Newbie needs help with his MES 30 Smoker

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amkkhan

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2013
5
10
Brooklyn, NY
So I got my MES 30 smoker a few weeks ago, but do to some issues I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. I'm finally going to get to use it tomorrow, and I could use some help so that I don't ruin any food! I'm a little confused as to how to use it, and I would really appreciate your tips.

I seasoned the smoker already, put it up to 275, ran it for 2 and a half hours, added wood, and let it run for another hour. The questions I have are as follows:

1) I'm going to be smoking 2 2.5 lb briskets, ~5-7 lbs of ribs and (hopefully) a chicken over hickory wood. I'd ideally like for everything to be ready by 5 or 6 PM -- what time should I start?

2) I was thinking of butterflying the chicken -- is that a good idea?

3) I'm going to season the meat and wrap it tonight. If anyone has any rub suggestions please let me know.

4) When I go to use my smoker, what temperature should I put it at? I was thinking 225. Do I let it heat up all the way and then put the meat in? Or put the meat in and let it come up to temp? 

5) What temperatures do I need to cook the meats to? I'm assuming its different than when I would cook the food in the oven.

6) Do I put wood in in the beginning? How often do I replace it? I have about 6 lbs of wood chips, will that be enough?

Thanks again for all your help guys, I'm really excited to get smoking. If there's anything else you think I should know, please tell me! And I will ABSOLUTELY post pictures tomorrow too.
 
So I got my MES 30 smoker a few weeks ago, but do to some issues I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet. I'm finally going to get to use it tomorrow, and I could use some help so that I don't ruin any food! I'm a little confused as to how to use it, and I would really appreciate your tips.

I seasoned the smoker already, put it up to 275, ran it for 2 and a half hours, added wood, and let it run for another hour. The questions I have are as follows:

1) I'm going to be smoking 2 2.5 lb briskets, ~5-7 lbs of ribs and (hopefully) a chicken over hickory wood. I'd ideally like for everything to be ready by 5 or 6 PM -- what time should I start? At 225*F Brisket takes about 2 hours per lb. Ribs 6 hours try 3-2-1...Explanation to follow. Chicken, if you remove the backbone to lay it flat, about 2 hours. However the Chicken Skin will not be Crisp. Pull the bird at an IT of 150*F and go in a 425*F Oven to crisp the skin and finish to the desired IT.

2) I was thinking of butterflying the chicken -- is that a good idea?Yes

3) I'm going to season the meat and wrap it tonight. If anyone has any rub suggestions please let me know. See Below.

4) When I go to use my smoker, what temperature should I put it at? I was thinking 225. Do I let it heat up all the way and then put the meat in? Or put the meat in and let it come up to temp? Heat it first then add meat.

5) What temperatures do I need to cook the meats to? Brisket to an Internal Temp (IT) of 190*F for slicing with a 1 hour rest wrapped in foil. Chicken I take to an IT of 170*F.  I'm assuming its different than when I would cook the food in the oven. Not Really.

6) Do I put wood in in the beginning? YesHow often do I replace it? If using Chips about every 30-40 minutes but Hickory is strong so only add wood the first 2 hours or so.I have about 6 lbs of wood chips, will that be enough?You only add 1/4 cup at a time so that should last a long time.

Thanks again for all your help guys, I'm really excited to get smoking. If there's anything else you think I should know, please tell me! And I will ABSOLUTELY post pictures tomorrow too.

A full rack of Spare Ribs will take about 6 hours at 225*F...The 3-2-1 smoked rib recipe is a good way to smoke ribs and tends to turn out perfect ribs every time whether you are using the meatier Full rack spare rib or the Saint Louis cut. Baby Back ribs use a 2-2-1 method. The ribs are smoked at 225 - 250 degrees for best results...

The 3 stands for the 3 hours that you initially smoke the ribs with nothing but your favorite rub on them and some smoke with your favorite hardwood such as hickory, mesquite, apple, pecan, etc. After the 3 hours you remove the ribs and quickly double wrap them in heavy duty foil.. just before you seal them up add some Apple Juice or Foiling Juice and close the foil leaving some room around the ribs for the steam to be able to flow around the meat and Flavor/Tenderize it.
The ribs cook in the smoker wrapped for 2 hours undisturbed. There is no need for Smoke at this point... After 2 hours remove the ribs from the smoker, unwrap and place back into the smoker for the final 1 hour, with smoke if you wish.This firms them up, creates a nice Bark and finishes the cooking process. You can add a glaze or sauce at this point if you like. The meat will be pretty close to fall off the bone and be extremely juicy, tender and flavorful...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110881/foiling-juice-chef-jimmyj

Try this... It is Mild and compliments different style sauces well...If you want spicier increase Blk Pepper to 1T and add 1T Wht Pepper and 1T Mustard powder. The Foiling Juice, at the bottom, makes a Rib Glaze at the end. You can add 1/4C Ketchup, 2T Cider Vinegar and 2T Mustard to make a more traditional KC Style BBQ Sauce....Anything else, just ask...JJ

Mild Bubba Q Rub

1/2C Sugar in the Raw (Turbinado)

2T Sweet Paprika (Hungarian)

1T Kosher Salt

1T Chili Powder (contains some Cumin and Oregano) Ancho Chile is same without cumin, oregano etc.

