New MES Bluetooth Digital smoker

[brickguy221]

 
#2  I find the bottom rack to be too hot, regardless of whether the water pan is in or not, but worse with the pan out. Therefore I never use mine without the Water pan in. If I had to use the bottom rack, I would rotate the stuff on that rack with another.

Bear

What Bear said here ... ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Only one time have I ever had to use all 4 racks and I did as Bear said and that is to rotate. I was smoking some "Jeff Phillips Camp Fire Chicken" which take 2 hrs @ 250*. At the end of one hr, I put the bottom shelf contents on the top shelf and the top shelf contents on the bottom shelf and all came out perfect.

 

[smokesontuesday]

 
I have some OAK, but haven't tried it yet. My youngest Son in CA said he loves OAK.

What is the best thing to try just straight OAK on to see what it does for my taste?

Ditto for ALDER. I have never tried it either. Does it go well just using straight ALDER on anything?

I love Oak with beef. Chuckies (chuck roasts) or beef ribs would be great.

Pretty sure Alder is the go to for smoked salmon. I've never used just straight alder on anything though that I can recall.

 

[dennispfaff]

I've had that experience of them not answering sometimes also. Then another time, they will. One time early this year, I wrote 5 times over 4 weeks before I got a response, and her excuse was that it was the first of the year and she was too busy to respond. Since that time though, she has been pretty good "most of the time".  There was one woman (I won't mention her name) that almost  always answered the Emails when they did answer, but the last couple times, a different woman answered. I have to communicate by Email becasue I am hearing impaired enough that I can't hear well enough on the phone, but do great face to face in person.

I finally received a reply from Masterbuilt. The email question I asked was: "assuming I choose NOT to use water in the the water bowl, is it still necessary to keep the empty bowl in place for better heat distribution"?

Here is their reply below.....as you can see, they did not answer the question so I am still not convinced the water pan is always necessary.
Dennis

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for contacting Masterbuilt, and I apologize about the inconveniences that you are experiencing. We recommend leaving the water bowl in place, because if you smoke with a food that has a lot of moisture the water bowl will catch some of the grease.

If you have any other questions please let me know.

Thank you

 

[Bearcarver]

I finally received a reply from Masterbuilt. The email question I asked was: "assuming I choose NOT to use water in the the water bowl, is it still necessary to keep the empty bowl in place for better heat distribution"?

Here is their reply below.....as you can see, they did not answer the question so I am still not convinced the water pan is always necessary.
Dennis

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for contacting Masterbuilt, and I apologize about the inconveniences that you are experiencing. We recommend leaving the water bowl in place, because if you smoke with a food that has a lot of moisture the water bowl will catch some of the grease.

If you have any other questions please let me know.

Thank you

Pretty much what it says in some of their Owners Manuals:

Place water bowl onto lower bracket

inside smoker.

Place drip tray inside smoker below

heating element as shown.

Note: Water bowl must always be in

place during smoking process, even

if there is no water or other liquid in

bowl. Bowl will prevent food from

dripping onto wood chips.

 

[daricksta]

I finally received a reply from Masterbuilt. The email question I asked was: "assuming I choose NOT to use water in the the water bowl, is it still necessary to keep the empty bowl in place for better heat distribution"?

Here is their reply below.....as you can see, they did not answer the question so I am still not convinced the water pan is always necessary.
Dennis

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for contacting Masterbuilt, and I apologize about the inconveniences that you are experiencing. We recommend leaving the water bowl in place, because if you smoke with a food that has a lot of moisture the water bowl will catch some of the grease.

If you have any other questions please let me know.

Thank you

This just validates what some of us have said: we use the foiled over water pan as a grease catcher. Interesting that they said nothing about it being integral to heat disbursement. Perhaps some of us have been wrong on that point. Or the CSR gave an incomplete answer, which is always a possibility.

 

[dennispfaff]

Yes, I guess they assume we are using chips, and not the AMNPS. I have been smoking lots of things in a 9x13 foil pan on top of cooking 8x10 cooking grates. Got this from Bear's prime rib and chicken thigh recipe - in-a-pan. I'm doing another leg of lamb tomorrow that way, in fact. Don't need the water pan for drippings.
Dennis

 

[vfl57]

I'm hoping to have a chance to put my smokers together today. I'm also hoping to season them if I have time. I haven't had a chance to look at the instructions on how to do so yet, but I'm assuming since I have the AMNPS my instructions will be different and I'll have to season the AMNPS as well. I'd appreciate any tips/tricks and instructions on what I should do and how you guys seasoned yours. Should I save the pellets I got with the AMNPS or do I need to use them to season the smoker? Also is there a time period I should wait before I decide to smoke something in it or does it not make a difference (like is it better if I smoke something right away after seasoning it or wait a few days or week or something like that)? Also I've read on here that using heavy duty aluminum foil is essential. Do you foil before each use or is it more of a once it's foiled you keep it there? Also where do I have to foil? Sorry if these are stupid questions, I'm brand new to the smoking world and know you guys have a lot of experience and I want to learn to limit my mistakes. Thanks guys!

