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Thinking about getting a smoker, just no idea what kind to get. I’m leaning towards electric because I’m in a townhouse and a charcoal or wood fueled one doesn’t sound like it will work for me. It’s only my wife and I, so I’ll likely do it for some chicken thighs or some ribs or pulled pork every now and then or when I have people over. It’s not likely I would ever do a brisket. I’m in Virginia and would like to be able to do it year round, so I think insulation would be important.
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# ¿ Sep 23, 2019 02:11 |
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# ¿ Apr 17, 2024 20:26 |
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unknown posted:Just get the MES (master built electric smoker) with the aftermarket amps (maze pellet tray) like the 25 other people in this thread. Best fire and forget smoker that's easy to use and operate. Which Masterbuilt? I looked at the last five pages and didn’t see anything?
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# ¿ Sep 23, 2019 02:31 |
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Wait you have 6-month-old twins? How do you have time to smoke? I’ve been pushing it off because I have a ten-month-old!
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# ¿ Oct 2, 2019 16:19 |
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I’m leaning towards the 40” versus the 30” MES because that’s what everyone on some smoker forums is saying (never regretted going bigger). Even though it’s just for my wife and I, it seems like that seems like the smarter choice in case I want to do a full rack of ribs or smoke for a lot of people. I don’t *think* the electricity costs would be that much higher?
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# ¿ Oct 12, 2019 11:33 |
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Did he ask you to smoke something (hey I bought this smoker and I know you like to smoke stuff-can you do something?) or did you offer to smoke something if he bought a smoker (hey I like to smoke meat-if you buy a smoker I’ll do something for thanksgiving)? If it’s the latter, I would just back off and say it’s probably not a good idea-too many headaches and you’ll spend half the time trying to get it right. If it’s the former, tell him you need x, y, and z to make it work.
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# ¿ Nov 14, 2019 15:27 |
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Masterbuilt MB20076718 Bluetooth Electric Smoker 240G Digital, Black with SS Door https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078483MRB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_voO0DbZYQZVMF MES 40” gen 2.5 for $320 on amazon now. This seems to be about the lowest price it’s been and it looks like it’s the most recommend MES smoker to go with based on reading some other forums. I’m thinking of picking this up with the AMAZEN add-on. Thoughts?
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# ¿ Nov 18, 2019 13:13 |
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Whooping Crabs posted:Probably, especially if you are indoors and the smoker is outdoors. nwin may as well get the non-bluetooth version for less money, even with the clearance price of the bluetooth. It seems that the version I linked has the best heat retention and better venting than other models, at least according to some other forums. Everyone agrees the BT and the temperature gauge is poo poo regardless of which mode you choose though. Edit: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/masterbuilt-smokers-bear%92s-thoughts-findings.235820/ That dude seems like a pedantic old timer but he seems to know his stuff nwin fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Nov 18, 2019 |
# ¿ Nov 18, 2019 16:07 |
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Blinkz0rz posted:you won't notice any of that stuff if this is your first smoker BeastOfExmoor posted:100% this. I read that same dude's reviews years ago before I bought my 40". He's not necessarily wrong, but the difference in the finished product will be unnoticeable. Just buy the cheapest 40" you can find around Black Friday. This is good to know. I really don’t care about Bluetooth or a glass window-I just figured what he said about the vents made sense. The main thing I’m going to do is buy a AMAZN pellet thing and see how I like using it. Now-everyone on that forum says to get the 40” because I can fit a full rack of ribs or brisket without trimming it. However, it’s my wife and I and our one year old son, and it’s not like we entertain a whole lot. The life on these things don’t seem that great either (3-4 years), so should I go with the 30 or 40”? I don’t mind the difference in price, but I don’t want to buy something I don’t need.
