How Many Mes Owners Here?

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Which One Do You Have?

  • 40'

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 40' with window

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 40' 800 watt

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I like it a lot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Where did you buy it?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sams Club

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other please list where in a post

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
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If you're using the MES without the AMNPS what I found helps keep the smoke going longer is to use the biggest chunks you can fit through the chip loader. I buy my wood in the big 20# bags from home depot and there's usually some good size chunks that will take up just about the whole loader tube. I got 3 hours of smoke from 1 load of wood in my 40" one time. It helps to keep the chip tray clear of ash between smokes.
 
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Katymeg,

I read that you are going to be doing a port butt for your first smoke and was wandering if you were going to cook it as a roast or be cooked and used for pulled pork. The manual that comes with the unit (if is like the one I got with mine) gives you instructions for a pork butt roast. I was misled by a show called QVC and was watching them pull the pork butt out of the smoker and pulling it and they said that the instructions are in the manual that comes with the MES smoker. I did not buy mine from QVC but from Sears and indeed it did come with instructions for a pork butt. BUT, the instructions they give you are for cooking it for use as a roast and not for pulled pork. It was not till I discovered this site that I found why it did not pull.

That being said, I wanted to make sure you know that if you are planning to cook it so you can pull it, you need to smoke it until it reaches an internal temperature of AT LEAST 200 degrees or it won't pull. I usually cook it to 205 before I take it out and then wrap in foil and let sit for about 20 to 30 minutes before I pull it and it falls apart. If you cook it like the instructions in the manual says to do (which is to 170 degrees) you will only be able to slice it like a standard pork roast.

As far as the Amazing Smoker goes, I love mine. But I only bought the AMNS model which is the dust one, not the pellet one. I have never had any problem with my MES flaring up. I have the 1st generation MES but after they had already started putting the smoker pan upgrade in at the factory. I use the standard chips that you can buy at any hardware store or places like Amazon etc. etc. And the MES works flawlessly for me with them and I don't mind having to go out ever 45 min. to an hour to add new chips. What I use mine AMNS dust smoker for is for COLD smoking. I wanted to be able to smoke stuff like cheese, herbs, spices and stuff like that which you don't want any heat for (cheese makes a big mess if it is smoked with heat, and no, I did not try to smoke cheese with heat). Now I bought my AMNS right before Tod had created the Pellet version and he did offer to even trade my Dust one for a Pellet one but for the reasons above I declined. The new pellet one will work with dust as well but since I will only ever be using mine for cold smokes I found no need for a bigger pellet/dust model.

Looking forward to reading about your first smoke and don't forget to take and post pictures of your first experience for all of us to enjoy and drool over.
 
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Last weekend I did two butts, a 9lb and a 7lb. After 26 hours of low and slow at 225 degrees, one was at 190 the other at 195. I got tired of waiting so I wrapped them, let them rest and then pulled them. They pulled fine. I tested them using my Thermopen and it registered 195 on one and slid in and out like they were butter.

BTW, if you want a really good, but expensive, instant read, the Thermopen is it. I only wish I would have gotten one of the backlit ones since it seems I'm always finishing after dark (especially this time of the year).

Ron
 
 
Last weekend I did two butts, a 9lb and a 7lb. After 26 hours of low and slow at 225 degrees, one was at 190 the other at 195. I got tired of waiting so I wrapped them, let them rest and then pulled them. They pulled fine. I tested them using my Thermopen and it registered 195 on one and slid in and out like they were butter.

BTW, if you want a really good, but expensive, instant read, the Thermopen is it. I only wish I would have gotten one of the backlit ones since it seems I'm always finishing after dark (especially this time of the year).

Ron
Well, if you wrapped in foil after they reached 190 & 195 they usually they usually will go up around 10 degrees while wrapped so they may have just reached the 200 plus mark before they started cooling down again. All I know is that on this forum all the pros say it has to reach at least 200 before it will pull right. So, after my disappointment after following the instructions in the MES manual and finding the 200 degree statements on this forum, I have never been disappointed again.
 
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just pulled a couple of 12 pounders (turkey) out of the MES 30....did them on hickory and used Slaughterhouse brine for 36hrs presoak and used my own Cajun style rub. Dinner by next kickoff.
 
 
just pulled a couple of 12 pounders (turkey) out of the MES 30....did them on hickory and used Slaughterhouse brine for 36hrs presoak and used my own Cajun style rub. Dinner by next kickoff.
Happy and safe (smokin') holiday season to all!  
439.gif
 
 
I have the 30" with window that was on bass pros Black Friday this year. Already done my first smoke (ribs via 2-2-1 method) and love it except it eats chips so I have a mailbox mod with amazen pellet smoker on the way
 
I also have the 30" with window that I bought at Bass Pro Shop on Black Friday . It was listed in the ad for 199.00 but it rang up 179.00 so I think I did good. I can't use it Until I actually open it on Christmas Day. I have ordered the smoke unit from Todd and my wife bought some wood pellets, dust and a thermometer for another Christmas gift. I can't wait till then so I can start learning and using it. This forum has been great. I also ordered Jeff's receipts so I am all set !!!