 

[candurin]

If you have a grill. You can throw the amnps on there for 30 minutes or so to burn off any oils. Or you can just as easily put it in the MES during the initial two hours at 275. Then I would take it out, let it cool for a few minutes and then light it with pellets (any variety) and let it smoke during the last 45 minutes at 275 (as per instructions included with smoker). My 2.5 BT seasoned perfectly with the AMNPS.

I foiled the water pan, shield that covers the wood chip tray and the bottom grease pan. I also foiled the grease cup underneath the smoker (yeah, I'm anal). I leave the foil on there until it gets nasty. Then remove and replace.

 

[dr k]

I'm hoping to have a chance to put my smokers together today. I'm also hoping to season them if I have time. I haven't had a chance to look at the instructions on how to do so yet, but I'm assuming since I have the AMNPS my instructions will be different and I'll have to season the AMNPS as well. I'd appreciate any tips/tricks and instructions on what I should do and how you guys seasoned yours. Should I save the pellets I got with the AMNPS or do I need to use them to season the smoker? Also is there a time period I should wait before I decide to smoke something in it or does it not make a difference (like is it better if I smoke something right away after seasoning it or wait a few days or week or something like that)? Also I've read on here that using heavy duty aluminum foil is essential. Do you foil before each use or is it more of a once it's foiled you keep it there? Also where do I have to foil? Sorry if these are stupid questions, I'm brand new to the smoking world and know you guys have a lot of experience and I want to learn to limit my mistakes. Thanks guys!

The booklet that came with the AMNPS said you can wash with soap and water to remove the oil, which I did.  I replace the foil in the water pan after a pool of grease is visible (1-3 smokes) and less with the drip pan. 

-Kurt

 

[dennispfaff]

I have a question about smoking anything with the vent CLOSED vs. OPEN in the MES, usind the AMNPS.
1. First of all, would the pellets in the TUBE or 5x8 tray stay lit with the chip loader door out?
2. If so, would it produce too much smoke into the meat flavor?

I have always smoked with the vent open, but curious if anyone has smoked with it closed, and the result if so.
Dennis

 

[Bearcarver]

I have a question about smoking anything with the vent CLOSED vs. OPEN in the MES, usind the AMNPS.
1. First of all, would the pellets in the TUBE or 5x8 tray stay lit with the chip loader door out?
2. If so, would it produce too much smoke into the meat flavor?

I have always smoked with the vent open, but curious if anyone has smoked with it closed, and the result if so.
Dennis

I never mess with my Chip Dumper, because I never had a problem keeping the AMNPS lit, so I can't help you with your first 2 questions.

As for your last question, closing the vent will stop the AMNPS from smoking & put it out.

It will also create a Nasty tasting smoke before it goes out.

I only close my top vent when preheating, and when not in use----And sometimes when just heating without smoke.

Bear

 

[brickguy221]

I have a question about smoking anything with the vent CLOSED vs. OPEN in the MES, usind the AMNPS.
1. First of all, would the pellets in the TUBE or 5x8 tray stay lit with the chip loader door out?
2. If so, would it produce too much smoke into the meat flavor?

I have always smoked with the vent open, but curious if anyone has smoked with it closed, and the result if so.
Dennis

1. The pellets in the TUBE or 5x8 tray will stay lit with the chip loader out. In fact it will increase the smoke a bit as I found out it would the last time I smoked ribs. I wanted some extra smoke the first hr with the weak smoking Jack Daniels pellets, so I tried leaving it out the first hr and it worked, then put it back in at the pulled out position of 2" and dump side turned down. 

2. On the weak smoking JD pellets, no. On something like Mesquite or Hickory on a long term smoke, I don't know, but on short term, I tried it two weeks ago for 30 minutes on two Tri-Tips before putting the chip loader back in to 2" out and dump side down and it wasn't too strong, not for me anyhow.

