First pork butt in my new MES 30

[tomzo]

I got the MES 30 for Father's Day and this is my first shot at pulled pork. I got a 10 lb but from a local butcher, trimmed about half the fat off, and liberally coated it with Jeff's Rub.   It sat wrapped for about 6 hours before hitting the smoke last night.

Everything went well overnight but the MES never seemed to be able to get over about 235 degrees.   I was using a Maverick Et732 to monitor the meat and the cooker and even though I maxed out the MES I never quite got where I needed.   It was 20 hours total on the smoker and I had to spend the last hour in the oven to get things finished

The IT got to about 190 in the smoker and at the 18 hour mark I popped it into a tray and foil into my oven to finish it off.   I never got it all the way to 205 as I wanted as it was time to eat, but it was awesome!   The shoulder blade pulled out easily and with no resistance.  I made three varieties of Jeff's sauce (regular, hot, and another that had a Carolina twist) and I must say that the pork was awesome.   My son was not here today but my wife and daughter could not get enough!

I still have a lot to learn but this was so good I can hardly wait to do it again!

Tom

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• tomzo
• Jul 15, 2013

 

[chef jimmyj]

At anything below 250*F and 2 hours/pound cook time to 200-205*F is typical. So you were right on schedule. As far as temp goes, did you have Water in the pan? Did you have a large drip pan that covered more than 2/3's of the grate? Was the Mav probe on the same grate as the meat but not touching the meat? All these can cause a low smoker temp reading...JJ

 

[tomzo]

@JimmyJ - I did have water in the pan - perhaps I need some play sand, eh?

The drip pan was the same size as the one in the picture above - it is over half the size of the grate for sure.   Should I just let the drippings go into the water pan below?

I did have the Mav probe behind the meat on the same grate - should it be on a different level?

Thanks

Tom

 

[chef jimmyj]

@JimmyJ - I did have water in the pan - perhaps I need some play sand, eh? Sand works well. Water cools the smoker.

The drip pan was the same size as the one in the picture above - it is over half the size of the grate for sure.   Should I just let the drippings go into the water pan below? I use a pan that size with no issue. There are larger ones so I thought I'd check.

I did have the Mav probe behind the meat on the same grate - should it be on a different level? You want it on the same rack but away from the meat. Because the meat is cooler than the smoker for a good amount of time, there is a Bubble of cooler air surrounding the meat. If the probe is less than 1" from the meat, you can get a lower reading than expected.

Thanks No problem. There may be other issues but this is a good place to start...JJ

Tom

 

[tomzo]

One thing I need is  an AMNPS - I was up really late adding wood chips and I don't think I got quite the level of smoke that I wanted.   I also burned myself on the chip tray!   It will be a couple weeks before I take another shot at pulled pork, but I have a hog that is about 225 lbs now so I will have a LOT of pork to cook in about a month so I need the practice!

Tom

 

[driedstick]

Which MES did you  get the gen 1 or 2 if  you don't mind me asking

 

[tomzo]

I am not sure - it was just purchased last month so it should be the most recent version.   What is the difference?

Tom

 

[tamathumper]

Different models have different issues, and there's some old stock still in inventory at a lot of places, so it's hard to tell the model from the purchase date.

 

[blazinblake]

Gen 1 has the controls on top rear, round water pan that sits below the bottom rack and drip pan in rear. Gen 2 has controls built into the top/front (not sitting on top like gen1) square water/drip pan on left side bottom with updated slanted run off pan. Drip pan in front of this model.

I just bought the gen 2 and did my first butt. I think my temps might be off slightly or maybe because I put meat in front of the temp probe which is right in the middle rear of the smoker. I'll have to test this a bit with a maverick to see if the meat can actually throw off the smoker temps.:grilling_smilie:

 

[cunnart]

 
One thing I need is  an AMNPS - I was up really late adding wood chips and I don't think I got quite the level of smoke that I wanted.   I also burned myself on the chip tray!   It will be a couple weeks before I take another shot at pulled pork, but I have a hog that is about 225 lbs now so I will have a LOT of pork to cook in about a month so I need the practice!

Tom

Sorry this is a rookie question, just ordered my MES30 a few minutes ago, what does AMNPS stand for? Also I am assuming I am getting a gen1 MES30 as it has the older part number, where can I find tricks for fixing it up and getting it running as best as it can?

 

[smoking b]

 
Sorry this is a rookie question, just ordered my MES30 a few minutes ago, what does AMNPS stand for? Also I am assuming I am getting a gen1 MES30 as it has the older part number, where can I find tricks for fixing it up and getting it running as best as it can?

Welcome to the forum. AMNPS is the A-Maze-N-Pellet-Smoker from here http://www.amazenproducts.com & it is the best thing I ever bought for my MES 30. I highly recommend it!

As far as finding mods the search engine at the top is your friend - I simply typed in mes mods & got this  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=mes+mods&=Search

There is a lot of good reading for you there... I also did the mailbox mod to mine & have never looked back. Enjoy your MES! 

 

[cunnart]

Awesome thanks for the quick reply Smoking B

 

[smoking b]

 
Awesome thanks for the quick reply Smoking B

You're quite welcome 

 

[tomzo]

I also did a mailbox mod and when the pellets are prepared correctly (dry, properly ignited, and given enough oxygen to burn) it is about the greatest thing ever!

 

[tomzo]

By the way - here are some pics of my mod:

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• tomzo
• Sep 21, 2013

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• tomzo
• Sep 17, 2013

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• tomzo
• Sep 17, 2013

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• tomzo
• Sep 17, 2013

 

[cunnart]

Yeah I have been reading the posts about this and I am really liking the idea of it.

 

[smoking b]

 
Yeah I have been reading the posts about this and I am really liking the idea of it.

If you do it you'll never go back to using the AMNPS in your MES 

 

 

[demosthenes9]

 
Yeah I have been reading the posts about this and I am really liking the idea of it.

Cunnart, an Amazn smoker is the way to go.  I have a gasser smoker so I use the AMNTS tube smoker instead of the AMNPS maze.   Works the same way though and has the same benefits.   Perfect smoke for an extended period of time.   No more checking the smoker every 20 - 40 mins to see if I need to add more chips/chunks.   

 

[mikemmm]

@JimmyJ - I did have water in the pan - perhaps I need some play sand, eh? Sand works well. Water cools the smoker.

Why would water cool the smoker? If it's put it when heating the smoker it should be the exact temp as the inside of the smoker and should help keep the heat from fluctuating. Not sure how water could cool the smoker but I an new to smoking so learn me please.

 

[demosthenes9]

@JimmyJ - I did have water in the pan - perhaps I need some play sand, eh? Sand works well. Water cools the smoker.

Why would water cool the smoker? If it's put it when heating the smoker it should be the exact temp as the inside of the smoker and should help keep the heat from fluctuating. Not sure how water could cool the smoker but I an new to smoking so learn me please.

Water boils at 212 degrees and converts to steam.  So, water in your pan shouldn't be much higher than that.  So, the water in a water pan holds down the heat in the chamber.  If you want, carefully do a test.  Fill your water pan and fire up the smoker.   Give the water time to heat up and note the chamber temp.  Then, VERY CAREFULLY remove the water pan, empty it and stick the pan back in.   Note what the chamber temp climbs up to once the smoker recovers from the heat loss due to opening the door.

What you will find is that without the water present, the same amount of heat will yield a higher chamber temp.