1T Granulated Garlic

1T Granulated Onion

1tsp Black Pepper, more if you like

1/2tsp Grnd Allspice

Cayenne or Chipotle Pwd to taste, start with 1/2tsp and go from there.

You may also like this for Ribs...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110881/foiling-juice-chef-jimmyj

When you have time to play, try Brining the Chicken. Makes a HUGE difference in flavor and juiciness...

Families Favorite Brine

1/2C Kosher Salt

2T Paprika

2T Gran. Garlic

2T Gran. Onion

2T Dry Thyme

2T Black Pepper

1C Vinegar (Any)

1-11/2Gal Cold Water to cover Chix

1/2C Brown Sugar, Optional

1T Red Pepper Flake Optional

Starting Two Days out...

Mix well and Soak the Bird over night or up to 24 Hours.

Remove the Chix, rinse if desired and pat dry with paper towels.

Place in an open container in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours for the Skin to dry.

This will give a crispier skin when Smokng or Roasting...

Bubba Chix Rub

1/2C Raw Sugar

2T Paprika (I use Smoked if I'm just Grilling)

1T Cayenne

1T Gran. Garlic

1T Gran. Onion

1tsp Black Pepper

1tsp Wht Pepper

1tsp Allspice

1tsp Bell's Poultry Seasoning or Thyme

Mix well. You can put directly on the skin or mix with Butter, Oil or Bacon Grease and rub on and under the Skin.

Reduce Cayenne to 1teaspoon if less heat is desired.

Good Luck!
 
Last edited:
What kind of ribs?  Spares would take around 6 hours, BBs around 5, give or take.  The brisket, a rule of thumb is 1.5-2 hours per pound for each cut.  If you cook the chicken at the same time as the other meat, just make sure you put it on the bottom rack in your smoker.  You don't want raw chicken dripping on you other food.  I don't usually do chicken and ribs together, because I like to do ribs @225* , and I cook chicken a lot hotter (275-300*).  You can cook them together, and some do, but I don't. Butterflying, or spatchcocking the chicken is a good method, and many do this to shorten cook time and insure the entire bird cooks to safe IT.

Just remember that times are estimates, and could be significantly different for each cut of meat.  Cook to an internal meat temperature.  Brisket IT should be 195-205*;  Chicken, 170*.  Ribs are a little tricky to get accurate IT, so look for good pullback from the rib bone (1/4 to 1/2 inch from bone end) and good bend in the rack.

Good luck, ask more questions if you have 'em, and please remember, we love Qview...

Red
 
Thank you guys so much! I wasn't expecting such a quick response -- you guys are amazing. For the record, I'm going to be doing beef ribs, does that change anything?
 
Not really. I like to follow 3-2-1 for Beef Ribs as well as the Foil time make them really tender. But the Foiling Juice will be too sweet for Beef. I would change up to 1/4C Beef Broth with maybe some Red Wine and 1-2 tsp of Rub. For Beef I like one of these recipes...Now you got all my Secrets!...
biggrin.gif
...JJ

These are two recipes I have used on Beef with success. First has a very South Western/ Texas flavor. The second is my Go To for anything Beef...JJ

Run for the Border Rub

2T Kosher Salt

2T Ancho Chile Powder

1T Chipotle Powder

1T Oregano, Mexican is preferred 

1T Gran Garlic

1T Gran Onion

1T Black Pepper

1T Cayenne

1-2tsp Gnd Cumin

1tsp Cocoa Powder

1/2tsp Cinnamon

Optional:

1T Tomato Powder

1/2C Turbinado Sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Makes 3/4 to 1Cup Rub.

This stuff is HOT and full flavored with touch of Smokiness. Feel free to adjust the heat to your taste by playing with the amount of Chipotle and Cayenne Powder. All the ingredients except maybe the Tomato Powder is available at the Grocery Store. This stuff will also Kick Butt as the seasoning in a batch of Chili. 

Bubba Beef Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar

2T Kosher Salt

2T Black Peppercorns

1T Coriander Seed

1T Dry Minced Onion

1T Dry Minced Garlic

1tsp Allspice Berries

1tsp Mustard Seed

1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves

3 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1tsp Juniper Berries 

Add Cayenne if heat is desired.

All Spices are Whole and are toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted.

Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. Mix with the Salt and Sugar. Store in an air tight container. Makes about a Half cup.
 
Thanks again! Now just one more question -- my dad (the smoker's at his house) just called and said he picked up about 5 lbs of beef shoulder as well. About how long can I expect that to take? You guys rock!
 
Just one thing more...... careful with the hickory. Its a pretty strong wood and easy to oversmoke chicken and / or ribs. If you have a fruit wood you may want to try 1/3 hickory to 2/3 fruit wood. Dont make the mistake of many new cooks and think you need clouds of smoke. You don't want to ruin your first attempt. The other guys got you covered on everything else.
 
A Beef Chuck will take about the same time as a Brisket but the Muscle fibers are cut short so they are better Pulled than Sliced. Take it to 200*F Wrap in foil and rest it then pull it. If you plan to try all this at once remember that as items get done and foiled. You can wrap them in an old blanket or towels and place them in a cooler. The large items will stay hot up to 5 hours. Also on things like Chuck, Brisket and Butts, whatever time you calculate the cook will take, add 2 hours to CYA! Better to have stuff in the cooler than Hungry people starring you down...JJ
 
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