Masterbuilt smoker vent position?

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You can smoke other meats with peanut hulls and I sometimes do use them on beef and pork but peanut smoke is on the mild side so I mix some hickory, apple, cherry or sea grape with them when doing that. I smoked some burgers tonight with sea grape alone and it was a mellow smoke flavor. Milder then hickory.

I was adding chips probably every 15 minutes. I could have extended the time periods by adding more each time but I enjoy fiddlin' when I'm sitting with the smoker and I get better and more consistent smoke using the smaller amounts and short intervals.
Well I got a small raise, effective next week so I went ahead and ordered the A-Maze-N pellet smoker, along with extra dust and pellets.  I hope this gives me the consistency I'm looking for.  I like fiddlin' if I have time, but I wanna try a brisket in the MES, and I imagine I'll be glad to be able to do other things while it's getting yummy!  I'm thinking about a cherry/hickory mixture... any thoughts?
 
Well I got a small raise, effective next week so I went ahead and ordered the A-Maze-N pellet smoker, along with extra dust and pellets.  I hope this gives me the consistency I'm looking for.  I like fiddlin' if I have time, but I wanna try a brisket in the MES, and I imagine I'll be glad to be able to do other things while it's getting yummy!  I'm thinking about a cherry/hickory mixture... any thoughts?
You won't believe how easy everything will become!

Bear

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Ya me to I was also confused on what to do though I just got my smoker about 1 week ago anc smoed some babyback ribs with some chicken wings.I had the vent mostly closed the first 3 hrs. after wrapping

ribs in foil with no smoke cooked 4 2 more hoursat this point I opened the vent about three quarters of the way,the last hour I took out of foil and put ribs in a rib rack and sauced them.

Wow they turned out Great the meat just fell off the bone with the perfect amount of smoke.by the way I took off the chicken wings after about 20 on 1 side 25 on on the other put on my bbq sauce and another 25min.(I used just reg. sized chips mixed with almost a sawdust (a very small sized chip)) and didnt have any problem with the smoke levels.
 
I smoked a 15 lb turkey on Tuesday night.  Stuffed it with apples, onions, celery, and some spices, sewed it up and smoked it at 230 for 3-4 hours with the vent closed.  I have the old 30" MES and am waiting for the retro that came today.  To finish, I used JD oak and apple wood.  Then raised the temp to 240 with apple wood only.  Turned the temp down to 230 at 12:00 am and went to bed until it was finished.  Two things I have learned with the old smaller smoke box.  One is that the wood seems to have different levels of humidity.  The apple will just turn black and smoke a little bit and the JD oak will smolder and ash.  Again this is with the smaller old chip box.  I will install the retro tomorrow and relearn how to use it.  The turkey was tender and delicious as always.  The vent was not completely close at first about 1/6-1/8 open.  The second thing is that with this smaller chip box, I have to put the meat in (and wood chips) and bring it to temp from the beginning.  This may be what Bearcarver is talking about with time 13 min.  

This is how you know if it is worth it and it works (whether you think you are getting enough smoke or meat dryness or whatever) Does The Food Get Eaten?.  The last brisket I did my wife couldn't cut it faster the the daughters were eating it.  The kids can't wait till I smoke and there are never enough ribs.  With that said, I guess I am doing something right.  That is the bottom line.
 
Just got my retro kit before Christmas and smoked some salmon.  Lots more smoke and faster than I have been use to.  Great tasting and thanks to Master Built.  Smoked salmon at 190 for an hour in Alder.  Great.  Everybody liked it.
 
I have a MES30 that I got at Cabela's in mid-2010; the instruction manual (which I also downloaded from their website) does not have this 'Let's get started' page, and more importantly, the smoker does not have any controllable vent that I can locate.  There is a small hole (1/2" diameter or so) at the upper rear corner of the smoker, and a small hole at the very bottom of the smoker (which appears to be for the drainage into the drip pan) -- but there does not seem to be any adjustable vent that I can find -- am I getting blind in my old age??  Thanks!
 
