoned the cooker yesterday per the manufacturers instructions. This morning I preheated the cooker and then added a rack of ribs and a small Pork Butt (4.5 lbs) to test out the machine. I am going to cook the ribs using the 3-2-1 method. 3 Hours in the smoke, 2 hours wrapped in foil and then the final hour back in the smoke. The butt will stay in there those 6 hours plus any additional hours needed to reach 185 degrees. I made a rub for both meats and sure hope this turns out ok. I am using a pecan wood chip and replenishing the chips every 30 minutes or so. I may go ahead and order some pellets after this round that way I don't have to keep this 30 minute cycle going. I will post some pictures along the way and let you know how it goes. Happy Sunday everyone!!!  I look forward to eating some great smoked meat this evening.




 
Congrats!  I got the last one at my local Lowe's last night at closing. Little small, but was a good price. First electric smoker.  I was using Char-Griller Duo 5050 for a few years now and tired of messing with charcoal and stuff.

I'm wondering what the difference is between the Lowe's Masterbuilt model and this other model?

Lowes:  20077915

Amazon: 20077515

I seen this post, so it kinda looks like we have the Gen 2.5 if the vent is on the top left corner.  But doesn't have the deep water pan, so not sure if it's considered to be Gen II or II.5 that we got.  Gen 2 seems to have some issues with the control panels so not sure if that issue would be fixed in our models or not if they are 2.5 Gens.  But I think only the Bluetooth models are Gen 2.5, but the vent being on the top left of ours has me confused.   Anyone have any input on this?
 
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Oh boy was it a long day cooking this meat. I used Pecan wood and had to replenish the chips every 30 minutes. I did not start my cooking until 11:30 yesterday and my Pork did not reach 185 until 10:30pm last night. So I cooked for 11 hours at 220 degrees. I think the heat needed to be increased so I can get closer to 195 degrees within 11 hours. As for my ribs, I did the 3,2, 1 method and was not happy with the end result. I added 1 more hour to the end of the ribs and they turned out pretty good. I am used to the meat falling off the bone, but with smoke you want it to be a little firm and still tender. The extra hour got that for me. Here is a picture of my Pork Butt after I took it out of the smoker and after we chopped it.  I did not get a chance to take pictures of the ribs as the kids cleaned them off the plate too fast for me.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the results and will tweak it some to suit my needs. I will look into pellets to reduce the time spent around the smoker.  What are your thoughts?  


 
 
Oh boy was it a long day cooking this meat. I used Pecan wood and had to replenish the chips every 30 minutes. I did not start my cooking until 11:30 yesterday and my Pork did not reach 185 until 10:30pm last night. So I cooked for 11 hours at 220 degrees. I think the heat needed to be increased so I can get closer to 195 degrees within 11 hours. As for my ribs, I did the 3,2, 1 method and was not happy with the end result. I added 1 more hour to the end of the ribs and they turned out pretty good. I am used to the meat falling off the bone, but with smoke you want it to be a little firm and still tender. The extra hour got that for me. Here is a picture of my Pork Butt after I took it out of the smoker and after we chopped it.  I did not get a chance to take pictures of the ribs as the kids cleaned them off the plate too fast for me.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the results and will tweak it some to suit my needs. I will look into pellets to reduce the time spent around the smoker.  What are your thoughts?  


It must have been better than you thought because the kids proved it.  I love bark and it looks good.

-Kurt
 
Let me start by saying thank you for your service....and that looks soo good...
 
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I remember my first few smokes with my now 2 year old MES. It was awful. I'm a born tinkerer and I was trying to do too many things at once. Took about 5-6 smokes to get things dialed in, and at this point I don't even have to think about it.

I would highly recommend the MES cold smoke attachment. Saves you from having to dump chips every 30 min. I actually use chunks in my cold smoke attachment, and it works really well and lasts 4 hours.

-J
 
 
Oh boy was it a long day cooking this meat. I used Pecan wood and had to replenish the chips every 30 minutes. I did not start my cooking until 11:30 yesterday and my Pork did not reach 185 until 10:30pm last night. So I cooked for 11 hours at 220 degrees. I think the heat needed to be increased so I can get closer to 195 degrees within 11 hours. As for my ribs, I did the 3,2, 1 method and was not happy with the end result. I added 1 more hour to the end of the ribs and they turned out pretty good. I am used to the meat falling off the bone, but with smoke you want it to be a little firm and still tender. The extra hour got that for me. Here is a picture of my Pork Butt after I took it out of the smoker and after we chopped it.  I did not get a chance to take pictures of the ribs as the kids cleaned them off the plate too fast for me.

All in all, I am pretty happy with the results and will tweak it some to suit my needs. I will look into pellets to reduce the time spent around the smoker.  What are your thoughts?  


This was your pulled pork after you finished it at 185° IT? It looks great but was it tender with all the fat and connective tissue rendered out? I like to cook a pork shoulder/beef brisket/chucky to 200-203° IT, but that's my personal preference.

As for the ribs, please describe the problem(s) with how they turned out. Did you cook them "naked" that final hour to firm up the bark and get the "tug" a little more perfect? My family loves falling off the bone ribs but I consider them overcooked, which happens a lot when I smoke them. Just keep smoking them and try something new to learn something new each time until you get an infallible system which results in great ribs every time. I'm still working on getting the bark and meat where I want them and I've been smoking for almost 5 years, but not as often as many members here.
 
 
This was your pulled pork after you finished it at 185° IT? It looks great but was it tender with all the fat and connective tissue rendered out? I like to cook a pork shoulder/beef brisket/chucky to 200-203° IT, but that's my personal preference.
Agreed, that seems a little chunky to me.  I wouldn't pull it off until at least 195 if not higher.  Then foil it and let it rise a bit.  if it doesn't fall part with the bone sliding out like butter, it's not done.
 
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