New MES Bluetooth Digital smoker

[mummel]

Do you remove the foil completely in the final stage?

 

[vfl57]

Do you remove the foil completely in the final stage?

Yea. I did 3 hours with no foil then 2 hours with foil then I took the foil off and planned on cooking them another hour but at the end of that hour they still weren't to temperature so I continued to cook them until they reached temp and that was an additional 2 hours. So in total they cooked for 8 hours and they still weren't fall off the bone they were still pretty chewey.

 

[Bearcarver]

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.

Where exactly did you have the Maverick smoker temp probe in regards to your Ribs?

Bear

 

[vfl57]

Where exactly did you have the Maverick smoker temp probe in regards to your Ribs?


Bear

I did 2 racks of ribs. I put one rack of ribs on the top rack of the MES and the 2nd rack of ribs directly below it on the 2nd rack of the MES. I used both Maverick probes. I ran them through the top vent down to the racks in the smoker. The first probe I had connected to the center of the smoker rack on the top shelf and the second probe I had connected to the center of the rack of ribs on the 2nd shelf.

 

[rhaugle]

20150823_193558.jpg

• rhaugle
• Aug 24, 2015

Finally convinced my wife to let me get one! I've read through almost every post on this thread and here's what I remember...

1)The back right corner is a hot spot... avoid.

2) I have to add chips about every 20 minutes for the first hour and a half for smoke.

3) foil over everything below the last rack.

4) Best place to smoke is the 2nd rack, then 1st rack, then 3rd rack. Dont use bottom unless HAVE TO. at which point, switch the top and bottom half way through smoke.

5) Leave top vent fully open during smoke

6) Use Bears system for startup/warming (I have it written down at home, dont recall off hand, something like for 225 set to 210, let it go past and settle at 210, then warm to 225.

7) Use 20 hours as my cook time, and count backwards from there (thanks again, Bear)

8) no water, but keep the pan in, and foiled. 

What else am I missing here?

Also, when not is use, the smoker will be sitting about 10' back under a covered patio, do I need to get a cover for the smoker ? I live in Houston, so its humid all but about 3 months of the year. I do not have an AMPS yet, so will read up on the placement again when I get one. 

Thanks for all the information everyone! Hope I remembered most of it.

 

[Bearcarver]

I did 2 racks of ribs. I put one rack of ribs on the top rack of the MES and the 2nd rack of ribs directly below it on the 2nd rack of the MES. I used both Maverick probes. I ran them through the top vent down to the racks in the smoker. The first probe I had connected to the center of the smoker rack on the top shelf and the second probe I had connected to the center of the rack of ribs on the 2nd shelf.

Not sure what you mean by "connected", but the probes shouldn't touch any metal, like the rack itself.

This is how I balance the heat from left to right in my MES 40.

A Maverick probe on each side, and my adjustable heat deflector below.

​Notice how the probes stick through the rack & hang without touching anything. I tape the probe wire to the top of the smoker to keep the probes where I want them.

Then the meat goes on that rack when I'm only using one rack.

If you use the top rack too, it will be slightly lower heat, and the third rack would be a bit higher.
http://s836.photobucket.com/user/Bearcarver_2009/media/DSCN1562.jpg.html

 

[Bearcarver]

Rhaugle,

Mine sits back only about 5' or 6' from the overhang of my roof, so I use a cover because rain and snow can blow in on it.

You probably get more wind than we do, because when I was stationed at Ft Hood, my Texas Buddies told me the only thing between Texas & North Dakota was 3 strands of Barb Wire and a Picket Fence!!

Bear

 

[dr k]

I did 2 racks of ribs. I put one rack of ribs on the top rack of the MES and the 2nd rack of ribs directly below it on the 2nd rack of the MES. I used both Maverick probes. I ran them through the top vent down to the racks in the smoker. The first probe I had connected to the center of the smoker rack on the top shelf and the second probe I had connected to the center of the rack of ribs on the 2nd shelf.