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# ¿ Nov 19, 2019 02:36 |
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Beating a dead horse on the electric smoker but here goes... How good of a job do electric smokers actually do? From what I’m reading, it’s basically an outdoor oven I can throw wood chips in. I plan I’m buying an MES and doing some kind of AMNPS purchase to get smoke going, but does the smoke actually permeate the meat with an electric smoker? I know I won’t get a smoke ring, and I don’t care about that as long as the flavor is there. I’m just wondering if I’m wasting my money on an electric and should cash flow something else (kamado or pellet smoker, etc). My main thing is convenience and being able to smoke during the winter-I live in NoVA so it’s not subarctic temps but it’s 30 degrees outside right now for reference. I also don’t want to be babysitting it every 30 minutes and adding more wood chunks, etc. I plan on buying a Bluetooth thermometer probe for alerts, but I’m not in a place with my life where I can hang out all day in the backyard with a beer and smoke brisket...one day.
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# ¿ Nov 25, 2019 13:15 |
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I think my only reservation about the MES is how I’ll have to finish chicken. One of the main reasons for this was to smoke chicken thighs and wings. Yeah, there’s a grill outside right next to where the smoker will be, but if I’m doing this in the winter then I’ll have to uncover the grill, preheat it for 10-15 minutes, finish the chicken-yeah it’s not a lot of extra steps but it’s not as convenient as being all-in-one. However, if I went with something like an Akorn, it seems like I lose cooking space, and I have to deal with a bit more work whenever I want to use it. Like if I want to just smoke some wings, getting the fire going, getting the right temperature, etc seems like a lot more work then just plugging the MES in. Maybe an alternative to grilling to finish in the winter would just be to stick wings/thighs under the broiler or in the oven for a bit? The only other alternative I would see is a pellet smoker, but then I’d be looking at $500+ I think.
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# ¿ Nov 25, 2019 21:12 |
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Alright you all have convinced me an MES is the way to go. Now to just find a deal on a 40”. Tractor supply club has the 340g for $229 but it says none are in stock.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 02:01 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Not sure if the 340g is better, but Amazon has this: Yeah I saw that one too. According to the old guys on another forum, the 340g has more even heat distribution. I’ll wait to see if it comes in stock tomorrow and then likely pull the trigger on either one of them.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 02:41 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Not sure if the 340g is better, but Amazon has this: So it looks like it’s going to be this one (140g for $229)-tractor supply club doesn’t even list the 340g anymore. They have a 440 listed for $349, but at that price I can get this pellet smoker: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...60:10451:320230 Haven’t read too much about pellet grills but this one seems pretty great from what I’ve read. Just not sure I need to pull the trigger on that if an electric for $229 should work good too. I think the only benefit would be the higher temps to finish stuff with.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 12:09 |
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Blinkz0rz posted:You realize that in the amount of time you've been hemming and hawing about a smoker you could have purchased one and used it multiple times to determine whether it suited your needs and probably sold it if it didn't, right? Thanks dick
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 16:46 |
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Blinkz0rz posted:You're welcome! I super get the indecision around buying a smoker because it's a big, single purpose appliance. But listen, plenty of people have recommended the MES 30 and 40 and it seems like that's how you're learning so pick one, buy it, and try it out! The difference between heating elements, Bluetooth, and whether there's a window in the door are so unimportant that you're just coming off as "goon in the well" rather than wanting to be well informed. Yep I hear ya. I couldn’t care less about Bluetooth or a viewing window, but when I couldn’t get the original MES I wanted for the price, I figured I’d ask about the pellet smoker since everyone seems to think those are the second coming of christ. Especially since it wasn’t *that* much more. However, I ended up going with the $229 MES 40” from amazon and bought an AMNPS to go with it. I figure for $200 it’s not a huge investment and I can always upgrade if needed. If I spent $350+ on a pellet smoker, then I’d have that and my Weber grill right next to each other and I’d be out even more money if I didn’t use it.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 18:13 |
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So now that I've decided on an MES and a AMNPS, what else do you all recommend I get? I bought this Inkbird 6-probe thermometer because they were doing a 50% off sale, so it cost $30: https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Wire...129&sr=8-5&th=1 I tested it out and all the probes seem to be within 1-2 degrees of one another and the bluetooth doesn't lose connection within my house, so that seems good. Admittedly, I find it hard to believe I would ever use more than 3-4 probes at most, but since this was so much cheaper than a FireBoard or something by Thermoworks, I figured it was worth a shot unless someone says otherwise with another recommendation. For pellets, Dick's is having a 25% off + free shipping sale, so I'm thinking I should get some kind of pellets from there. Either a competition blend or a bag of hickory and cherry to cover a range of meats. What else? Is a meat injector worth it or would another thermometer be good than what I listed? I like the fireboard because it would be nice to track the temperature over time and have records of it, but the inkbird app appears to supply a graph as well- I just don't think it will upload any cooks or allow me to save the graph to view later.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 19:14 |
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Colostomy Bag posted:I'm trying to be kind, but you are overthinking everything. We all have different strokes on how we do it. And that is part of the hobby. Get a thermapen and a decent remote thermometer such as Thermoworks for example. Mostly about temps. A probe will sometime poo poo the bed. We've all been there. Alright cool-I already have a thermopen and a Dot. Maybe that’s all I need for now. Like any hobby this poo poo is way too easy to sperg over.
