# Is it still a MES



## Wakulla (Jun 3, 2019)

Well i did the PID mod. Nothing electronic from the original remains. Very pleased with the results.

Just about complete with my mailbox mod. I will post pics tomorrow.

Only thing left of the original smoker is the cabinet and element.

Is it still a MES?


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## smokerjim (Jun 3, 2019)

i'd call it a wakulla


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## gmc2003 (Jun 3, 2019)

It's still a MES as long as it isn't a MESS.

Chris


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## JJS (Jun 3, 2019)

Until you put your own sticker on it it sure as hell is


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## Fueling Around (Jun 3, 2019)

I fail to understand your need to call your unit by something other than a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker (MES).

I have upgraded all my equipment but still call it by original name, outside of the Brinkmann which deserves the POS.


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## JJS (Jun 3, 2019)

Fueling Around said:


> I fail to understand your need to call your unit by something other than a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker (MES).
> 
> I have upgraded all my equipment but still call it by original name, outside of the Brinkmann which deserves the POS.




Some of us name everything (probably a redneck thing).


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## chopsaw (Jun 3, 2019)

I had a '66 Mustang GT 2+2 that ran a low 12 second quarter mile . 289 , balanced , blue printed . 750 holly , 3500 stall , 125 HP nitrous oxide , 4:30 rear end . 
It was still a Mustang .


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## SmokinLogs (Jun 3, 2019)

All it whatever you’d like as long as it makes some good Q!


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## Wakulla (Jun 4, 2019)

Fueling Around said:


> I fail to understand your need to call your unit by something other than a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker (MES).
> 
> I have upgraded all my equipment but still call it by original name, outside of the Brinkmann which deserves the POS.




I wasn't askin


chopsaw said:


> I had a '66 Mustang GT 2+2 that ran a low 12 second quarter mile . 289 , balanced , blue printed . 750 holly , 3500 stall , 125 HP nitrous oxide , 4:30 rear end .
> It was still a Mustang .



So it is still an MES  just a hot rod MES

Sure is fun building hot rods.


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## chopsaw (Jun 4, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> So it is still an MES just a hot rod MES


Yup . That was pretty much my point . I have a Gen 1 30 . Mailbox mod and an Auber 1510 . Big difference from stock . 
Post some pics when you get it finished .


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## Wakulla (Jun 4, 2019)

My mailbox mod


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## gmc2003 (Jun 4, 2019)

Looks really clean - nice job

Chris


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## tallbm (Jun 4, 2019)

I and maybe a few others like to use the term "Franken-MES" sometimes hahaha.  Mine has all kinds of mods but is fantastic!


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## chopsaw (Jun 4, 2019)

That should work . Nice job .


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## sigmo (Jun 4, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> My mailbox mod
> 
> View attachment 397283
> 
> ...



No fair using an electrical enclosure and calling it a "mailbox" mod.   ;)

My MES has had its guts ripped out.  So it's not really a true MES.  But I rather like the enclosure, and for me, building such an enclosure would be a lot of work.

The enclosure that has me salivating right now is a Pit Boss Copperhead.  Yep, it's a pellet burner.  But I love the adjustable shelves and the size of the unit.  I think it would take more power than you can get from a normal 20 Amp 120V outlet to properly heat it, so I get why, as you move up to a smoker of this size, it's not available as an all-electric off the shelf.

But I can wire up a 220 outlet just for a smoker, and fit it with a heating element or elements big enough to get the job done and do it that way.  Sure, Pit Boss wouldn't sell many smokers that require a 220 outlet, but that won't stop someone from modifying or building a 220V unit from scratch.

So I'm with you.  The enclosure of the MES is worth having, even if your MES isn't truly just an MES anymore!


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## Fueling Around (Jun 4, 2019)

Is it a "Hot Rod" or a "Rat Rod"?
Both are builds to what you want, but manufacturer didn't deliver.
I say Rat Rod.
Hot Rods appear pretty much stock. (I had a '69 Nova that appeared stock, but turned 10's on the strip.  Still a Nova as far as the insurance company knew.)

Rat Rods stand out.  Be proud of your mods


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## Wakulla (Jun 6, 2019)

Ok
Last night tested the smoker box. Ran all night with no problems. Wanted to check it out and season it before hooking it up to the smoker. Just wondering if this is the right amount of smoke? You can't really see any smoke in the picture but it is smoking. I have the damper about 3/4 closed now. Easy to make more smoke.