I found cooking the whole spare slab without removing the flap, rib tips and the smaller ribs (to square up the main ribs into St. Louis cut) takes a little longer to smoke. The last spare rib smoke I did, I did not separate the rib tips etc. It almost covered the.entire rack (second level from.the top.) I will use the top and second racks next time for more even heat circulation. And this was just one (huge) rack of spares.

 

[floridasteve]

Not sure what you mean by "connected", but the probes shouldn't touch any metal, like the rack itself.

This is how I balance the heat from left to right in my MES 40.
A Maverick probe on each side, and my adjustable heat deflector below.
​Notice how the probes stick through the rack & hang without touching anything. I tape the probe wire to the top of the smoker to keep the probes where I want them.
Then the meat goes on that rack when I'm only using one rack.
If you use the top rack too, it will be slightly lower heat, and the third rack would be a bit higher.

Bear, I understand the deflector on the right side, but what is the cut off pan on the left do?

 

[mummel]

And get an AMPS!

 

[daricksta]

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 just smoked 3 racks of St. Louis ribs yesterday. I put them on the top 3 racks with temp probes from my ET-733 on the 1st & 2nd racks. The probe on rack 2 was on the right side in the back and the one on rack 1 was in the rear on the left side. I found that overall rack 2 was anywhere from the same temp as rack 1 to about 10 degrees hotter. It varied over the smoke. I cooked them between 225°-245°. The set point was 235° but the controller bounced around a little but only during the heatup cycle. Otherwise my MES is pretty stable when it comes to maintaining the set point. I love the ET-733 because it accurately should be the temp changes between the 2 racks. I used a combo of hickory and apple wood pellets. The ribs on rack 3 were a lot smokier than the ribs on rack 1, with rack 2 having nice smoke. I brushed on Stubbs Sweet Heat BBQ sauce at the beginning of the last half hour and then again after I placed them on the serving platter but after I took this photo.

Anyway, I smoked the 3 ribs this way: racks 1 & 3 were cooked using 3-2-1. I didn't add any foil juice at all. The ribs on rack 2 were cooked unfoiled. When you look at the photo the ribs are laid out as they were in the smoker, rack 1 on top, rack 2, then rack 3. In my opinion rack 2 came out looking the best but they were all cooked perfectly except the bark was softest on rack 1.

P1020254.JPG

• daricksta
• Aug 24, 2015

The ribs were all fall off the bone done. In fact, a few bones from a couple of the racks fell off during cooking. I might have taken off some connective tissue in excess of the membrane. I was going after a bit of tug when you bite into the ribs but I still "overcook" them a bit, I guess. No matter, they were all tender and very juicy.

 

[daricksta]

 
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.

When I talk about 3-2-1 or 2-2-1, I'm actually doing the same thing as you. It may be longer at certain points because I was too busy to go out to the smoker and perhaps shorter on that last hour if I feel the cooking time has gone on longer than I wanted it to. Smoking isn't an exact science and that's partly what's fun about it.

 

[rhaugle]

 
Rhaugle,

Mine sits back only about 5' or 6' from the overhang of my roof, so I use a cover because rain and snow can blow in on it.

You probably get more wind than we do, because when I was stationed at Ft Hood, my Texas Buddies told me the only thing between Texas & North Dakota was 3 strands of Barb Wire and a Picket Fence!!

Bear

And Humidity! I've lived in both areas also. I'll take ND summers and TX winters! When I was in college, I could ice skate to class....  

So you think I'm ok without a cover? I'll probably end up getting one eventually, when I find one thats not $60. Did you notice any thing else I missed in my initial list? I know I'll have to mess around with the smoker to get the hang of it, but dont want to miss any BIG steps or issues.

Thanks

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear, I understand the deflector on the right side, but what is the cut off pan on the left do?

That's just a foil pan cut in half & put in upside down over my AMNPS. 

I find it the best size & shape for a slanted roof to keep drips off my AMNPS.