:grilling_smilie:
 
I'm going one step further into the Big Time MES AMNPS Smokers Club. I ordered my Maverick ET-732 therm from Todd Johnson as one of my birthday (Dec. 11) presents. Can't wait for it to get here so I can start fooling with it. As for the AMNPS, I never smoke without it. Wood chips are what I throw onto the charcoal when I'm using my Weber 22.5" Silver One-Touch kettle charcoal grill.
 
Hello everyone, followed this thread for a while as I try and get up to speed with my MES30 and AMPS. Thanks to all the suggestions I managed a 12 hour burn on the AMPS with my first try at bacon. Very pleased with myself although still plan a slight modification to my setup. Keep up the good work, certainly a big help to us newbies.
Greg
Perth. Australia


 
I also have the 30" with window that I bought at Bass Pro Shop on Black Friday . It was listed in the ad for 199.00 but it rang up 179.00 so I think I did good. I can't use it Until I actually open it on Christmas Day. I have ordered the smoke unit from Todd and my wife bought some wood pellets, dust and a thermometer for another Christmas gift. I can't wait till then so I can start learning and using it. This forum has been great. I also ordered Jeff's receipts so I am all set !!!

:grilling_smilie:

Smoke2day,

Don't forget to season your MES before you use it.

Than enjoy!!
 
I just seasoned my new MES 30 this morning. I thought i could get it done before the snow hit but I was wrong. By the time it cooled I had to try it out. I made scarbelly wings I found on here. I never thought to inject wings before. My only spin on them was to use Old Bay instead of the creole on the outside everything else was scarbelly. They turned out awesome, even the wife loved them after complaining that I was ruining her wings for football by not deep frying them. I got about 1 1/2 hours of TBS from the overloaded chip tray. I didn't try my AMNPS because of the short 2 hour cook. Very pleased cant wait to do more .I am hooked. Love the forum too!                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 
I just got a 30" without the windows. I like it a lot.  My sons bought it for me for my 65th birthday. I've only done a turkey breast on it so far. It came out great! Although my wife said it tasted too smoky. Next time I will cut down a bit on the wood chips.  I plan on doing some turkey legs and a brisket soon.
 
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I'm going one step further into the Big Time MES AMNPS Smokers Club. I ordered my Maverick ET-732 therm from Todd Johnson as one of my birthday (Dec. 11) presents. Can't wait for it to get here so I can start fooling with it. As for the AMNPS, I never smoke without it. Wood chips are what I throw onto the charcoal when I'm using my Weber 22.5" Silver One-Touch kettle charcoal grill.
Well, we share many things daRicksta, MES, AMNPS, Maverick ET-732 and birthdays, so Happy Birthday to us tomorrow!

Have only had my smoker for a week or so and chicken thighs have been my only smoke, we were pleased with the way they came out. Have a 8# Pork Butt in fridge for this weekend.

Ordered my AMNPS from Todd before the MES got here after reading so much about his products, also got the ET-732 before my first smoke.

Tons of great information on SMF.
 
 
Well, we share many things daRicksta, MES, AMNPS, Maverick ET-732 and birthdays, so Happy Birthday to us tomorrow!

Have only had my smoker for a week or so and chicken thighs have been my only smoke, we were pleased with the way they came out. Have a 8# Pork Butt in fridge for this weekend.

Ordered my AMNPS from Todd before the MES got here after reading so much about his products, also got the ET-732 before my first smoke.

Tons of great information on SMF.
Pleasure to meet you, azbohunter. I just wonder if we'll be the same age on our mutual birthday? I'll be 62.
hissyfit.gif


Got the ET-732 last week but haven't used it yet. As for the AMNPS, it worked great in the beginning but then I had problems through the next smokes keeping it lit. I brought the problem to these forums and both Todd Johnson and Bearcarver fixed me up with the proper answers. It's all in how you light it because since following their instructions I've had hours of steady thin blue smoke.  I also was putting way too much water in the water bowl; following my two mentors' advice, I turned it into a heat sink by filling it with playground sand and covering it with aluminum foil. I learned the hard way not to leave the sand-filled bowl in the smoker when I'm transporting it back to the garage where I store it. Cleaning out damp sand piled in the rear of the smoker is a thankless job.

I love the MES. Wish I could have been able to afford the 40' but the 30" works well for almost all my smokes. I don't need the glass door or the stainless steel finish. Mine is the black model with nothing fancier than the digital control panel on the top. Haven't used it as much as other guys in the group but I'm at the point where I think I know what I'm doing.

Let us know how the pork butt turns out. I think that at 8 lbs. it would be too big and wide for the 30" but perhaps other guys here have had success in positioning larger cuts of meat on the grates in that smokehouse.
 
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