# MES 30" #20078715 : Will wood chips smoke at 200 degrees ?



## red sled (Jan 1, 2018)

I've read that anything less than 240 degrees and the wood chips won't get hot enough to smoke. Is that true on this (later ?) model too ?   We would like to try baby back ribs, but also pork steak, hamburgers, chicken. 

Also, should we always have water in the water pan ? It would seem to keep the meat from getting too dry.  Thanks in advance.


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## wild west (Jan 1, 2018)

Welcome to the forums red sled. With the mes the burner cycles on and off to reach and maintain the set temp. If the burner is on and on for long enough  it will produce smoke even at 200*. As the cook progresses the chamber becomes saturated with heat and cycles on and off less as well as durations makeing for less smoke. For that reason most mes owners use an alternative smoke generater like an amazn product for reliable smoke source. Also the items you listed would  generally all be smoked at a higher temp than 200*.


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## red sled (Jan 1, 2018)

Thank you wild west for your input.  I've wrongly assumed that cooking/smoking slower was better. I'll look around again, I thought I saw a chart somewhere with suggested cooking temps for different meats.


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## wild west (Jan 1, 2018)

There are unlimited temps methods and opinions on how to smoke meats for good q. Low and slow    hot and fast   and anywhere inbetween. None are wrong. Experiment and you will find what works for you and your smoker. Different temps for different types of meat or to suit your time schedule all come into play. What i meant by 200* being to low is that even cooking low and slow the starting point is usually 225*. 200* just takes too long


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## Bearcarver (Jan 1, 2018)

Very Few people use the built in Chip burner in the MES.
Most of us use an AMNPS (Amazing Smoker) for Perfect smoke.

Putting liquid in the MES water pan does nothing good---Only Bad.
Just cover it with foil & put it in place to block direct heat from the heating element.

Here's a lot of help for New MES owners:
Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps"*.

Bear


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## SMD (Jan 2, 2018)

Hi Bear - I’ve always put water into my MES’s water pan (never really questioned it).  Can you elaborate on why this is a bad idea?

Thanks for the info!
P.S. I’ll give your step by step help guide a read, sorry, should have looked at that first.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 2, 2018)

SMD said:


> Hi Bear - I’ve always put water into my MES’s water pan (never really questioned it).  Can you elaborate on why this is a bad idea?
> 
> Thanks for the info!
> P.S. I’ll give your step by step help guide a read, sorry, should have looked at that first.




Howdy Neighbor!!
I'm betting your MES doesn't have a window in the door.
If it did you would often see how the humidity in the MES condenses on the inside of the glass really heavily, and then runs down the door. You can't even see through it without wiping it & it comes right back. The main reason it does this is because the MES is insulated very good. You don't need or want to add any more humidity to an already steamy environment.
Also if you use an AMNPS smoke generator, it will make it harder to keep it going.

There are other reasons to not add water to the Pan, I just can't think of them at the moment.
I know I haven't put any liquid in any of my MES Water Pans in 8 years.

Bear


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## SMD (Jan 2, 2018)

yikes!  I thought all that moisture was a good thing... I have a MES 40 gen 1.  been using it for 3 years or so.  Thanks for the knowledge transfer Bear!


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## red sled (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks Bear, some great ideas on your page. And the food photos are making me hungry.


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## normanaj (Jan 4, 2018)

> I'm betting your MES doesn't have a window in the door.
> If it did you would often see how the humidity in the MES condenses on the inside of the glass really heavily, and then runs down the door.



I discovered that the hard way this weekend while doing a brisket on my MES.My thought process was add water since the brisket will be in there for about 10hrs and may possibly come out dry as this has happened in the past with my WSM when I did not add water to the pan,the MES and WSM are two completely different animals.The brisket was fine but the mess that was created was nasty.

I still have a lot to learn about the MES!


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## red sled (Jan 4, 2018)

Thank you wild west, I understand there will be a learning curve.  Also, as cooks, we get to eat our mistakes.  :)


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