I've had a MES 40 for 6 years, mine is the lower wattage version 800 watts. For most of that 6 years I have used soaked chips. If there is a delay beyond a minute or two for the initial load of soaked chips I haven't seen it. If you are worried about a delay on the initial handful then make that a dry load, and the hot ash from that load will ignite the soaked chips very quickly. Steam from soaked chips, I don't think so, there is hardly any moisture, I have used both dry and wet chips and don't see a difference is the quality of smoke. I prefer wet chips because I use hardly any chips when I start 8-10 chips thats it, my first 3 loads are 8-12 max, so I wet the chips to get a little slower burn. After the 3rd hand load of chips I increase to about 15+ chips because there is a nice hot bed of ash for good combustion. I also use wood chunks.
I have had the AMNS for almost 2 years, and just bought the
AMNPS, both are an improvement on the length of smoke time provided you can get them to work properly, there is a learning curve, so if you are not successful and need to keep that meat smokin so your BBQ party isn't disappointed, then learning to use chips & the chip loader properly is a good idea. Having said that, by all means the
AMNPS is a very worthwhile & possibly a must have accessory for your MES.
The OP asked about when the meat receives smoke the best. When smoking meat, at the beginning the moist meat absorbs smoke. Less smoke is absorbed as the cooking continues because the surface of the meat begins to seal and becomes saturated with smoke. For this reason putting a pan of water in a smoker helps keep the meat surface moist and absorbing smoke longer
Most of the smoke flavoring occurs in the first hour or two of cooking so adding wood to the fire late in the cook doesn't create as much flavor.
Over smoking is a problem too, smoke is a seasoning just like salt, the right amount takes you right to flavor town, too much and you're guests won't be asking for seconds. You have to experiment for your tastes. This is one reason the MES is so successful, the heat is controlled, a water pan is included to keep the surface of meat moist and just a little bit of wood chips seasons the meat properly.
