Smoker Review

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misterbill

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 15, 2011
18
10
Vista, CA
Thought I would post my MES review here for those who might want to buy one:

 

I have always been interested in obtaining a smoker ever since the day I had a smoked Turkey for Thanksgiving. Due to money being tight I have put this in my “one day…” category until I received this years tax return J

 

So I started my hunt for a smoker that is ideal for a beginner and ideal for someone with a budget.

 

Traditional smokers require a lot of attention and work (in my opinion) So I wanted something a bit more fool proof – electric.

 

After googling the most obvious search term: “Best electric smoker” I came across a review saying the “Cajun Injector Electric Smoker” is the best one for the money and for the quality. Unfortunately this review was not dated so I do not know if it was reviewed last week or 4 years ago.

 

I did find the Cajun Injector’s website where they were selling it – looks like the company was purchased by Bruce Foods inc.

 

At that point I was interested in that model so I went back to google to get some consumer reviews. I was then directed To Amazon and only found 3 reviews on supposedly the best electric smoker? This was not right. After reading the most helpful review I see that his model is identical to a Masterbuilt model, just with a different name stamped on the front.

 

I did a quick search for Masterbuilt Electric Smoker and found An item with over a hundred reviews. It seems that the reviews are a mixture between two versions, the 20070910 and the 20070106. After looking through the reviews the Cajun Injector is identical to the 20070106, which I verified with Bruce foods customer service.

 

The main issue I have seen through all the negative reviews is the heating element failing on model # 20070106. Even worse you have to replace the entire cabinet to fix this problem. Model #20070910 has an access panel where you can repair the faulty wiring for the heating element or replace the element completely. Being technically savvy, I am not intimidated by the possibility of replacing a few wires.

 

Since most of the negative reviews are about the older model, I disregarded those complaints and went ahead and purchased the Masterbuilt Electric Smoker 20070910.

 

With Amazon Prime I received the smoker  in 3 days (too heavy for 2[sup]nd[/sup] day).

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The box came a little messed up, which was expected when dealing with fedex and heavy items. Packaging inside the box was sufficient to keep the smoker unscaved from its harsh shipment.

 

Once I got the Smoker out of its box (I tried this alone and it was not fun, have a friend help) Each piece was individually wrapped as well.

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Once unwrapped the unit was ready to be placed outside for its preseasoning. I went ahead and hooked up my remote thermometer, as recommended by the helpful people over at smokingmeatforums.

Excited and ready to go, I went ahead and plugged the smoker into a utility power extension chord, as the 3ft or so chord does not even come close to reaching an outlet.

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I turned on the Smoker and watched it with great anticipation. Unfortunately this is what I began to see:

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Worried, I began to continue to watch until the Remote thermometer read 350 degree’s while the smoker only read 270. Apparently Masterbuilt does not have a quality thermometer for their smoker, so do NOT base your cook temp off your Masterbuilt at all. Fortunately the temperature is higher than the Masterbuilt max temperature instead of lower as I have seen in some complaints.

 

 

After preseasoning for 3 hours, I let the smoker rest until the next day – when I made bacon wrapped chicken. Using the digital thermometer for meat and for smoker temperatures, I was able to cook the chicken to perfection. Best chicken I have ever ate.

 

The wood chips never turned to ash as expected however. After posting on smokingmeatforums I was advised to use an “AMNS” Amaze – N – Smoker which uses sawdust to smoke your food which gives you easy smoke can aid in a cold smoke for cheese as well since this is not functionality available for the Masterbuilt on its own. Regardless, the chicken did come out with a perfect Smokey flavor.

 

In the end I am very pleased with the product and I look forward to smoking with it. If any issues come down the road I will be sure to update my review. Until then I will be happily smoking.
 
Hi MisterBill,

The unit you purchased is the 30" model with the 800 watt element with access door and the small chip tray.  Some members have had problems with the chips not turning to ash in that model.  Masterbuilt has a Chip Tray Upgrade they will send you out for free that eliminates that problem. 

Contact (Darryl) MBTechguy by PM here on the forum and I am sure he will take good care of you as he has the rest of us Masterbuilt owners...

Tell him the model # for your unit and they will send you out a chip tray upgrade at the speed of light...

I believe the Model is Wood chip retro kit 2010

You might also tell him about the Thermometer difference...

Good Luck, You are going to love that unit and in no time want the bigger model...
 
As long as you know the grate temp. it doesn't matter what the controller says the temp is. In your case the temp being higher in the smoker than the digital readout is a plus. You can now smoke chicken & turkey at 300 degrees or higher for crispy skin. That is an option most MES owners don't have.
 
Hey Bill: I have the MES40 and love it. I too have noticed the temp difference but don't rely on the reading on the master-built read out. I just use the one that is on the digital probe that is for temp in the smoker and then read the internal temp of the meat for the final test of temp. I have had mine for one week now and have been turning  out some GREAT food. Enjoy the new smoker. PS I use chunk wood and have found it to give me the smoke flavor I need and like.Robert
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After reading the most helpful review I see that this model (Cajun Injector) is identical to a Masterbuilt model, just with a different name stamped on the front.
I thought I would point out that the Cajun smoker is a lot like the Masterbuilt MES, but it is not identical. The Cajun has a "chute thingy" for feeding chips in to the metal wood tray while the MES has a "loader cup thingy" for feeding the wood chips. Both are located in the same location (lower right side) and look pretty much the same from the outside but they are definately different on the  inside. I can't say if the  Cajun chute setup works better or worse than the MES setup, but I can say the the MES loader cup setup does work very well and that an AMNS works even better. I only mention this in case someone is reading this review to find out if there is a difference between the Cajun and the MES.

By the way, for those having problems with getting enough smoke with an MES with the small wood tray, I found that removing the extra metal panel between the wood tray and the heating element worked very well for improving the smoke capability. This mod is described in the following link: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/fo...rade-kit-inspired-mod-with-q-view#post_578295
 
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