Another newbie from Michigan

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

lowdownjt

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2016
7
10
Hello fellow meat lovers!

My name is Justin, coming from Southgate in Southeast lower Michigan. Hard to believe I am talking about grilling and smoking in Michigan in January, but thankfully the weather up here has been rather mild. I have long been a lover of smoked food, and have considered getting into the art of smoking, but it wasn't until recently spending a lot of time in Houston that I decided I was ready to take the plunge. After a lot of digging around, I made the decision to start off with an electric smoker since it would be easier to control the temperature and allow me to get into smoking without a major financial investment. Plus, if I am going to be smoking through the winter, I can set it and other than adding some chips every hour, it is pretty hands off. I went with the Masterbuilt 30" digital electric based on all the positive reviews I have read, and for just me and my small family, I figured it would be plenty big enough to start off. I have not really had a chance to do much with it yet, but I did do some boneless chicken breasts this past weekend because that was all I had in the fridge. I have to admit, the taste was awesome, but the chicken was a little on the dry side. I figure I am going to have some good trials and some bad, but it is fun trying new things! I am anxious to learn from other people's experiences to help make my adventures into smoking much more enjoyable. I welcome all feedback and can't wait to try my first pulled pork attempt this coming weekend!

Thanks in advance for everything!

Justin
 
Welcome to the site Justin and to the smoking hobby.  Congratulations on your new smoker, also.

Chicken breast can be tricky.  It is very important to keep a close eye on the internal temp of the breast and pull it off the smoker on time.  Do you have a good dual probe thermometer?  (One probe for your smoke chamber and one for your meat)

Many folks around here use the Maverick.

 
Welcome Justin and congrats on the new smoker! I've got the same smoker, had it for 2 years and still love it. You'll def want to get a Maverick as OEJ mentioned. It'll really help you out. Also the AMZN smoker will keep you in smoke for up to 10-12 hours without having to reload chips every 30-40 minutes. Most MES owners wind up getting these 2 items to produce better smokes.Good luck on future smokes and post some pix of your smokes, we love that stuff! Happy smokin', David.
 
OEJ,

Thanks for the welcome. Chicken was a bit tricky, and while I did pull it right at 160, I think I smoked it at too low a temp which required the meat to cook too long. It may not have helped that it was only 25 degrees and windy on that day, so I need to take into consideration the environmental conditions when I am smoking. 

I don't have a dual probe thermometer, but the smoker does have a digital thermostat for the chamber and an integrated meat probe to keep an eye on the meat temperature. I don't know how accurate either of them are, so if I need to upgrade I will certainly go with the Maverick. I have heard great things about them from others and appreciate your recommendation as well!

Thanks again, and looking forward to learning lots from this group!

Justin
 
David,

Thanks for the welcome. Glad to hear you are still happy with your MES after a few years, it reinforces that I made a good choice with purchasing mine :) I have seen a few people post about the AMZN smoker, but I may need to look more into it. I did a quick Google search and see a few things on Amazon, but hopefully I will get more real world information off the forum. 

As with posting pictures, as soon as I make something worth posting, I will happily put it out here!

Thanks, and great to meet you!

Justin
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky