oldhead

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oldhead

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 10, 2015
8
10
hi,

first time posting .

recently purchased a masterbuilt  electric smoker. watched them on qvc, everything they showed came out real juicy

(now I know anything is possible on tv) everything I cook comes out dry and taste like creosote .

I use 3 temp gauges to double check temp.Nice light blue smoke coming out of the vents that are wide open.

use wet wood chips. purchased from store made for smoking.

anybody got a suggestion? as to what I am doing wrong. even put water in tray,

                            thank you

                                  ed
 
thanks tropic

did this a couple of times (not wetting chips) no difference at all. stll tasted like creosote.

working on a different set up on smoker. used this new set up yesterday, and it worked great

                                  oldhead  
 
hank 2000,

I will sure let you know as soon as I try it a couple of times

            oldhead
 
Hank2000

well I have tried the same thing a couple of times and it works great for me.

very easy, all I do is open top vent all the way, once temp comes up I dump chips

adjust temp. then after dumping chips I leave the chip holder out about 1/2 out.

this lets in fresh air to keep smoke moving. thermostat only varies +or- 2 degrees

                                      oldhead 
 
hank2000

let me know if it works for you as good as it works for me

                        oldhead
 
First test your smoker and find out if its sensor is accurate.

1 Put the tip if your thermometer in boiling water. It should read 212° If not adjust or replace your thermometer until it does.

2 Put a small can full of sand in the smoker put the probe of the thermometer in the sand.

3 Set the smoker to 212° after about 3 hours the reading on the thermometer should stop changing when it does make a note of this reading. It is unlikely the thermometer will read 212°

If it reads 222°you will know to set the smoker 10° lower than the desired temperature.

Now let’s cook something easy get a few bratwursts.

Put water in the smokers pan,

Soak 1 handful of apple wood chips in 4 cups of water.

Put the bratwursts on the upper shelf.

Put the thermometers probe in the center of one of the bratwursts.

Turn on the now cold smoker set it to 225° + or – your differential number.

Put 1/2 of the chips in the tray.

It you should see smoke in 10 to 15 minutes.

About 30 minutes later the smoke will stop. When it does load rest of the chips.

Remove the bratwursts when the thermometer reads 170°.

Let the bratwursts rest for 10 minutes and eat

  Walta
 
 
thanks tropic

did this a couple of times (not wetting chips) no difference at all. stll tasted like creosote.

working on a different set up on smoker. used this new set up yesterday, and it worked great

                                  oldhead  
Oldhead, you're oversmoking your food by perhaps loading in too many wood chips at a time. I made the same mistake in the beginning. I loaded the wood chips dry. Tried soaking them once and it was both unnecessary and it made a mess.

I've read studies on small electric smokers and creosote buildup is not really a problem with them as it would be with stick burners. I've owned my MES 30 Gen 1 for over 3 years and creosote is not an issue. The food I smoked when using wood chips was also harsh and bitter. I agree with Tropics: you should buy an A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker and start using wood pellets (it also burns dust for better cold smokes). I never oversmoke anything anymore unless I leave it over the pellet tray for too long. I'm also not futzing around with reloading wood chips every 20-30 minutes since a full AMNPS tray can provide up to 11 hours of smoke.
 
thanks for the info. about pellets but did you ever think about how they make pellets ? what do they use to

glue them together? I like the good old wood chips

             oldhead
 
 
thanks for the info. about pellets but did you ever think about how they make pellets ? what do they use to

glue them together? I like the good old wood chips

             oldhead
They aren't glued together, they are pressed through a VERY strong pelletizer the same way animal feed is made into pellets.
 
 
thanks for the info. about pellets but did you ever think about how they make pellets ? what do they use to

glue them together? I like the good old wood chips

             oldhead
Even when they dry the saw dust to10% there is still lignin in dry form (natural liquids and sap)  that melts under heat and tons of pressure to bind when the pellets are extruded.  That's why the pellets are shiny on the outside.  It's like a meat grinder with a cutting blade on the outsideof the extruder plate to cut pellets to length as they exit.  You can look up making wood pellets on you tube under "how it's made."  

-Kurt   
 
 
thanks for the info. about pellets but did you ever think about how they make pellets ? what do they use to

glue them together? I like the good old wood chips

             oldhead
Using wood chips is ok on a short cook but if it goes over 3 or 4 hours You can't beat a Pellet. Todd Johnson sells a 100% pellet that is great. No glues or binders. Lots of flavors and a Great guy to deal with. Look for his ad on the bottom of the Page (A- maze-n products)  Jted
 
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