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# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 21:19 |
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Trastion posted:I bought a "beer can stand" thing from Amazon for my Turkey cooking in the MES. It works better and cuts down time as it holds the bird up and allows air to flow through the cavity. What are the most forgiving ribs? I was thinking of buying some baby back ribs. Edit: St. Louis I guess? I was hoping baby back since they are on sale right now. Pulled pork seems like a really long cook but the most forgiving so maybe after I season the smoker I’ll do that on a Saturday or something. nwin fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Nov 30, 2019 |
# ¿ Nov 30, 2019 00:59 |
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McSpankWich posted:St Louis are more forgiving, yeah. They both are the same basic process, but baby backs have a shorter cook time and a shorter window for "perfect" Yeah I think I was just hoping for something that had a relatively short cook time to start out with in case it didn’t live up to expectations the first time around. But if I have a 50% chance of getting ribs right over 5 hours, I guess pulled pork is worth the 10+ hours for a 90% chance of getting it right?
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# ¿ Nov 30, 2019 03:35 |
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Did my first smoke today on my MES with chicken wings. They were good but I think I used way too much rub, so much that we were scraping it off at the end because it was so overpowering. Here’s the recipe : https://www.dontsweattherecipe.com/amazing-smoked-chicken-wings/ I followed it except I used half the amount of smoked paprika. I also used cherry wood chips instead of pecan. 225 for 2 hours, with smoke going the whole time, and then 5 minutes at 475 in the oven to finish. I should have done a few without rub just to see how the smoke worked on them. Advice/pointers for next time? I think I would go way easier on the rub, but not sure what else I would change. Tomorrow I’m going to do chicken thighs-any advice? Not sure if I should do boneless or bone-in.
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# ¿ Dec 8, 2019 00:26 |
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McSpankWich posted:Wow yeah that's a crapton of rub, how did you even get that much to stay in them while you were moving them? Was it like battered or something? Holy poo poo I didn’t even see the uncooked pictures on the website until now-mine were wayyyyyy the gently caress more coated than those. I used olive oil just like they did-not sure why mine stuck to the wings so much. Ok-tomorrow is bone in thighs-going to do way way less of a rub and see how those go. The smoked paprika didn’t make sense to me either but I figured I might as well keep with what the recipe said. Looking at this recipe: https://www.smokegrillbbq.com/smoked-chicken-thighs.html but at 2 tbsp cayenne...that seems like way too much. nwin fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Dec 8, 2019 |
# ¿ Dec 8, 2019 01:05 |
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Canuckistan posted:That's a stupid amount of cayenne. That's 1 tsp per thigh! Huh...so maybe I took the word “rub” a bit too literally? I didn’t shake the seasoning on top of the meat, I rubbed it into it. Do you just season it like you would standard salt and pepper?
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# ¿ Dec 8, 2019 02:45 |
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I need to look at amazingribs again. I tried looking at it the other week and I dunno if it’s because how the site is laid out or something else but it was just way too much to take in.