Not a vision problem just a model problem. Look at post #75 of this thread and you will see what the vent looks like on the models that have it.
 
Wow.  This is fun.  Tempers have certainly flared. 

I've got the MES 40"  Until yesterday, I couldn't get near enough smoke out of it.  Otherwise, it cooked everything to temperature in a very predictable and not too smoky way.  Wood chips in the side door only lasted 30-45 minutes, so there was never enough smoke to call it a set it and leave it kind of smoker.

But the arguments have carried way too much beyond that.  There's too much trash talk going on to recommend any particular product, but there are solutions on this site that will make your MES purr like a kitten if you give it the chance.  We are not the guys that received your $300+ bucks for the unit. 

We're just a user support group and I'm thankful for every member . . . even the newbees, because it makes me remember so much I have forgotten.

.
 
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I have been using my MES 40 for about a year now and think I've got it doing exactly what I want it to do.  The one thing I figured out is that if you open up the vent all the way, the heat will escape faster than if you close it off, but the up-side of this is that this causes the burner to stay on more which in turn burns the wood chips better and causes more smoke.  The addition of the AMNPS made all the difference in the smoke.  I place it down low on the bottem rack (laterally across from the burner) and just lay a piece of foil across the top to maks sure that none of the juices/fat/grease from the meat drip into the pellets.  I also use the pellets in the smoke burner and have gotten amazing results from the unit.  For Christmas, I smoked a 19 pound Beef Rib Roast (prime rib) for 4 hours at 230 degrees using cherry pellets.  I then finished it off on the grill for about 15 minutes at a high temp to crisp it up a little.  Let it rest for 30 minutes loosely covered and it was the best prime rib we've ever had.  My neighbor came by late (too late for dinner) so we gave her some to take home.  At midnight, she called to tell me that this prime rib was "orgasmic".  She said it was the best she ever had.  I've cooked just about everything in this unit and can't find any fault with it especially with the addition of the AMNPS.  Between that and the Thermopen, I'm one happy smoker!
 
Just wondering since you mentioned the Thermapen...I love mine too...what temperature did the roast get to before you removed it from the smoker after 4 hours?  I found such great prices on prime rib roasts after Christmas that I bought one, but have never cooked one before.  I also have an AMNPS, but am concerned that it may be easy to overcook.  I like the idea of afterwards crisping it in the oven, but again am a little fearful of overcooking it while I get the color I want.  My guess would be to remove it from the MES at around 100, and get it out of the oven at 115, crisped up or not.  Am I on the right track?
 
I have been using my MES 40 for about a year now and think I've got it doing exactly what I want it to do.  The one thing I figured out is that if you open up the vent all the way, the heat will escape faster than if you close it off, but the up-side of this is that this causes the burner to stay on more which in turn burns the wood chips better and causes more smoke.  The addition of the AMNPS made all the difference in the smoke.  I place it down low on the bottem rack (laterally across from the burner) and just lay a piece of foil across the top to maks sure that none of the juices/fat/grease from the meat drip into the pellets.  I also use the pellets in the smoke burner and have gotten amazing results from the unit.  For Christmas, I smoked a 19 pound Beef Rib Roast (prime rib) for 4 hours at 230 degrees using cherry pellets.  I then finished it off on the grill for about 15 minutes at a high temp to crisp it up a little.  Let it rest for 30 minutes loosely covered and it was the best prime rib we've ever had.  My neighbor came by late (too late for dinner) so we gave her some to take home.  At midnight, she called to tell me that this prime rib was "orgasmic".  She said it was the best she ever had.  I've cooked just about everything in this unit and can't find any fault with it especially with the addition of the AMNPS.  Between that and the Thermopen, I'm one happy smoker!
Hi All,

Just wondering since you mentioned the Thermapen...I love mine too...what temperature did the roast get to before you removed it from the smoker after 4 hours?  I found such great prices on prime rib roasts after Christmas that I bought one, but have never cooked one before.  I also have an AMNPS, but am concerned that it may be easy to overcook.  I like the idea of afterwards crisping it in the oven, but again am a little fearful of overcooking it while I get the color I want.  My guess would be to remove it from the MES at around 100, and get it out of the oven at 115, crisped up or not.  Am I on the right track?
 
