Need some help with new Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

shannara · ‎03-10-2010

I recently bought the Masterbuild Smoker and the Dadgum Good Cookbook. I am totally new to this cooking method and have some basic questions which don't seem to be answered in the instruction manual or the cookbook. I also watched several YouTube videos and looked at some smoking sites which were no help. Maybe they assume that everyone already knows these things. How should I adjust the vent on top? No one mentions this. Also, should the water pan be in the smoker even though I'm not adding liquid? How do I know whether or not I should be adding liquid? Is it okay to soak the wood chips if I'm not getting much smoke? Can I put the meat in a pan to avoid the dripping mess? Some of the recipes said to smoke until meat reaches a certain temperature, without telling me minutes per pound. That' fine if you don't care what time dinner will be ready, but I want to know. I made ribs and 2 half chickens yesterday as my test run. They were delicious and moist but did not have a lot of smoke flavor. I read to avoid adding too much wood as the food will end up tasting like tree bark. I only put a handful of chips in at the beginning as recommended by the recipe and really did not see a lot of smoke. I guess there is a learning curve, but meat is expensive and a don't want to ruin big hunks of meat. Some beginner guidelines would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to smoke a prime rib next, but I'm a little nervous about ruining such an expensive cut. Thanks in advance for any help.

wesely1 · ‎09-27-2015

Does the door get warm, if so how warm could it cause a burn

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

@shannara wrote:
I recently bought the Masterbuild Smoker and the Dadgum Good Cookbook. I am totally new to this cooking method and have some basic questions which don't seem to be answered in the instruction manual or the cookbook. I also watched several YouTube videos and looked at some smoking sites which were no help. Maybe they assume that everyone already knows these things. How should I adjust the vent on top? No one mentions this. Also, should the water pan be in the smoker even though I'm not adding liquid? How do I know whether or not I should be adding liquid? Is it okay to soak the wood chips if I'm not getting much smoke? Can I put the meat in a pan to avoid the dripping mess? Some of the recipes said to smoke until meat reaches a certain temperature, without telling me minutes per pound. That' fine if you don't care what time dinner will be ready, but I want to know. I made ribs and 2 half chickens yesterday as my test run. They were delicious and moist but did not have a lot of smoke flavor. I read to avoid adding too much wood as the food will end up tasting like tree bark. I only put a handful of chips in at the beginning as recommended by the recipe and really did not see a lot of smoke. I guess there is a learning curve, but meat is expensive and a don't want to ruin big hunks of meat. Some beginner guidelines would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to smoke a prime rib next, but I'm a little nervous about ruining such an expensive cut. Thanks in advance for any help.

Uh, you should ALWAYS add water to the pan, might ruin it if you don't, open the vent at the top to let smoke escape, water evaporates how you get the smoke, I add chips once an hr, I use those cheap walmart aluminum buck or 2 pans to put chickens, and ribs in, you'll have a mess if your just letting that meat drip all around the unit, clean the glass with vinegar, you might want to watch the Q online presentations, the book they give you tells you how many minutes per pd to cook stuff.
You might want to just do hotdogs till you learn how to use it.

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

@wesely1 wrote:
Does the door get warm, if so how warm could it cause a burn

Use a pot holder to flip the lock on the side. smoke will billow out at you, but, no biggie. add chips once an hr they burn fast and not to many can go in there. My motto is more smoke the better. For God sake add water to the pan.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@shannara wrote:
I recently bought the Masterbuild Smoker and the Dadgum Good Cookbook. I am totally new to this cooking method and have some basic questions which don't seem to be answered in the instruction manual or the cookbook. I also watched several YouTube videos and looked at some smoking sites which were no help. Maybe they assume that everyone already knows these things. How should I adjust the vent on top? No one mentions this. Also, should the water pan be in the smoker even though I'm not adding liquid? How do I know whether or not I should be adding liquid? Is it okay to soak the wood chips if I'm not getting much smoke? Can I put the meat in a pan to avoid the dripping mess? Some of the recipes said to smoke until meat reaches a certain temperature, without telling me minutes per pound. That' fine if you don't care what time dinner will be ready, but I want to know. I made ribs and 2 half chickens yesterday as my test run. They were delicious and moist but did not have a lot of smoke flavor. I read to avoid adding too much wood as the food will end up tasting like tree bark. I only put a handful of chips in at the beginning as recommended by the recipe and really did not see a lot of smoke. I guess there is a learning curve, but meat is expensive and a don't want to ruin big hunks of meat. Some beginner guidelines would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to smoke a prime rib next, but I'm a little nervous about ruining such an expensive cut. Thanks in advance for any help.

Here's some info from the page the smoker is on that should help you. DH said always add liquid & your water pan can also act as your drip pan. He also said it's not hot to the touch.

STARTER TIPS

 FOR BEST RESULTS, READ the following start up tips before using this product. Remember this is an ELECTRIC unit and has different characteristics than a gas unit.

 FOR SAFETY, The smoker has a powerful heating element and may cause circuit breaker to trip. To minimize occurrences operate any additional appliances on separate circuit. Tripping circuit breaker will NOT damage unit or household electrical system.

 PRE-SEASONING, must be performed prior to using smoker for the fist time.

 Make sure grates, grease tray and water pan are in place with NO WATER.

 Set temperature to 275°F (135°C) and run unit for 3 hours.

 To complete the pre-seasoning, during last 45 minutes, add ½ cup of wood chips in wood chip loader and unload wood chips into the wood chip tray. This amount is equal to the contents of a filled wood chip loader.

 Shut down and allow to cool.

 PRE-HEAT smoker for 30 minutes, or to set temperature before loading food and first round of wood chips.

 WOOD CHIPS, For best smoke quality, wood chips should be dry. Use only ½ cup every 45 minutes to 1 hour for at least 3 cycles. For stronger smoke flavor wood chips can be added throughout entire cooking period.

 WATER should be in water bowl to prevent food from drying out. Substitutes, such as apple juice can be used.

 DOOR should not be opened during cooking unless necessary. Opening smoker door causes heat to escape and may cause wood to flare up. Closing the door will re-stabilize the temperature and stop any possible flare up.

 DAMPER should be at least be a 3rd opened to allow old smoke and moisture to escape. When cooking seafood, open damper fully.