Masterbuilt smoker vent position?

[dogwalker]

 
I used it in all 3 of my Double Smoked Ham Step by Steps:

Here it is again on the One Ham Smoke:

Double Smoked Ham   

It's in the Instructions near the top, and the pics show it below.

Bear

Great, thanks!

 

[sgtschultz]

 
I have a 30" MES and will differ from the general consensus here when I say that I leave my vent closed for the whole time.  I'm not concerned about the smoke becoming stale because it still exits the vent at a rapid rate, and the 30" MES is so small that I don't see any reason for concern about that.  Also, keeping the vent closed is recommended in the MES manual, and it has always worked best for me.  I have tried it both ways, and the temperature inside the 30" MES stays more consistent when the vent has been closed (and there is 1/2 pan of water in the water tray).  I don't even need to use a smoker temp thermometer anymore because I know that it will always be within 2 degrees of accuracy.

For ribs, you need 5 hrs for baby backs and 6 hours for spares at 225 regardless of whether you foil them or not.  Every time you open the door, though, you lose heat and increase the cooking time.

Here's the thread about some baby backs I just did with my 30" MES.  I left the vent closed the whole time: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/95562/baby-backs-with-brown-sugar

Agree 100% with the vent closed on the MES.  Even closed, it's not really closed.  Steam (water pan) and smoke still escape.  I've had the best results with mine closed for the initial smoke period before foiling ribs or a shoulder.  I've also learned that after foiling I get great bark results with opening up the vent about halfway for the last runup to finish temperature.

 

[daricksta]

I don't believe in keeping the top vent closed. The MES is fairly airtight so I don't see how smoke can be generated for very long with such little airflow. The AMNPS won't stay lit and I know this from personal experience. An argument can be made that with the vent closed it's OK if smoke isn't constantly generated because what is generated will remain inside the smoker. But that can also lead to oversmoked food. I always smoke with the top vent wide open and will continue to do so.

 

[rytsydup]

I agree with what others had said about having your vent open to promote proper combustion of the wood.

When I was experimenting with the vent closed, I was finding there was a lot of moisture buildup. The temperature was easy to control but food came out more steamed than smoked. With the vent all the way open, i would get better results with less of a steaming effect, but I noticed the cabinet temp was harder to control and I had a 10 degree meat temperature variance between the top and bottom of the cabinet. So I purchased the iDevices, 4 probe thermometer    , so i can monitor the temps between the lower and upper shelves and could slowly begin closing the vent until the hunks of meat were within a degree of each other. I used two of the probes for ambient so I could verify the heat was being evenly distributed in the enclosure. After I'm done adjusting the vent, I usually find its about half closed.

One comment about the billowing smoke some people have complained about. Wood burns blue, not grey. You should always see blue smoke coming out of your smoker if its got wood in it. You might see too much blue smoke if your woods burning too fast. If that's the case, I suggest you employ techniques that allow you to control how much direct heat your wood is getting. I've done a few of the mods I've found on this forum and had great success. If you find you have a lot of grey smoke coming out, its not smoke, its steam. Water boils at 212 F so if your intent is to steam cook your food, you'll want to drop your temp to less than 212 F. This wasn't immediately obvious to me when I first stated smoking. I'd get the perfect blue wisp of smoking going and then all of a sudden, billowing white smoke! Drop the temp below 212 and its gone. I also experimented with how close the wood was to the heat source. Salmon smokes at about 165 F. Because this took very little flame to get the cabinet to that temperature, I had to get the wood closer to the flame to get it burning and used smaller chucks, but had to raise it when cooking above 200 F.

Sorry if I stated the obvious. I wanted to put that out there in case someone else was questioning why they were getting so much billowing grey smoke.

 

[bulldog2]

When smoking pork shoulder, depending on how large it is, I have found that smoking it for 6 to 10 hours makes it fall off the bone soft. THis is a process you cannot rush.

And thanks for the advise on the the vent position of a Masterbuilt smoker. I was noticing creosote particles on the fish i smoke. My vent position was half open. Next time it will be full open. Masterbuilt instructions lacks some information.

 

[kjams718]

I am intrigued by this whole thread as I have just purchased a master built electric smoker , to replace the propane one that was blown away in a tornado like storm. I am feeling good about this purchase for the fact I can learn temps a lot better with electric than propane cause it was so dang touchy to get a stable temp with gas. Looking forward to smoking and I appreciate ALL the feedback I can learn from!!