The smoke from pellets is weaker than the smoke from wood chips. To date I haven't had any problem with over smoking with pellets, but I have had a problem over smoking with wood chips at times in the past.

3. I used to run the vent 1/2 open on my Gen 2.0, but run it wide open on my new BT Gen 2.5. I only close it when not in use. I don't even close it when pre-heating as I have tried it both ways, open and closed, and couldn't tell any difference in the time it took the smoker to heat up.

 

[floridasteve]

I have found that there is a substantial difference in the various temp readings from grate to grate with the vent open vs closed (as far as I can close it with probe wires passing through). A lot more even when vent is nearly closed. I smoke with the tube in dump position and two inches out. My tray is placed over the center hole, elevated about 2 1/2 inches. I start with vent open for first 30 minutes or so, then close it down. Works fine for me, but your mileage may vary, of course.

 

[daricksta]

Yes, I guess they assume we are using chips, and not the AMNPS. I have been smoking lots of things in a 9x13 foil pan on top of cooking 8x10 cooking grates. Got this from Bear's prime rib and chicken thigh recipe - in-a-pan. I'm doing another leg of lamb tomorrow that way, in fact. Don't need the water pan for drippings.
Dennis

But what we've now learned is that Masterbuilt doesn't consider the water pan integral to using the smoker. This means that one should feel free to remove it (as a number of guys have done) but to take into account more heat will rise up in a straight line than before so temperature adjustments and temp probe re-positioning mostly likely will need to be done. But now we know leaving the water pan out will not hurt the smoker or invalidate the warranty.

I think someone posted in the past--could've been Bear, I don't know--that Masterbuilt doesn't recommend using the AMNPS. I guess that would include any of Todd's smokers. So, MS recommendations don't always mean anything.

 

[vfl57]

I finally got a chance to use my smokers today! I'll tell you what, it was a long ass day lol. I got up at 6am was at the butcher at 7 when they opened and am just now finishing cleaning everything. I preseasoned my smokers today too and after I finished preseasoning them I did spare ribs in one and chicken legs/wings in the other. They both took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I had read that the chicken should only take about an hour and it took over 2 hours and I did the 3-2-1 method with the ribs but after the last hour was done the ribs still weren't to temperature. I actually cooked them an extra 2 hours and they barely were up to temperature at that point but I took them off anyway because it was already past 9:00pm and I was exhausted and still had a lot to do. The Mavericks 733 are great but definately have a small learning curve. The AMNPS was amazing. The only problem I ran into was in both smokers once the pellets reached the first bend they stopped smoking and I had to relight them. The chicken came out absolutely amazing. The ribs tasted good but I really needed them to cook longer because they were nowhere near fall off the bone tender. In fact one of them was really chewy still. I can't for the life of me figure out why though because I did everything I should have and I even cooked them an extra 2 hours longer than I was supposed to because they weren't at temperature. As far as cleaning the MES goes does anyone have suggestions for how to quickly clean the window? I got it clean but it took forever. Also, do you guys foil the top of your heat element? I had a lot drip onto it and I couldn't really get it cleaned. The AMNPS also says not to let anything drip onto it. How do you guys do that since you can't foil the racks and the AMNPS sits under the bottom rack? Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!

 

[rhaugle]

The ribs tasted good but I really needed them to cook longer because they were nowhere near fall off the bone tender. In fact one of them was really chewy still. I can't for the life of me figure out why though because I did everything I should have and I even cooked them an extra 2 hours longer than I was supposed to because they weren't at temperature. 

Did you remember to take the membrane off? I'm not sure how much this affects "done-ness" as I'm very new to BBQ still, but I know this can be a problem if you're not use to it. Also, did you wrap the ribs? You can look up a couple methods called the 3-2-1- or 2-2-1.. Basically, the first number (2 or 3) means that many hours on the rack, the 2nd number (2) means wrap them in foil for 2 hours (you can put things like butter, honey, brown sugar... in the foil with the meat to help them stay moist!), and the last number (1) means back on the rack for an hour. Some people will use these rules, some will just do 4 hours straight on the racks. 

Again, I'm a rookies rookie. Just some things I've picked up from reading so far. 

 

[Bearcarver]

  Also, do you guys foil the top of your heat element? I had a lot drip onto it and I couldn't really get it cleaned. The AMNPS also says not to let anything drip onto it. How do you guys do that since you can't foil the racks and the AMNPS sits under the bottom rack? Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!

You can put foil above your AMNPS and above your heating element if you want.

You just can't cover a whole rack or a big percentage of it. There has to be spaces for the heat to get through---You can't trap the heat with foil, pans, or anything else.

