Ready to rumble with my new 40" Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

[ron arkansas]

Hi everyone, my name is Ron and I am from Arkansas. I have lived here for 7 years and was originally from northern Illinois. I have fallen in love with the southern style of cooking and most favorable, the smoked meats. With that in mind, I decided to invest in my own smoker and begin the experience all for myself. (I, do plan on sharing if it turns out good) Having been raised in the north, the basic BBQ that I was raised on was wet on the spit of a grill. (Sweet sauces). I am 61 years young and been married to my soul mate now for 39 years. Yesterday I seasoned my new smoker (MES) for 3 hours at 265 and for the last hour placed hickory in the wood box. The wood smoke coming from the smoker after about 30 minutes was incredible and through the glass door you couldn't even see the racks. Do I sound excited? Now that it is all seasoned, I made a rub that is a variation of rub receipes I have read here, and will be smoking it tomorrow. Thanks for allowing a rookie to join in on all the fun and I know I will learn tons here on this site.

Ron

 

[scarbelly]

Hello and 

 to SMF - glad to have you here 

 

[ybfm]

Welcome Ron!!  You're sure to have a lot of fun learning your MES...I have a 40, also.  There are a lot of friendly folks here, just waiting to help you out.  Good luck and Happy Smokin'!!!

Rich

 

[deuce]

Welcome Ron! Dont forget the Q-View of your first smoke with the new MES!

 

[linguica]

I'm jealouse, I ordered a MES 20070910 four days ago and they haven't even shipped it yet. waaaaaaaaaaaaaa

     

 

[ron arkansas]

Thanks, I have the first two pictures taken already of the rubbed butt and wrap for a day in the frig. Will figure out the Qview and begin the start of what I hope is a successful outcome.

 

[s2k9k]

Hi Ron! 

to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 40,000 members and over 800,000 posts so you should be able to find almost anything you want to know. Remember the search bar at the top can be your best friend for finding answers fast!

Would you do us a favor and update your profile to include your location, Thanks!

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

Here's a tutorial that will show you how to upload a Q-view, How to Upload a Photo

Just so you know since you are new if you post any pics our software will probably hold the post until a moderator can approve it. Just be patient and don't double post it because you don't see it show up right away, someone will get to it! We do this to keep the spammers out and so no one posts anything inappropriate until we get to know them. This only lasts until you make about 20 posts.

 

[ron arkansas]

Thanks S2K9K. Will try to post up first two pictures here now.

IMG_9238.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 6, 2012

This is after the rub. Grabbed alot of different ideas from the forums here and made my variation to fit what I thought might be best for my first attempt at smoking. Not alot of pepper. Love heat but don't know how the cayenne will react.

IMG_9240.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 6, 2012

My pork butt all wrapped and ready for the frig. Placed in the frig at noon today for an overnite stay, then out at 7am tomorrow and in the smoker at 8am. Going to smoke with hickory for my first attempt and using apple juice instead of water. (Just something I read that sounded good) Only question I have is I love a good bark on my butt, so do I wrap it at all or let it go till the end. (195F) Plan on starting at 265 temp for about 1/2 hour to get chips going and then down to 235 til done. I'm thinking about 8 hours. If anyone has any recommendations, I am up for any of them, as I am a true lover of pork but a true rookie at smoking.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Hi Ron,

That is a good looking butt there!   

 to the SMF.

Running that MES up to 265 to get the smoke going is a good idea.  I generally smoke my pork butts about 1.5 - 2 hours per pound, usually closer to 2 hours.  So, an 8 pound butt would take about 16 hours, so you better start that thing earlier than you were planning.  I smoke mine between 225 and 240.  Be sure to check your internal temp (IT) before pulling, it should be about 185* for slicing and 195 - 200* for pulling.  

I do not foil my butts!  Many do, I don't.  I like a heavier bark and don't like the mess of the foiling operation.  If you keep water in your pan and your temp steady, the butts will cook up nice tender and juicy without foiling.