 

[jted]

 
When smoking pork shoulder, depending on how large it is, I have found that smoking it for 6 to 10 hours makes it fall off the bone soft. THis is a process you cannot rush.

And thanks for the advise on the the vent position of a Masterbuilt smoker. I was noticing creosote particles on the fish i smoke. My vent position was half open. Next time it will be full open. Masterbuilt instructions lacks some information.

Bulldog, you are just learning that the Masterbuilt manual was written by someone who seldom used the smoker .  If you have any question just post it and I assure you it will be answered. You will get some opinions and facts. Those will be answered by friendly knowledgeable people who want to help.    Jted

 

[jted]

I am intrigued by this whole thread as I have just purchased a master built electric smoker , to replace the propane one that was blown away in a tornado like storm. I am feeling good about this purchase for the fact I can learn temps a lot better with electric than propane cause it was so dang touchy to get a stable temp with gas. Looking forward to smoking and I appreciate ALL the feedback I can learn from!!

Kjams, I see by the number of posts you are probably just getting started with the electric smoker. After reading this read the post on water pans and there use in electric smokers. It will help you a lot  in the long run..   Jted

 

[fjmcm]

my maual says closed other than fish and jerky wide open manual number model 20070215 both paper copy annd online download at masterbuilt .com it is under the heading lets get started, the reason it says is to retain moisture , if you don't yourfood may be dry this model has water pan

 

[bdskelly]

 
my maual says closed other than fish and jerky wide open manual number model 20070215 both paper copy annd online download at masterbuilt .com it is under the heading lets get started, the reason it says is to retain moisture , if you don't yourfood may be dry this model has water pan

Howdy FJ. 

As you can see, this discussion has gone on now for 21 pages.  Crazy that one subject has done that. But it gives a clear view of the confusion cooking with the MES and the instruction MES put in the box!

Vent open or closed your MES is designed to keep a constant temp. It is electric and thermostatically  controlled.  Just like your oven. Unless you live in a harshly cold or hot environment your units should keep a "relatively" constant temperature. 

Second  If you cook your meats to a specific internal temperature ( rather than the  cook times MES gives you in the manual you are reading) you won't get dry meat!.  Example, I never even put water in the pan.  ...Because I use the IT of the meat that I smoke to know when it it done. Many of us here use the Maverick thermometer. Your MES will make great food. 

 

[Bearcarver]

 
my maual says closed other than fish and jerky wide open manual number model 20070215 both paper copy annd online download at masterbuilt .com it is under the heading lets get started, the reason it says is to retain moisture , if you don't yourfood may be dry this model has water pan

I probably commented on this earlier, but I don't feel like looking it up, so I'll just give you my stock MES top vent answer:

For 7 years now I've been closing my top vent to preheat it. Then I open it up all the way, no matter what I'm smoking, unless it's windy out. If it's windy, I close the Top vent half way to keep the wind from sucking the heat out of the smoker. Then I close the top vent to store it until the next smoke, to keep bugs out.

I also have not put water in my water pan for over 6 years, because there is always enough humidity in my MES. Most of the time there's enough humidity in my MES to cover me window with vapor, and the water runs down the door throughout the whole smoke.  Now why would I want to add more water when water is running down my door glass.

There are many people on this forum who know a lot more about how to use an MES than the guys who wrote the manuals.

Here are a bunch of "How-Tos":

 Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".

Bear

 

[bdskelly]

 
I probably commented on this earlier, but I don't feel like looking it up, so I'll just give you my stock MES top vent answer:

For 7 years now I've been closing my top vent to preheat it. Then I open it up all the way, no matter what I'm smoking, unless it's windy out. If it's windy, I close the Top vent half way to keep the wind from sucking the heat out of the smoker. Then I close the top vent to store it until the next smoke, to keep bugs out.

I also have not put water in my water pan for over 6 years, because there is always enough humidity in my MES. Most of the time there's enough humidity in my MES to cover me window with vapor, and the water runs down the door throughout the whole smoke.  Now why would I want to add more water when water is running down my door glass.

There are many people on this forum who know a lot more about how to use an MES than the guys who wrote the manuals.

Here are a bunch of "How-Tos":

 Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".

Bear

Yup  Thats the way we do it!  I forgot the important part on closing the vent when not in use to keep the critters out!  Point to you Bear. 

B

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Yup  Thats the way we do it!  I forgot the important part on closing the vent when not in use to keep the critters out!  Point to you Bear. 

B

Thanks B !!

You obviously never had Stink bugs as bad as we had a few years ago. 

And Thanks for the Points.