My MES 30 is putting out great amounts of smoke after the retro fit that the company sent me.  Family just loves the meat and bacon rapped peppers, mushrooms were not a big hit.  It doesn't matter where the vent is set, I still get plenty of smoke and when open 1/4 the meat is moist and not dry.  Very happy and am planning a brisket smoke later this month.  Any good recipes out there?
 
I pulled the Prime Rib at 125 degrees knowing it would increase some.  This is the first time I've done a Prime Rib in a smoker so it was a bit of an experiment.  As it turned out, 125 was right on the money.  It got up to between 135 to 145 in different spots because it was thinner in one are and thicker in another.  It was absolutely fantastic.  By the way, I only filled half of the AMNPS with pellets because I didn't want too much smoke.  My father-in-law is an 86 year old Englishman who made the comment "Now THIS is a meal".  Coming from him (and he likes his beef rare/med-rare), that was the best compliment he's ever given anyone regarding food!
 
I pulled the Prime Rib at 125 degrees knowing it would increase some.  This is the first time I've done a Prime Rib in a smoker so it was a bit of an experiment.  As it turned out, 125 was right on the money.  It got up to between 135 to 145 in different spots because it was thinner in one are and thicker in another.  It was absolutely fantastic.  By the way, I only filled half of the AMNPS with pellets because I didn't want too much smoke.  My father-in-law is an 86 year old Englishman who made the comment "Now THIS is a meal".  Coming from him (and he likes his beef rare/med-rare), that was the best compliment he's ever given anyone regarding food!


Thanks very much Doczoc for the info!
 
The 3-2-1 method for spare ribs and the 2-2-1 method for babybacks has worked great for me.  I got my 30" MES for Christmas and have smoked ribs, chicken, pork butt and beef roast.  The ribs have been my best.  I fixed both spareribes and babybacks for a youth group superbowl party and when I took them out of the foil, they were falling apart as I put them back on the rack for the last hour.  I have never adjusted my vent postion.  It is probably 1/4" to 3/8" open.  If you are unfamilar with the 3-2-1 and 2-2-1 method, see below:

Smoking the Ribs

Note: Ribs are NOT cooked to any hard temperature or time .. they are done when they get tender enough and not a second before. Be willing to deviate from the estimated cooking time if they are not tender enough.

The "3"

The "3" in this method is the first 3 hours where the ribs will be directly on the grate and taking on the smoke flavoring from the wood that is smoking. Leave the door closed during this step and just make sure the heat stays as steady and close to 225 degrees F as possible.

The "2"

The "2" is where the ribs get tender. Once the initial 3 hours are over, Wrap each rack of ribs in a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and just before closing it up, pour about 1/4 cup of apple juice or other liquid such as beer, water, Dr. Pepper, etc. into the bottom of the foil. Close up the foil around each rack of ribs and lay the wrapped ribs back on the grate for 2 hours.

The "1"

The "1" in this method stands for the final hour in cooking the ribs. When the "2" is complete, remove the foil wrapped ribs from the smoker, remove the foil and place the ribs on the grate with NO foil for their final hour.

To sum it up more concisely:

3 hours directly on the smoker grate

Then..

2 hours wrapped in foil on the smoker grate

Then..

1 final hour unwrapped and back on the smoker grate to finish up

How to Serve the Ribs

Let the ribs rest for about 10-15 minutes for best results then lay them bone side up and slice and serve immediately.
 
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