New smoker.

[Gr8bawana]

I just got this smoker from my brother-in-law. It's brand new and the instructions say to pre-season it so that's what I'm doing.
Can't wait to try it out on something. I've got a couple of trout in the freezer so maybe that will be first.
Anybody have any tips for a first timer?http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=52064&stc=1&d=1455486074

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

I have the same one if that is the 40". Spray the racks with Pam before use and then put them in the dishwasher to clean them up and you will use it a lot more often. Love doing bacon wrapped chicken legs in mine. Although I did get a second mortgage on a Beef Brisket the other day! John

 

[Foxtrot1]

Nice!

Best tip I can think of is fill it with prime rib, buy beer, and invite hunt talkers over.

 

[maxx]

Get a maverick remote temp sensor. You can monitor food and smoked temp from your house.

Get a boston pork butt. They are pretty much impossible to screw up and they taste great shredded. Go until internal temp hits 205 or so. Let it rest for and hour or so.

I don't brisket. I don't see the need to spend that kind of money on the shittiest cut of meat on a cow.

 

[Chucknduck]

Get a maverick remote temp sensor. You can monitor food and smoked temp from your house.

^^^^^^
This
Smoking can be addictive. Smoked trout Is easy to do. I love doing ribs and my recipie and process are still evolving. I did our prime rib for Xmas in the smoker and it was the best I've ever had.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Get a maverick remote temp sensor. You can monitor food and smoked temp from your house.

Get a boston pork butt. They are pretty much impossible to screw up and they taste great shredded. Go until internal temp hits 205 or so. Let it rest for and hour or so.

I don't brisket. I don't see the need to spend that kind of money on the shittiest cut of meat on a cow.

Yup it came with a remote temp sensor. It tells you the temp inside the smoker and the temp of the meat with the meat probe. I like that you can add wood chips without opening the door and loosing temp.

 

[sneakypete]

What brand is it? That's a very nice smoker.

 

[hank4elk]

Masterbuilt?
I had one just like it ,dissappeared moving 6yrs ago.
Did alot of smoked trout,bacon,hams, other good stuff with it.

 

[JohnCushman]

Every couple of months I will fill a spray bottle with vegetable oil and spray the inside of the smoker and let it run for a few hours, replacing chips every so often for a good smoke coating eventhough I seasoned mine when I first got it.

 

[Gr8bawana]

It is a Masterbilt smoker.
Cushman-Does the oil make smoke to coat the inside like the smoke from the wood chips? I notice it now has a coat of smoke after the pre-seasoning.
What about cleaning? I notice some smokers on the cooking shows look like they have never been cleaned in 20 years.

 

[JohnCushman]

Yes, the oil makes the smoke adhere really nicely. I clean the bottom of the smoker and drip tray with oven cleaner and leave the door open for several hours after I rinse it to let the fumes dissipate. then I will re-oil it and season it again. The water tray gets washed after every use since I season the water with steak sauce or BBQ sauce and it gets sticky.

 

[idahofishnhunt]

I have an MES 30 and love it. I put a foil pan in the bottom for drippings, and then empty into a plastic container to use for bear bait. I just smoked some elk steak last night, great stuff.

 

[Ttannahill14]

Pulled pork is cheap, delicious, and hard to screw up. I would start there.

We're having 70 degree weather here in kansas this week. Getting me excited to get the smoker out!

 

[worm]

Let me know how it works out for ya. I'm still using charcoal and my summer sausage has been tuning out great this year. I only use 2-3 sticks of hickory per batch thou.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

Those big Totes at Wally World work real good if you can fill them with soapy water and just dump the grates into one to start your clean up. I am really big on getting the clean up done ASAP. Nobody wants to clean up that thing when you are stuffed!

 

[brendog84cj8]

My old man and I both have that Masterbuilt smoker (mine is the version before the one you have and my old mans one is exactly like yours). My first piece of advice is to not trust the temp setting on it, I find it is not accurate. I always monitor the inside temp on the side furthest from the burner with the built in meat probe and also use a corded digital thermometer to also monitor the inside temp up by the door. Also if you really fill it anything on the lower racks will always cook quicker as the burner is so close that layer really absorbs the heat. If I am cooking on multiple racks I am always monitoring the temp of the meat at each level. If I am doing summer sausage I hang from the top rack and with corded thermometers monitor at least 2-3 sausages at varying distances from the burner while also monitoring the inside temp of the smoker from at least two locations.

It may seem like overkill but if I am using every rack I will have 5 thermometers sitting on top of the smoker. 4 in meat at each rack level, 1 monitoring the smoker temp and the built in meat probe also monitoring inside smoker temp in a different spot.

I have found that regardless of what product you are smoking, temp management plays a critical role in the quality and consistency of the final product.

 

[maxx]

I haven't cleaned smoker once.

Do you really need to clean the grill parts?

 

[Gr8bawana]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[JohnCushman]

My dumba$$ never thought to tinfoil the bottom of it instead of cleaning it all the time....LOL

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

I haven't cleaned smoker once.

Do you really need to clean the grill parts?

You might not clean a grill with flames hitting them, but I like the thought of a clean grate on my smoker. John