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## Wakulla (Jun 6, 2019)

Here is how the setup looks now. I have a pizza stone over the element as a grease shield and heat sink.


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## tallbm (Jun 6, 2019)

I think the setup looks good.
One word of caution though on the foiled pizza stone sitting directly on the heating element.

You may want to consider removing foil from the pizza stone.  Foil can go up in flames more easily than one might imagine.  If the foil is not directly in contact or too close to the heating element, then I think you are ok.

Good work! :)


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## Wakulla (Jun 6, 2019)

tallbm said:


> I think the setup looks good.
> One word of caution though on the foiled pizza stone sitting directly on the heating element.
> 
> You may want to consider removing foil from the pizza stone.  Foil can go up in flames more easily than one might imagine.  If the foil is not directly in contact or too close to the heating element, then I think you are ok.
> ...



Thanks for the foil tip. I will make sure there is none on the bottom of the stone. It is supported about 2" above the element on the rack that used to support the chip loader.

Going to test it out this weekend. Hope this clean smoke will give the meat more of a Smokey flavor and turn out ribs with that bright red color instead of looking like a chunk of coal.


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## smokerjim (Jun 6, 2019)

you'll be fine just watch,because you don't want thick white smoke coming out of exhaust, that's where I made my mistake when I first started smoking, I thought more was better, was I wrong


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## tallbm (Jun 6, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> Thanks for the foil tip. I will make sure there is none on the bottom of the stone. It is supported about 2" above the element on the rack that used to support the chip loader.
> 
> Going to test it out this weekend. Hope this clean smoke will give the meat more of a Smokey flavor and turn out ribs with that bright red color instead of looking like a chunk of coal.



No prob.  If the foiled pizza stone is 2" above the element then it may be ok.  You just have to use some good safe judgement there.  OR you just just redue the amount of foil on the bottom of the pizza stone so it is just on the bottom outer edge and not directly over the element... that should work as well.

Yeah I think the AMNPS should give you GREAT smoke flavor!  Heck I often burn two rows at once on anything that is a 5 hour smoke or less to get extra smoke flavor.  Even burning 2 rows at once you get a little more visible smoke but it is always good smoke so once you get the hang of burning 1 row, give a 2 row burn on something like a 275F naked rib smoke and see how you like it :)

As for color on ribs I'm still at a loss there.  I can tell you for sure that using a vertical rib roasting rack makes my ribs always turn out black vs redish.
I get better chances of reddish when they are laid horizontally on the rack but I haven't been able to figure out how to consistently score that nice red/mahogany color on my meat yet.
I do know that cherry wood gives that great color but is hard to burn on its own even with the AMNPS.  Maybe I'll do like a 60% cherry and 40% mesquite smoke sometime to see if I can rig the game a bit on the rib coloring.  FYI, mesquite burns much hotter so my thought is that it should help keep the cherry going since cherry is so much more difficult to burn then other woods.

Best of luck!


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## Fueling Around (Jun 7, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> ...
> Going to test it out this weekend. Hope this clean smoke will give the meat more of a Smokey flavor and turn out ribs with that bright red color instead of looking like a chunk of coal.


You want red ribs as in my profile image?  They were done in the Brinkmann last September. (Yeah the POS, but I fixed some of the deficiencies.)
I rubbed my St Louis ribs (cut from spare racks) and wrapped for an overnight.  Uncovered then conditioned the ribs in the fridge for a day to get the pellicle (sticky membrane on the meat) which helps smoke flavor penetrate the meat.  I used charcoal and apple wood in the firebox and kept the temps down around 250° for about 4 hours.  Ramped up the charcoal (no apple) and finished off at around 300° until they were cooked.
_edit: I don't the (boil in the bag) 3-2-1 method on my ribs._

The interior of your cabinet looks as my Big Chief after I over smoked a pork butt and deposited creosote on the walls.  That took a lot of scrubbing to clean it up and take out the ashtray flavoring it imparted into the next smoked meat,


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## Wakulla (Jun 7, 2019)

Well i just pulled a slab of ribs off the smoker. This mailbox mod has exceeded my expactations. After a 6 hr smoke with an internal temp of 185 look at the color of these ribs. Before with the chip loader they would look like a chunk of coal. With the pid controller and the mailbox mod with the AMPNS tray i expect these ribs are going to approach the taste of my old sidebox smoker and the MES is totally set it and forget it.


