Smoker??

[RocksandReds]

Hello, I am new to this site which I am enjoying reading post after post. I have a question for the fellow smokers. I have a Masterbuilt 40" smokehouse which my wife bought me a few weeks ago as an early bday presant, my ? is does anyone else use this smoker and are there any tricks or should nows to make better? Thanks!!!

[oifmarine2003]

I started out smoking on that smoker about 6 years ago. It is a good little smoker to get started on. You just have to experiment a little and find out what you like best. Generally speaking, I prefer to cook things "low and slow", or basically at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. Some people cook higher temps for shorter time periods.
As far as your particular smoker, you can basically fill up the chip box and water pan and be good for 4 hours or so before you may need to add chips. The best thing about that size of a smoker is even if you make a mistake, you will not ruin too much meat due to the size. It is a good smoker to learn on. Keep reading this site. I am always humbled and blown away at the collective knowledge of the brethren and their willingness to help you with your questions.

[DriverWild]

Couple comments, after 4 hours you don't need any more smoke so don't worry about that limitation. I started out with an an entry level smoker and it's what got me hooked. I quickly decided to upgrade in order to get the product I had in mind. Most competitions don't allow electric or gas smokers so if you want to go that route you should know ahead of time. Most likely you too will have a desire in the future to buy something new and different after getting started with this unit. Or, like some, will decide this is a lot more work than you're willing to invest and frequent the local bbq joint. Just my two cents.

[oifmarine2003]

Depends on what and how you are cooking with for the chips after 4 hours. Turkey will still need chips after 4 hours, for example. Depends on IT.

[westy]

I have a masterbuilt 40 Ive been using for about 3 or 4 years. Im not sure exactly which one you have, but below are a couple pics of the one I have. It puts out some pretty good food. The chip tray holds only a handful of chips that last me about an hour depending on what chips I'm using. Keep an eye out when you place food directly over the heat source because it will burn if you're not careful. Sometimes I use a sheet of foil on the rack over it to deflect it. Helps to rotate the food a bit, just keep an eye on the color. If you're cooker has a control panel that is removable and you leave the cooker outside, take it off and bring it inside. They can be sensitive to weather(had to replace mine). If I'm only doing a rack or two, I fill the water pan. If the racks are full I've found that the water isnt necessary but it doesnt hurt. Helps bring the temps back after you open it too. Keep the top vent at least halfway open or preferably all the way. Too much smoke and it will taste nasty. Keep the airflow moving. For most cooks, I will usually fill the chip tray about 3 times, sometimes 4 depending on the cook. You will have to experiment a bit to see what works best for you. Hope we are talking about the same cooker. Good luck and have fun with it!

[popeye]

i have a ECB. Works for me

[IamMadMan]

It is a nice starter model, the important thing I found with the one I had was the full water pan was necessary in maintaining a consistent temperature, adding chips every 2 hours or so were also required to maintain a consistent invisible blue smoke for flavor.

If you can smell smoke leave it alone... If not add a hand full of chips or pellets.

[RocksandReds]

Here is my smoker, I have a dual range thermostat does meat and oven temp. seems to maintain good temps, mine is the insulated version ,4 racks,water pan,chip pan,electric.

Here a are some of my first attempts.