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# ¿ Dec 8, 2019 22:24 |
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Did some chicken thighs-they turned out way better. Much less rub was used on them, but I think I’m using a little too much smoke because it’s almost overwhelming. Reading up on it says I should start by using less smoke than needed because it can overpower so easily. In my MES for about 2 hours of smoke, I filled the hopper with kingsford cherry wood chips three times-I think once or maybe twice would have been enough. I still brought them inside and finished in the oven since they were cooking slower than I thought they would, and dinner needed to be on the table. This morning my house still smelled of smoke. Do you guys think it’s because I’m bringing them in and finishing in the oven, or just from the leftover chicken in the refrigerator (covered in Tupperware), the smoke coming in the house when I go outside to check the cooler (doubtful since I close the door when I go outside and the smoker is ten feet away from the door, but I have lovely windows so who knows), or something else? I’m guessing it’s because I’m finishing them in my oven-last night they were in at 375 for about 20 minutes, so maybe all that smoke flavor was being cooked off in the oven? I need to do something about that-while I like the smell while I’m cooking-not so much the morning after. I think next steps are to use a little less rub and a lot less smoke and see what that improves.
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# ¿ Dec 9, 2019 14:15 |
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Blinkz0rz posted:The general rule for the MES is 1 chip load per hour or so with diminishing returns after 2-3 hours iirc. Ok way too much smoke-I thought I read in the manual every 30 minutes but I might have been mistaken. The MES only goes up to 275-maybe it will go a little hotter in the summer but not right now. I did the wings at 275 and then finished in the oven. The thighs were skinless so no issue there.
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# ¿ Dec 9, 2019 15:50 |
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Colostomy Bag posted:You don't want super-white billowing smoke. I think that is what your main issue is. Yep that’s what I had...I read about blue smoke but it was so windy I don’t know if I’d be able to tell if I ever got that.
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# ¿ Dec 9, 2019 18:04 |
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This is for pulled pork, right? It’s bone-in. I’m looking at amazingribs.com and they say plan on 1 hour and 15 minutes per pound at 225. If that’s true, then I’m looking at 6-7 hours, right? However, does that account for the stall? Basically I’m trying to see when I’ll need to put this in the smoker so it’s guaranteed to be able to serve by 5:30 at night on Sunday.
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# ¿ Dec 13, 2019 00:56 |
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I’ll probably wake up at 6 and throw it in. I’m confused by his rules for how much wood to add. He says start with 4 ounces and see if I need to add more or less, but then he says add 4 ounces of wood every 30 minutes for the first two hours, so is it 4 ounces total or 16 ounces total? I’m planning on using the AMNPS with pellets-not sure if I should load the whole thing or just a row. I don’t want to over smoke this like I did the chicken.
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# ¿ Dec 13, 2019 02:01 |
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Those that have done pulled pork with an MES/AMNPS: Did you fill the entire AMNPS with pellets and let it run or just enough for 2-3 hours of smoke?
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# ¿ Dec 14, 2019 15:19 |
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Alright, started the smoke an hour ago and things seem to be going well so far. The AMNPS is still going strong so I’m glad I haven’t had issues with it yet like a bunch of users complain about (going out, not lighting, jumping paths, etc). I still don’t get why the manual says to fully load the pellet smoker for a pork butt, which would mean 10-12 hours of smoke, when most people say to go for about 2-3 hours. It’s been smoking for an hour so I might just pull the pellet smoker out at the 2-3 hour mark.
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2019 13:44 |
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6 hours into the cook and it’s at 135 degrees...glad I started as early as you all suggested. I’ve got two probes in different parts-one is at 135 and the other is at 142, different brands. I’m wondering if it hit the stall a little early since I read the stall hits at “about” 150? I’m starting to wonder if this will be done in 4-5 hours. Once it hits the 190+ temp, should I let it rest like you do when you cook a steak? I’m surprised the MES swings temps so much. It’s set at 220 and goes from 225-240 nwin fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Dec 15, 2019 |
# ¿ Dec 15, 2019 19:10 |
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Jesus Christ-it’s been 9 hours and it just hit 150.