Bear

 
And Humidity! I've lived in both areas also. I'll take ND summers and TX winters! When I was in college, I could ice skate to class....  

So you think I'm ok without a cover? I'll probably end up getting one eventually, when I find one thats not $60. Did you notice any thing else I missed in my initial list? I know I'll have to mess around with the smoker to get the hang of it, but dont want to miss any BIG steps or issues.

Thanks

You covered a bunch of good things!! Quite a list.

You were going on memory on that start-up method, but you were still close.  The point there is to set it about 20° lower than you want to have it set. Then when it over-runs your setting & peaks, move your setting to just a couple degrees under where it peaked at. Then you can gradually work it to where you want it after that, a couple degrees at a time. This should eliminate the big up & down over-run cycling.

Keep up the good work!!

Bear

 

[vfl57]

Not sure what you mean by "connected", but the probes shouldn't touch any metal, like the rack itself.

This is how I balance the heat from left to right in my MES 40.
A Maverick probe on each side, and my adjustable heat deflector below.
​Notice how the probes stick through the rack & hang without touching anything. I tape the probe wire to the top of the smoker to keep the probes where I want them.
Then the meat goes on that rack when I'm only using one rack.
If you use the top rack too, it will be slightly lower heat, and the third rack would be a bit higher.

Thanks for showing that pic. I guess I had the probes wrong. I had one pretty much resting on the top rack and the other one sticking in the center of the ribs on the 2nd shelf. Atleast I'll know for next time! Thanks for your help!

 

[vfl57]

Do you guys have any thoughts/advice and how to's on smoking pulled pork, ribs and chicken in advance? I am having a fantasy football draft party at my house on Sunday and I wanted to do a couple boston butts, maybe some ribs and I loved the way the chicken turned out so I want to do that as well. I know the butts will take a really long time to cook and I don't want to pull an all nighter, so I was thinking about getting up early on Saturday morning and smoking them so they would be done and I would only have to heat them up on Sunday. To reheat it the next day would I put it back in the smoker or put it in the oven? How long does it normally take to get them back to being hot? Also do I sauce them when they are done on Sat or just wait until Sunday? Same questions about ribs and chicken. Or do you guys think I should just season and brine the chicken on Saturday and then smoke them on Sunday since they only take a few hours of cooking time? I'm not sure how the chicken would be reheated. Thanks again for everyones help it really is appreciated.

 

[floridasteve]

Scroll up a couple of posts until you find one by bearcarver. In his signature below the post, just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".

 

[brickguy221]

You were going on memory on that start-up method, but you were still close.  The point there is to set it about 20° lower than you want to have it set. Then when it over-runs your setting & peaks, move your setting to just a couple degrees under where it peaked at. Then you can gradually work it to where you want it after that, a couple degrees at a time. This should eliminate the big up & down over-run cycling.

Keep up the good work!!

Bear

On the new Bluetooths when setting the temperature to start, the temperature moves in 5* increments and not 1* like on my old Gen 2.0. So far, I have been overly successful by starting my starting temp at 5* below what I want the final temp to be. In other words, If I want the final temp on the controller to be 235*, I set it at 230*. It will then over-run this temp the first time to approx 238*-239* at which time I bump up the set point to 235*.

It will then drop to 227*-228* and climb back to 235* and over run to 240*-241*, drop to 229*, back up to 235* and over run to 240*-241* and cycle perfectly between these temperatures from that point on.

 

[candurin]

So, why can't the temp just be set at desired set point? Won't the unit eventually equillibrate? How much time is being saved? I had set mine to desired temp for the 5 smokes I've done and it has been spot on (1-2 degrees off from my maverick) shortly after preheat.

 

[mummel]

My MES temps are less than desireable.  I range between 210F and 250F when set at 220F.  That's quite a range.....  The +-5F changes also make it complicated (1F increments would be much more useful).  The startup temp & overrun issue is also really annoying but there are workarounds.

Love my MES but just saying.  Masterbuilt needs to fix this crap in Gen3.