Keep that q-view coming.  I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Bill

 

[ron arkansas]

Bill, thanks for the advise. I would have never thought it would take that long. lol Looks like I will be setting the alarm for about 5AM and hope it's done by bedtime. I am going with two internal probes. One that my wife bought me (professional grade) to see if the MES probe is accurate. Thanks for the advise on the foil, just not sure what foiling will do, have not read a forum on that yet. I assume it keeps some moisture in the meat. I will be pulling this butt, so I will take it to 200. Thanks again.

Ron

 

[ron arkansas]

OK my first attempt at smoking has arrived. Up at 5am, smoker up to temp by 6am, butt is wired for sound or accuracy which ever way you want to look at it. Now to add the hickory chips and let the fun begin.

IMG_9243.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 7, 2012

Ron

 

[ronrude]

Welcome Ron,

It looks like you are off to a good start.

As far as the foiling, some do that at the end of the smoke to speed up the stall time.  There is a time nearing the end of your cook that the temperature will just sit in one spot for possibly hours.  It can be panic inducing if you don't expect it.  Every piece of meat will do it, but some MUCH longer than others.  Many foil it then to speed that up.

As many of us fellow MES owners will tell you, check out the A-Maze-N smoker as an add on.  It gives you hours of perfect smoke, instead of having to add chips every 1 to half hour.  Plus, it is a cold smoker so you can start smoking Cheese or all kinds of other great things.  You wouldn't regret it.

Happy smoking.  Ron from Iowa.

 

[ron arkansas]

Ron, thanks for the advise on the A-Maze-N smoker. Definately need to look into that. I also have found out in a very short time what everyone here is talking about with the temperature in the cabinet not being what the digital read out says. I have the smoker set at 270 degrees and the digital readout is showing 268, but the oven thermometer I placed in the smoker next to the butt is reading 230. So I am leavng the smoker at 270 for now and monitoring it. If I see a stall in temperature after about 12 hours, I will foil the butt. Until then, gonna let it ride. Thanks again.

Ron

 

[ron arkansas]

OK, 5 hours into my first smoke with my new MES 40" and here is where I am at:

1) Digital cabinet temperature reading 260. Set at 260.

2) Actual cabinet temperature at point where butt is on shelf 225. That's a 35 degree difference. :(

3) Internal meat temperature with MES probe 153.

4) Internal meat temperature with purchased probe 154. That's perfect.

5) Trying to read through glass doors.........priceless!

Here's a picture at 5 hours.

IMG_9245.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 7, 2012

 

[ron arkansas]

Well I hit that stall everyone warned me about. At 6 hours the internal temp was 163 at eight hours it is at 170.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Patience grasshopper....hang in there Ron!  It will be worth it in the end.

FYI - I am doing a chuckie today with my two new toys - My Maverick 732 and my A-MAZE-N smoker on my MES 30 analog.  So far so good.

Look for my q-view later today.

Bill

 

[ron arkansas]

Bill I have got to get me one of those A-Maze-N smokers. I am adding chips to this MES every 45 minutes. That way I could start the night before and let it go all night without worry. Can't wait to see your Q-Views. Will post mine when it's done......whenever that is lol.

 

[ron arkansas]

OK my first smoked butt is done. Here are the last two pictures. I got the good bark I wanted and did not wrap in foil till I took it off the smoker, then wrapped and let it rest. Only thing I noticed on mine was that it seemed greasier than others I have had. Has a great taste. Do others pat their pork down after pulling or is there something I could do to relieve more grease other than more time in the smoker. Pulled it at 196 degrees. Thanks everyone for their advise. From now on, I will post in other forums but wanted to share my first attempt at this with those here in Roll Call.

 

IMG_9248.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 7, 2012

IMG_9252.JPG

• ron arkansas
• Oct 7, 2012

 

[rickypro]

Looks great!  Nice bark!  That is not grease, that is juice!  I like that part.

 

[angelwannab]

Thanks so much Ron, I haven't taken my MES out of the box yet...nor have I smoked anything, yet. I applaud you for not hesitating in sharingThumbs Up

After reading your progress and viewing your pics I'm getting excited, hope to get my MES seasoned and jump in.

Great job the butt looks dee-licious :drool