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2019 21:25 |
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ROJO posted:Yup that's pork butt for you. I usually start mine around 4am and crutch them if I want to guarantee a reasonable dinner time. WHERE WERE YOU YESTERDAY!?! haha It’s 3:30 right now. Do you think this will be done by 8? That would be 13.5 hours total.
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2019 21:36 |
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BeastOfExmoor posted:You're using a Masterbuilt, right? If I was in your position I'd just crank it up to 275, at least until it gets through the stall. It might get a little extra tough on the outside, but it's a pretty minor issue. I've done it before without disappointment. I crutched it, so I guess I’ll leave the temp as is.
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# ¿ Dec 15, 2019 22:17 |
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Internet Explorer posted:Yeah, for brisket and pork butt I put it in at night before I go to sleep. I'll usually wake up once or twice to refill woodchips, but that's worth it to me rather than putting it in early in the morning. This is one of the reasons I am glad I have an electric smoker. I think you can do the same with the fancier pellet smokers, but I have very little interest in putting in the effort that a more traditional smoker takes. Yeah I think I’ll start the night before next time...13.5 hours and it’s 185 degrees...crutched and heat is up to 275. Edit: 14.5 hours and it finally got to 197. I checked it and it passed the fork test so I pulled it. It turned out loving amazing and I have the meat sweats now. nwin fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Dec 16, 2019 |
# ¿ Dec 16, 2019 02:18 |
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Mob posted:Out of curiosity how many times do you think you opened the door during the cook? Hmm, maybe 3-4? Started the MES, got to temp. Opened door, put AMNPS inside, got back up to temp. Opened door, put food inside. Let it sit for a long time Opened door, removed AMNPS after I think 6 hours? Opened door, removed food, closed door, brought inside, foiled, opened door, put food back in. Let it sit for another 2-3 hours, then opened the door to open the foil up, and it cooked for another 20 minutes before I saw the temp dropping. Looks like it was closed for the beginning stages of the cook-I only really opened it once the food was in to remove the pellet smoker and then again to crutch it. I have one with the window and the one good thing about that is I could see how much of the pellets had burned. It was about 45 degrees here yesterday and I saw that temp plummet when I opened it. However it seemed to come back to temp fairly quickly.
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# ¿ Dec 16, 2019 20:39 |
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Should external temp really have an effect on cook times for an electric smoker? I know the smoker will turn on more often to maintain its desired temp but I think that’s it. However, the last two sets of ribs I cooked have taken longer than amazingribs anticipated. Babybacks took 8 hours, St. Louis took about 10-the website says 5 hours and 7 hours, respectively, cooking at 225.
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# ¿ Jan 8, 2020 21:45 |
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Kalman posted:Do you have an air thermometer measuring air temp to see if the setpoint is actually being held by the electric? Yes. Swings of ten degrees plus or minus but it holds.
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# ¿ Jan 9, 2020 00:46 |
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Hey so since I’m starting out new and I’m having an issue with timing, I think I’ll just try starting way earlier than normal to be sure I can eat it at a norma dinner time. I think for pulled pork I can put it in a cooler wrapped in towels for a while, right? Any idea how long it will keep at a decent temp and still taste good without reheating? What about ribs? What should I do if those finish 2-3 hours before dinner time? Same thing? Just wrap and store in a cooler?
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# ¿ Jan 9, 2020 20:31 |
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# ¿ Apr 17, 2024 20:26 |
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Between the vortex and some people’s results they have posted, it seems like a WSM should be my next smoker. I have an MES and was against doing a WSM because I thought I’d have to constantly fuel it, but it seems like they can be pretty efficient? How do they do in weather around 40 degrees? My MES can maintain the temperature without a problem-I probably just pay a higher electricity bill. What about a WSM? It doesn’t seem like it’s insulated at all.
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# ¿ Jan 13, 2020 18:13 |