New smoker from Chicago Southwest Burbs

[overflow]

Hello all,

Been lurking here for a while (ever since my coworker brought in some smoked Cheetos and sent me the link!)  My experience level is professional when it comes to cooking overall, but a relative newbie when it comes to smoking.  Used a cheapo Brinkman charcoal smoker that I inherited from my folks for a long time; worked out great for quick smoking jobs.  I got a little tired of constantly fiddling with it, so I went to Bass Pro Shops two weeks ago and bought myself a MES 30" digital smoker.  It's a 3rd generation, and yeah, I've had some issues.  

First time my smoking with it, I did a 10lb brisket (had to cut it in half to fit.)  The recipe called for smoking at 225F until finished... after about 9 hours my brother suggested I check the real temperature with an oven thermometer.  I did, and the smoker was 25 degrees low.  Cranked it up to 245F trying to compensate for the inaccuracy.  Checked it again in an hour it was only reading 210F on the oven thermometer.  Is this something I should contact Masterbuilt about?  The other issue I had was that the wood chips did not totally disintegrate; they just became charcoal.  I'm thinking this might be because I kept the vent closed - as per the manual/instructions.  

Regardless, the brisket finished after 12 hours and was absolutely amazing.  I'm going to smoke some ribs this weekend, can't wait to see how they turn out.  

Please let me know what you think I should do regarding the thermostat being off by quite a bit.  If I can get it to 235F consistently, it's not that big of a problem - but still, irks me that it says it can go to 275F and I can't really get it to do that..

Thanks!

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions Post it
and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is because their
are so many different ways to make great Q We all have our own taste.

Happy smoken.

David

 

[terry hesticles]

I'm not familiar with that smoker, but is the thermostat adjustable?  You can usually tell by it having a hex nut on the back of the base.  If it's removable and adjustable, you can stick the probe in a pot of boiling water and adjust it to read 212*F.

If not, I'd recommend at the very least an oven thermometer, if not a Maverick.  Typically, any thermo included with any grill or smoker is crap.

One last thing, you're on the wrong side of town.  Go Cubs!

 

[s2k9k]

:welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 50,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 1,000,000 posts describing it! Yea that’s right over 1,000,000!

The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

We have an Articles section that is full of great information about smoking to include a lot of recipes and instructionals. Check it out there is a lot to learn in there!

Would you do us a favor and add your location to your profile, it helps others to know where you are when they offer advice, Thanks!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-Course, it will teach you all the basics plus a whole lot more!

The MES Digital therm isn't adjustable and they are notorious for being inaccurate. The best thing to do is get a known accurate therm and go by that and adjust the MES to the accurate therm no matter what the MES says. The Maverick ET-732 is a very good digital dual probe therm with a remote.

Also the MES and the AMNPS is a match made in heaven! The AMNPS will produce perfect smoke for 10 hours without touching anything!

 

[overflow]

The MES Digital therm isn't adjustable and they are notorious for being inaccurate. The best thing to do is get a known accurate therm and go by that and adjust the MES to the accurate therm no matter what the MES says. The Maverick ET-732 is a very good digital dual probe therm with a remote.

Also the MES and the AMNPS is a match made in heaven! The AMNPS will produce perfect smoke for 10 hours without touching anything!

After lurking for a bit, I'm seeing this combo recommended frequently.   When used together, do you use the MES to supply the heat and the AMNPS to produce the smoke?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[polishmeat]

Welcome man! I'm Martin and live in Burbank, where abouts are you?

 

[hambone1950]

:welcome1: from Boston! Good to have you on board. :grilling_smilie:

 

[kathrynn]

to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! 

We love to see pictures of what you are cooking (or what we call q-views here at SMF).  To "upload the q-views" just follow the directions here and it will be easier. If you are using a cell phone, an IPad or a kindle, go to the main SMF page and click the Mobile button. Will make the uploads a bit faster too.

If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums and some guidelines of how to interact within the forums. Off site links are not allowed here at SMF per Jeff. Not that you have done anything wrong....just a little bit of FYI for new members!

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat

 

[overflow]

Welcome man! I'm Martin and live in Burbank, where abouts are you?

Thanks for the welcome - I'm out in Plainfield!  I'll update my profile to reflect this today.

 

[seenred]

After lurking for a bit, I'm seeing this combo recommended frequently.   When used together, do you use the MES to supply the heat and the AMNPS to produce the smoke?

Thanks again everyone!

First, welcome aboard!  This is the best place I know to share ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  Just ask anytime you have questions, and someone here will have the answer.

To answer your question:  Yes, the MES provides the heat, and the AMNPS provides the smoke.  Todd's gadget is the perfect invention for smoke production in an MES.

Red

 

[overflow]

First, welcome aboard!  This is the best place I know to share ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  Just ask anytime you have questions, and someone here will have the answer.

To answer your question:  Yes, the MES provides the heat, and the AMNPS provides the smoke.  Todd's gadget is the perfect invention for smoke production in an MES.

Red

Awesome... thanks for answering my question.

Thanks everyone, can't wait to add smoking to my arsenal of cooking!  I also make my own beer, wine, sake, cheese, pickles, jams, jellies, soaps,etc.  Got a lotta recipes to contribute!