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## tallbm (Jun 7, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> Well i just pulled a slab of ribs off the smoker. This mailbox mod has exceeded my expactations. After a 6 hr smoke with an internal temp of 185 look at the color of these ribs. Before with the chip loader they would look like a chunk of coal. With the pid controller and the mailbox mod with the AMPNS tray i expect these ribs are going to approach the taste of my old sidebox smoker and the MES is totally set it and forget it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That looks beautiful!  I think your image may have just triggered me to go buy some ribs to smoke tomorrow, we'll see hahahha.
Great job there!


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## smokerjim (Jun 7, 2019)

they look go enough to eat--and eat--and eat


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## Wakulla (Jun 7, 2019)

All gone now. Best yet!


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## Fueling Around (Jun 7, 2019)

I think you bested my last batch of rubs.  Outstanding!

What did you use in the tray for smoke?


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## Wakulla (Jun 8, 2019)

Fueling Around said:


> I think you bested my last batch of rubs.  Outstanding!
> 
> What did you use in the tray for smoke?



Pitmasters Blend. Those ribs were good. Used jeff's rub.

Have been brining a Turkey breast since i put the ribs on. About to put it on the smoker. Apple this time.


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## Wakulla (Jun 8, 2019)

Turkey is out of the smoker. Again i am totally impressed with the AMPNS. Always before chickens were black. Look at that color. I am going to cut a slice and check out the texture and smoke. Apple for this one.

I had to taste it. Moist and smokey with a little tang from the rub. I brined this one overnight. You can taste a little of the salt. Thought i rinsed it well. Not bad but its there. I will wait for comments from the rest of the family before i make a judgment.


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## tallbm (Jun 8, 2019)

That looks amazing!
If you want to wow yourself again, get your hands on Lumberjack 100% Mesquite pellets and smoke you a chuck roast, brisket, beef ribs, or heck even a meatloaf!  I bet you will be blown away with the flavor of mesquite on beef :)


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## Wakulla (Jun 9, 2019)

Been trying to work up the courage to smoke a brisket for years. With this setup i might just give it a shot. Mesquite would be at the top of the list.


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## tallbm (Jun 9, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> Been trying to work up the courage to smoke a brisket for years. With this setup i might just give it a shot. Mesquite would be at the top of the list.



Keep getting some practice like you are doing now with these bigger hunks of meat, do some extra brisket research, and I think you will be able to tackle one and have success! :)


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## dr k (Jun 9, 2019)

Wakulla said:


> Been trying to work up the courage to smoke a brisket for years. With this setup i might just give it a shot. Mesquite would be at the top of the list.


With the whole packer brisket I cut the fat cap on the flat down to 1/4" and look at the end of the flat at a profile where it gets super thin and make an arching cut to get a uniform thickness finished end because any square ends and thin meat will just burn up. You can cook it separately or grind it and mix equally with 80/20 ground chuck for awesome burgers/meatloaves. In the point end the deckle intermuscular fat goes into the side of the point, separating muscle groups. I dig out that extra fat as well leaving a pocket and 1/4" fat i can season. The Texas salt and pepper only rub is fantastic as simple as it is. With a PID holding steady I put in a 20lbr. Trimmed to 17lbs and let it go naked at 275/270° the whole time for great bark and it was done in 12 hours, barely a stall. If doing a flat only I'd foil at 160° and start checking for tenderness at 190° but the packer is tender at 203° or so when the instant read therm goes in with no resistence. The PID appears to cook quicker and since their is no over shooting 15° to 290° the bark is nice and dark without burning. Holding at a temp gives me better results than swings when it comes to the bark. Ribs, butts and brisket I do at 275° naked the whole time. Some people wrap in peach paper after the stall at 170° or higher when your bark is the way you want it but not to get through the stall like foil is used. Less fiddling/steps gets me my favoriteresults.   
	

		
			
		

		
	






Pocket made removing extra fat. 

I use 3 tooth picks to mark the grain on the flat to put my knife against to cut across the grain since it disappears when the meat coagulates. And where to separate the flat from the point. The point is cut in half to more easily slice.


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## Wakulla (Jun 9, 2019)

Sounds like a brisket is a lot of work and a whole lot of meat.


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## dr k (Jun 9, 2019)

It's not a lot of work because of the amount of meat. We ate half the point and center of the flat and the rest of the flat went into chili. Froze the half point


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## smokerjim (Jun 9, 2019)

if you don't want to jump right into the brisket try a chuck roast to practice on, but with all the info on here and you want to do a brisket I say dive in


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