Bear

 

[cory q]

I'm a proud new owner of a 40 inch masterbuilt 1200 watt digital electric smoker with the glass window, built in meat thermometer and side insert chip hopper and am using it for my third time right now. I really like the results so far. I am a total newbie to smoking so I am open to everybody's opinion and of course just like a lot of other things cooking ones food has A lot to do with preference. Obviously I have been wondering myself as a newbie how much smoke should I have going through this thing and how and in what theory do I operate the vent which led me to this forum. I kept my assembly care and use manual and on the third page it does in fact have the page myth master posted. What I have noticed is that even with the vent fully closed (which is not fully closed) the smoke escapes and I can see flow of smoke through the glass at a decent rate . With the vents wide open I just seem to burn right through the chips end it becomes very clear inside the smoker however I've already read in some other forums that just because you don't have a lot of smoke coming out does it mean that the meat is not absorbing the flavor .

image.jpg

• cory q
• Dec 21, 2016

 

[Bearcarver]

I'm a proud new owner of a 40 inch masterbuilt 1200 watt digital electric smoker with the glass window, built in meat thermometer and side insert chip hopper and am using it for my third time right now. I really like the results so far. I am a total newbie to smoking so I am open to everybody's opinion and of course just like a lot of other things cooking ones food has A lot to do with preference. Obviously I have been wondering myself as a newbie how much smoke should I have going through this thing and how and in what theory do I operate the vent which led me to this forum. I kept my assembly care and use manual and on the third page it does in fact have the page myth master posted. What I have noticed is that even with the vent fully closed (which is not fully closed) the smoke escapes and I can see flow of smoke through the glass at a decent rate . With the vents wide open I just seem to burn right through the chips end it becomes very clear inside the smoker however I've already read in some other forums that just because you don't have a lot of smoke coming out does it mean that the meat is not absorbing the flavor . 

The older models' Top Vents used to close completely, but IMHO, closing them more than Half way is too much.

Like I said above, I keep mine open 100% unless it's Windy. When Windy I keep it open Half way. Never less, except Preheating, holding, & storing.

Don't believe everything you read in the owners manual. They weren't written by people who use the MES units as long as many of the guys on this forum.

Everybody has their own opinion of how much smoke. My opinion is as long as you can smell it, that's good, but I like any amount up to the point that when I look through the glass in my door, I can't see the food & racks inside. If I can't see those things, it's too heavy a Smoke.

You might find some Help at this Link:

Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".

Bear

 

[starfighter51]

Pretty funny the (Dave) part, most people don't know that.

 

[meatstick]

My gasser only has the vent on top. I want to add a vent and/or just drill a few holes to keep my A-maze lite and allow good air flow. My question is what makes the most sense or works the best. I was thinking about drilling a few holes on the sides towards the bottom. Would this be good or should I do it half way up on the side or towards the top on the side?

 

[Bearcarver]

 
My gasser only has the vent on top. I want to add a vent and/or just drill a few holes to keep my A-maze lite and allow good air flow. My question is what makes the most sense or works the best. I was thinking about drilling a few holes on the sides towards the bottom. Would this be good or should I do it half way up on the side or towards the top on the side?

Best would be near where you put your Amazing Smoker, but a little lower.

Bear

 

[smoker21]

My gasser only has the vent on top. I want to add a vent and/or just drill a few holes to keep my A-maze lite and allow good air flow. My question is what makes the most sense or works the best. I was thinking about drilling a few holes on the sides towards the bottom. Would this be good or should I do it half way up on the side or towards the top on the side?

Hi meatstick,

I just got Masterbuilt XL44", 2 burner, 2 door.
It has 5 shelves, and the lowest shelf is about 8" above a vent(left or right) I plan to put my Amazing 5x8 right on the shelf for cold smokes. Not sure about hot smokes yet. Was planning to play today, but we are getting freezing rain and rain. [emoji]9785[/emoji]️

JD

 

[smoker21]

I'm a proud new owner of a 40 inch masterbuilt 1200 watt digital electric smoker with the glass window, built in meat thermometer and side insert chip hopper and am using it for my third time right now. I really like the results so far. I am a total newbie to smoking so I am open to everybody's opinion and of course just like a lot of other things cooking ones food has A lot to do with preference. Obviously I have been wondering myself as a newbie how much smoke should I have going through this thing and how and in what theory do I operate the vent which led me to this forum.

Congrats on your new smoker. I hope you have as much fun with yours as I do with mine. [emoji]128522[/emoji]