Bear

 

[dennispfaff]

I finally got a chance to use my smokers today! I'll tell you what, it was a long ass day lol. I got up at 6am was at the butcher at 7 when they opened and am just now finishing cleaning everything. I preseasoned my smokers today too and after I finished preseasoning them I did spare ribs in one and chicken legs/wings in the other. They both took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I had read that the chicken should only take about an hour and it took over 2 hours and I did the 3-2-1 method with the ribs but after the last hour was done the ribs still weren't to temperature. I actually cooked them an extra 2 hours and they barely were up to temperature at that point but I took them off anyway because it was already past 9:00pm and I was exhausted and still had a lot to do. The Mavericks 733 are great but definately have a small learning curve. The AMNPS was amazing. The only problem I ran into was in both smokers once the pellets reached the first bend they stopped smoking and I had to relight them. The chicken came out absolutely amazing. The ribs tasted good but I really needed them to cook longer because they were nowhere near fall off the bone tender. In fact one of them was really chewy still. I can't for the life of me figure out why though because I did everything I should have and I even cooked them an extra 2 hours longer than I was supposed to because they weren't at temperature. As far as cleaning the MES goes does anyone have suggestions for how to quickly clean the window? I got it clean but it took forever. Also, do you guys foil the top of your heat element? I had a lot drip onto it and I couldn't really get it cleaned. The AMNPS also says not to let anything drip onto it. How do you guys do that since you can't foil the racks and the AMNPS sits under the bottom rack? Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!

I foil the heating element for sure.
As for cleaning the window and door seal...I use two things: Easy Off oven cleaner (No Fume -BLUE cap), and then a spray bottle of Vinegar. Use paper towels with these two chemicals right after your smoke is finished and it will be no problem
I also foil the drip water pan and place the AMNPS under the pan therefore nothing can drip on it.
Dennis

 

[brickguy221]

I finally got a chance to use my smokers today! I'll tell you what, it was a long ass day lol. I got up at 6am was at the butcher at 7 when they opened and am just now finishing cleaning everything. I preseasoned my smokers today too and after I finished preseasoning them I did spare ribs in one and chicken legs/wings in the other. They both took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I had read that the chicken should only take about an hour and it took over 2 hours and I did the 3-2-1 method with the ribs but after the last hour was done the ribs still weren't to temperature. I actually cooked them an extra 2 hours and they barely were up to temperature at that point but I took them off anyway because it was already past 9:00pm and I was exhausted and still had a lot to do. The Mavericks 733 are great but definately have a small learning curve. The AMNPS was amazing. The only problem I ran into was in both smokers once the pellets reached the first bend they stopped smoking and I had to relight them. The chicken came out absolutely amazing. The ribs tasted good but I really needed them to cook longer because they were nowhere near fall off the bone tender. In fact one of them was really chewy still. I can't for the life of me figure out why though because I did everything I should have and I even cooked them an extra 2 hours longer than I was supposed to because they weren't at temperature. As far as cleaning the MES goes does anyone have suggestions for how to quickly clean the window? I got it clean but it took forever. Also, do you guys foil the top of your heat element? I had a lot drip onto it and I couldn't really get it cleaned. The AMNPS also says not to let anything drip onto it. How do you guys do that since you can't foil the racks and the AMNPS sits under the bottom rack? Thanks for all of your help and suggestions!

What temperature were you smoking your ribs at? I smoke mine @ 230* - 235*, (shelf temperature not controller temperature) on baby backs and St Louis Style, When there is approx 1/4" of bone showing, This takes approx 3 - 3 1/4 hrs. I then moisten them with water or apple juice, wrap them in foil and put back in for another 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hrs. I then take them out, let them sit 15 minutes or so and then slice them with an electric knife very carefully in order to keep them from falling of the bone. Other wise they will fall off the bone. My method can be  described as 3 1/4 - 1 1/4 ... or ... 3 - 1 1/2.

If I would try to put mine back in for an hour after unwrapping them, they would fall off the bone trying to put them back in.

 

[vfl57]

Thanks for all the answers guys! To answer your questions I did the 3-2-1 method with my ribs (except I added an extra 2 hours at the end because they still weren't to temperature).
I set my MES to 225 but my maverick was showing it was actually running around 230. I also did take the membrane off. When I took the foil off the ribs they were really juicy I took that juice and brushed it back over the ribs before putting them back on the racks. I just don't understand why it took so much longer than it was supposed to and they still weren't fall off the bone and were kind of chewy.