Smoke Hollow Smoke-Tronix

[old sarge]

NEW - I have to say that the SH is a better looking smoker than the MES and appears robust. Now having used both what is your take?

 

[simon templar]

I'd be interested in hearing that as well as I also had pondered the MES, but ultimately went with the Smoke Hollow.

....sT

 

[simon templar]

Finally was able to get the Smoke Hollow hauled up to my deck (some 17 feet in the air, about 15 steps up the staircase) and warm enough weather to give it all a go.

Alas, it did not occur to me to take any pics...but I am quite happy with my first run as well. 8lb shoulder for pulled pork.  Went off like a dream...until the 20% chance of precip that Weather.com was calling for turned into showers overhead.  By the time it hit, the temp on the shoulder was just hitting 160. So I was successfully able to get everything transferred into the oven in the kitchen to finish the rest of the way.

The integrated temp seems sometime to be radically off from what my Thermoworks Smoke was showing. Currently, I trust the Smoke more than the internal...but we'll see how that goes in future sessions.

All in all.....I like it.  Strongly recommend one to anybody in the market for a new box.

.....sT

 

[old sarge]

I'd say that was a great first run. As for the temperature being off, the Thermoworks products are generally highly calibrated/fine tuned. Not so easy to do with a smoker at the price point that OLP markets their product.  But I will say  it looks like a much better product than the offerings from Masterbuilt.  Someone  experienced with both will have to weigh in on that.

 

[simon templar]

image.jpeg

• simon templar
• Mar 1, 2017

Second run last weekend....

3-2-1 St. Louis ribs. Absolutely fantastic! At the store, I compleatly forgot to pick up apple juice....so, instead, I used what I happened to have on hand: CranApple.

If you get the chance to try it, give CranApple a try mixed 2:1 with cider vinegar. Possibly the best ribs I've ever had.

One thing that I did run across....
I started out using mesquite chips. I had problems getting them to smolder.....not quite sure why. After awhile, i switched to hickory and they lit right up.

Dunno....perhaps I got some funky mesquite. Otherwise, I'm terribly happy with Smoke Hollow!


.....sT

 

[old sarge]

Sometime big box store wood underperforms in that it either won't smoke, bursts into flames, or is old and way too dry. Try contacting Smokinlicious and/or Fruitawood for some premium wood. Pricey but good stuff. Looks like your smoker is a real problem free performer. :yahoo:

 

[newqreview]

I did love the MES 40 for the size and the quality of the food it produced. Unfortunatly i had 2 diffrent Gen 2's stop working.

The smoke hollow did a great job on the first cook and later a brisket (coworker put me up to it).

I returned the smoke hollow while i still could only because I want to be able to put 2 half sheet pans on each rack.

I'm shopping again and considering the charbroil xl and the MES 40 v2.5... The Amerique sure looks sweet. Is it worth the almost 2 grand?

The charbroil xl can be had for $329 and includes the digital holding temp when probe set temp is reached.

 

[old sarge]

I used the Amerique for over 4 years with nary a hiccup. It is at my son's house where it gets regular use. Six+ years and still going strong. They recently switched to the elongated heating element similar to that in the Smokin-it and the SmokinTex (don't know why). Very reliable. I now use a Smokin-it 3D which has deeper shelves at 21 inches and 14 wide (the Amerique is 14 deep by 18 wide). There is a model 3.5 which is a nice smoker from Smokin-it and the model 4 which is huge. All are less costly than the Amerique. Just do your research and enjoy.

 

[newqreview]

Thanks for the info!