MSE 30

[amlong88]

My sportsman elite 30 came in today. Got it seasoned and looking to do some jerky Monday.

IMG_20141205_162648163.jpg

• amlong88
• Dec 5, 2014

 

[smoked alaskan]

Looking forward to some Q View.....  

 

[amlong88]

Here is my thread on the jerky I'm doing. Q view there.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/173714/first-time-jerky#post_1275102

 

[parrot-head]

What's the difference between a Sportsman Elite and a regular Gen 1?

 

[amlong88]

I don't really know but hopefully someone can tell us. Mine is model number 20071914.

 

[daricksta]

The Sportsman Elite that you bought is the MES 30 Gen 1 with a slight cosmetic difference--the control panel display design--and an additional feature--a meat/temp probe. On the Cabela's page it says the smoker comes with four racks but is expandable to six but looking at that photo and at my own MES 30 Gen 1 I have no idea where you'd put another two racks.

Like many MES owners here I burn wood pellets in the A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker. I tried wood chips for my first two smokes and found it a hassle to load wood chips every 20-30 minutes. One time--because I barely knew what I was doing--I soaked the wood chips before loading them because that's what I always read you were supposed to do with wood chips over hot charcoal on a BBQ. I didn't get any more smoke and they didn't last any longer than dry chips, which I guess is why Masterbuilt never says to soak them. With wood pellets in the AMNPS I get just as much smoke for hours.

However, I suggest that everyone who buys a MES start off with wood chips to get their smoking feet wet--or dry--the MB way. There are guys who prefer wood chips over pellets; it's all personal preference anyway. After you've smoked with wood chips and can make a more informed opinion you can try out wood pellets for comparison. That's what I did and I'll never use wood chips in my smoker again--unless I'm all out of pellets.

 

[amlong88]

Thank you daRicksta. Mine does have spots for the two extra racks they are between the top two and bottom two. Not much room left if you put those extra in.

 

[daricksta]

Da nada, AMLong88. Just checked out your beef jerky QView. It looks both good and inspiring. Because of the pics I can now see those extra rack guides which I didn't see on the Cabela's photo. Mine only has the four rack guides but I really typically only use 1-2 shelves unless I'm smoking cheese or three racks of ribs. I never use the lowest rack (which the water pan hangs from) because I think it's too close to the smoke source. I don't use the top rack because I think it's too far so by process of elimination I typically will use only the 2nd rack or at most the middle two. Except for a large piece of meat like a turkey breast I use the 3rd rack because I want it immersed in smoke.

 

[amlong88]

Da nada, AMLong88. Just checked out your beef jerky QView. It looks both good and inspiring. Because of the pics I can now see those extra rack guides which I didn't see on the Cabela's photo. Mine only has the four rack guides but I really typically only use 1-2 shelves unless I'm smoking cheese or three racks of ribs. I never use the lowest rack (which the water pan hangs from) because I think it's too close to the smoke source. I don't use the top rack because I think it's too far so by process of elimination I typically will use only the 2nd rack or at most the middle two. Except for a large piece of meat like a turkey breast I use the 3rd rack because I want it immersed in smoke.

Thank you. The Cabela's kit made it very simple.