Newbie-New MasterBuilt SmokeHouse ???'s

[rvrivalkc]

Hi Guys

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m a newbie here. I am an RVer and have been smoking in a Rival smoker.

We spend winters in Gulf Shores AL. The other day we were at SAM Club, and there it was. A MasterBuilt SmokeHouse with window in front. Wife said yes, so loaded it up and headed to RV.
Cleaned inside, assemblied as needed. Heated unit up to 275(max temp on unit) for 3 hours, then smoke for 45 minutes.

So now Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t wait to try a pork butt and some Kick *** beans.
I have read that some of you use Aluminum pans to put pork in, then pan on rack.
I assume you put the pork on a rack in pan (or layer of cut potatoes to act as rack)
This keeps the racks clean.
Am I correct ?

I noticed that when I seasoned the unit and put in the soaked wood chips, it seemed to put out a lot of smoke with great gusto. Not the thin blue line. It was on the highest heat. I had the top air vent just barely open.

Will the smoke have less gusto at a lower temperature?
How far open do most of other masterbuilt owner set the top vent?

Thanks for any help!!!!

Jerry Christie

PS It was neat to watch the smoke thru the window swirl all around the inside.

 

[ronp]

Unless I am pre heating I always keep the vent wide open. I have had mine since May08 and I love it and have smoked on it a hundred times I guess. If you have any questions I would be happy to help you. Just email me or pm me.

Good luck!!

Ron

 

[mossymo]

RvRivalKC
Welcome to SMF !!!

As Ron stated, keep your damper wide open while the smoker is smoking. You do not want to hold back the smoke onto your food as it may create a creosote taste. And yes, it will give off less smoke when you youit at lower temps.

Now you need to smoke something, as I have not had the chance to see this new model in action. A few of us here are very interested in getting one (My wife).

 

[bobsim]

RvRivalKC
Welcome to the forum!

You've got a great unit there, apparently a little hard to find in some areas. I speak highly of MES, awesome cookers and their customer service is the best.
Can't offer first hand advice on the pan, I cook butt on the rack- fat cap up and foil at 160 until done. One tip I can offer is to always cook something else with a butt, say, sausage or ABT's. Anything with a shorter cooking time will do. Seems like every time I cook a butt by itself by the time it's done little pieces of it are missing!

 

[pops6927]

RvRivalKC
Welcome to the forum!

You've got a great unit there, apparently a little hard to find in some areas. I speak highly of MES, awesome cookers and their customer service is the best.
Can't offer first hand advice on the pan, I cook butt on the rack- fat cap up and foil at 160 until done. One tip I can offer is to always cook something else with a butt, say, sausage or ABT's. Anything with a shorter cooking time will do. Seems like every time I cook a butt by itself by the time it's done little pieces of it are missing![/quote]

Uh oh... a clear-cut infestation of the Snakkermausez.. persistent little creatures, eh?

 

[bassman]

Welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new smoker.

 

[lowcountrygamecock]

What section in Sams are the smokers in? Asking for help in that place is like pulling teeth. I haven't seen one in my Sams yet and wondered if they aren't carrying them or if I am just missing them.

Thanks

 

[txbbqman]

Welcome to the SMF family, glad to have you

 

[rvrivalkc]

They are in the SEASONAL section. Usually infront of the frozen food section. They are with gas grills,patio furniture etc.
I just looked on Sam website, they are not listed.

When MaMa gets back, I'll ask her for receipt for the SKU #. You might be able to have it shipped to local Sams.

Jerry

 

[pineywoods]

Jerry welcome to SMF glad you joined us. Have fun and happy smoking

 

[woodentrout]

Jerry,
Congrats on the new smoker. Might also suggest you get a thermometer with a probe to monitor meat temps while smoking. I set the chuckie directly on the rack, about the second one from the top.

As far as cleaning goes, I throughly coat the bottom of the water pan and all the racks I plan on using with Pam spray , it makes for easier cleanup. The second step is to get a plastic container large enough to hold the racks inside. I use this for cleaning afterward. I add some HOT H2O, and powdered dishwasher detergent, then throw the parts in and let them soak for about one hour. Then, using rubber gloves (it will eat your hands if you don't), a light brushing will get all your parts that need cleaning, all shiney again. Dump the waste water in an area where it won't harm anything, it is very alkaline and will kill grass pretty quickly. Others may have different methods, but I have found this to make cleanup really easy with a minimum of scrubbing all those little nooks and crannies on those mesh racks.

 

[bigbaldbbq]

Welcome. Congrats on the new smoker, and have fun with it!!

 

[fishawn]

Well personally, I have had my MES over a year & have only cleaned the racks twice. I know some on here don't clean them at all. So It's all up to you. I love mine & use it about twice a week, until recently when I had a wire short to the heating element. Easy fix & back smoking within about an hour or so. I also removed the stock feet & installed casters for easy
moving. Something to think about.....Welcome & lots of knowledge here, just ask if you have a question.

 

[pignit]

Courtesy of Ron the Man...... Model # is 20070508 and Item # is 445651.

 

[smokeguy]

Congrats on your new MES! I'm sure you'll love it.

I don't soak my chips first and like some of the rest I'll keep the vent shut while preheating, and then open it up. All the way open if it's not windy, and if it is windy, I'll shut it, wait for the smoke to come out of the door seals, and then start opening it up until all of the smoke comes out of the top. That's usually somewhere right around 1/2 way. If you are getting too much smoke, then you're probably using too much wood at once. They suggest a cup I think it is, but less is better. Just do it a bit more often instead to get it thin and blue.

Cleaning- for me I cover the water pan top and bottom and inside with tinfoil and change it every smoke. The drip pan on the bottom also gets a sheet of foil but making sure it doesn't cover the drip hole. The racks I use during the smoke just get tossed into the dishwasher each time. Every couple or three smokes I'll toss in the water pan and drip pan too. I'll just wipe out the inside quickly each time, and make sure the seal area is clean each time. The outside gets a stainless polish on it every so often. I hate to clean stuff so I've found that if I do it almost every time, and use the dishwasher, it doesn't take very long because nothing has really built up on it yet.

I would love to see some pictures of that smoke through the window action!

 

[rvrivalkc]

Tks Ron

Wife just found receipt- it has the 445651 number on it.

 

[rvrivalkc]

THANKS for all the Help.

Am looking forward to using smoker this weekend.

Againg, thanks for all the tips.

Note: This smoker has built in temp probe for the meat.
I left my remote temp sensors back in IN as did not think I would be doing any smoking on this RV trip. We are in Summerdale AL.

 

[blacklab]

Welcome to the board RvRivalKc.

I just recieved the new mes about two months ago. Still triing to get down the dos and don'ts. Which is getting better. If I may suggest use wood chunks not chips better smoke and smoke time IMO. G L.

 

[farnsworth]

That's a good idea. I'd put my racks and water pan in the dishwasher after a rinse on the first use and ended up with bits of brown crud on all the other dishes after the wash

. My wife already put me on the 'wash it by hand' detail

Cheers,

 

[kurtsara]

I always put a plug in the laundry tub and half full of water with some dawn dish soap and I put the racks, water pan and bottom pan in the tub, about a day and a half later they are cleaned sitting on the washer waiting for me to put away