Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker

[Bummed]

I generally don't get any smoke below 200, I have to use a AMPS or the Char-Broiler tube for lower temp smokes like Jerky.

 

[ou812dano]

Thanks for the info. Have u ever thought about adding some more vent holes?

 

[Bummed]

Thanks for the info. Have u ever thought about adding some more vent holes?

No not really, I have 2 left hands as it is and they are wrecked too! I bought this electric to learn how to smoke, I hope to take the leap into the charcoal/wood world soon.

 

[daricksta]

 
One thing I like about that Char-Broil smoker is that it cooks the meat to the desired temp and then the smoker goes into warming mode!  I don't think Masterbuilt has that feature, you set a temp you want it to run at and then a timer for how many hours, which makes no sense to me.  If I would have known that I think I may have gone with the Char-broil as well!  One thing I like better on the Masterbuilt though is the optional cold smoking unit you can hookup up to it, but it seems more people go with the A-MAZE-N Maze tray for the smoke. Also get a 1 year warranty with the Char-Broil vs 90 days with Masterbuilt.

I don't see where a warming mode is necessary.  When I'm done smoking I like the unit to shut itself off. Also, when I'm done smoking ribs, I take them out and let them rest on the kitchen cutting board for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving. For a brisket, I wrap it in foil and place it in an empty cooler with towels or newspapers on top of the brisket and, if I have the time, just let it rest for a couple of hours 

I think the MB controller makes perfect sense. I always warm up my smoker before placing food inside that's to be smoked, When I'm ready to start I set my cooking temp and the number of hours I plan to smoke, usually setting it on more hours than I'll need. Since the controller temp display is usually somewhat inaccurate, I monitor temps with my Maverick ET-733. So really, setting the total cooking time is just a reference point for me. I don't insert therm probes into ribs; I go by how they look after about 4 hours of smoking. With briskets, I go by the IT to determine when it's done. The elapsed time on the timer just lets me know how long the stuff's been in there. I use the temp display as a reference point too,  but after about 1/2 way thru the smoking, the controller temp and the ET-733 are usually pretty close to each other. 

But, yeah, the CB warranty is better than the MB. I also use the AMNPS instead of the Cold Smoker. It's just easier for me to deal with just my MES 30 Gen 1 alone instead of dealing with two separate units when I smoke. 

 

[Bummed]

I've only used the warming mode once, I had a butt in and it was at 180 and I needed to run out for awhile. So I set the temp for the butt to 200, when I got back 2 hours later the smoker was in warming mode at 120 and the butt was nice and juicy ready to eat.

I normally don't use it but in this case it really came in handy!

 

[ukjeff]

Hi,

Greeting from a sunny Eng;land. Hope it isn't a problem to tag my first post and question onto this thread. 

New owner and first post!  I'm cooking lamb shoulder using the probe and it seems to both run out of smoke fairly quickly and the cave is running at around 150c.  Is that the correct temperature for it to reach or is it too high.  I rather expected it to stay around 107. I have set the probe to 90 and after two hours the internal temp is around 75. I do recognise I could use manual and reset it to 107 next time round and let it cook to internal temp.  Any suggestions really appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff

 

[ukjeff]

Hi hope it's OK to tag my first post to this thread. 

Greetings from a sunny England.  New owner and  I'm cooking lamb shoulder using the probe and it seems to both run out of smoke fairly quickly and the cave is running at around 150c.  Is that the correct default temperature for it to reach or is it too high.  I rather expected it to stay around 107. I have set the probe to 90 and it is currently 75 after two hours.  Is it better to use temp and time and set it to say 107 and remove it when it reaches internal temp.  All suggestions and help appreciated,  

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[ukjeff]

.... hi all,

as another datapoint the oven has switched down to three bleeps and after 3 hours the internal temp is only 73 (target 90) and the cave is reduced from 160 to 80.  Is this all normal or do I have a faulty unit?

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[dr k]

 
.... hi all,

as another datapoint the oven has switched down to three bleeps and after 3 hours the internal temp is only 73 (target 90) and the cave is reduced from 160 to 80.  Is this all normal or do I have a faulty unit?

Thanks.

Jeff

Hi Jeff I don't have this smoker I have the Gen 1 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker.  Some one will hopefully help with your questions.  The MES have a controller sensor and a flat round snap switch emergency shut off sensor incase the smoker gets too hot.  This emergency sensor says 150C on the face = 302F.  MES smokers heat between 100-275F so if yours smoker goes to 150C or 302F but should not go this high, the sensor may have tripped shutting off power to the heating element and has to cool down before resetting to allow electricity to the element .  Some MES smokers only get to 275F or less some as high as yours which may be a great thing.  Just set it lower.  Most of us get a digital two probe thermometer with one probe in the food chamber and the other in the meat.  Since these can be boil/ice water tested you can see if these are calibrated correctly.  If the therm is showing a good boiling reading at your altitude then set the smoker according to this therm and not by the stock controller sensor since they tend to be inaccurate and not where your food is. 

-Kurt

 

[ukjeff]

 
Hi Jeff I don't have this smoker I have the Gen 1 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker.  Some one will hopefully help with your questions.  The MES have a controller sensor and a flat round snap switch emergency shut off sensor incase the smoker gets too hot.  This emergency sensor says 150C on the face = 302F.  MES smokers heat between 100-275F so if yours smoker goes to 150C or 302F but should not go this high, the sensor may have tripped shutting off power to the heating element and has to cool down before resetting to allow electricity to the element .  Some MES smokers only get to 275F or less some as high as yours which may be a great thing.  Just set it lower.  Most of us get a digital two probe thermometer with one probe in the food chamber and the other in the meat.  Since these can be boil/ice water tested you can see if these are calibrated correctly.  If the therm is showing a good boiling reading at your altitude then set the smoker according to this therm and not by the stock controller sensor since they tend to be inaccurate and not where your food is. 

-Kurt

Kurt,

Thanks for your reply.  I've decided to accept defeat and simply use time and temp using some probes.  I had a good day today, pre-heated manually as I think the inbuilt heats too high.  As the wood chips are smallthey then burn off too quickly so I put them in later to time their smoke start to just before the proteins go. Thanks again

 

[daricksta]

 
Kurt,

Thanks for your reply.  I've decided to accept defeat and simply use time and temp using some probes.  I had a good day today, pre-heated manually as I think the inbuilt heats too high.  As the wood chips are smallthey then burn off too quickly so I put them in later to time their smoke start to just before the proteins go. Thanks again

UkJeff, so it looks like you solved your non-heating cave problem, or have you? Anyway, you just described why I stopped using wood chips years ago. They burn up too quickly and need to be replenished about ever 20-30 minutes. Way too  much work. I use wood pellets in my electric smoker. Many of us on SMF buy pellet smokers from A-MAZE-N Products. I don't know if they ship to the UK or not but you should be able to find similar products there. Wood pellets burn longer and, in my opinion, provide better wood smoke flavor. 

 

[ukjeff]

Thanks,

Although the smoke stops after an hour ormtwo, it is of such intensitymthat it has given us sufficient smoke. I'm still,learning ...

Thanks.

 

[Bummed]

Hey Jeff, that temp fluctuation isn't normal. once it hits your target temp it should drop to about 48c (120F). I never have an issue with wood chips, I get 5-6 hours of smoke with a full box which is more than you will ever need for just about any smoke.

I had an issue with my probe about a month after I got it, Char Broil sent me a new replacement and its works fine ever since.