Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

by Deb C.
(Phoenix, AZ)

I'm a newbie at this--got a Masterbuilt electric smoker for Christmas. First project was a ham which turned out great--used apple wood chips. Now I'm trying to do a brisket with hickory chips--but I'm not generating the smoke I did with the apple chips. Is it just because of the difference in wood type or am I doing something wrong? I soaked the chips overnight like the Masterbuilt web site instructed, but now I'm wondering if they're too wet to burn.

Comments for
Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Rating

Soaking Chips NEW
by: Anonymous

The instructions I have are to soak the chips for 30 minutes. NOT OVERNIGHT.

Rating

Brisket
by: JBC

Hey Dianne,
Thanks for the information. I look forward to trying a brisket this weekend. Sorry for your loss, it is always hard to deal with a loss; however, God has plans that we never understand until we make our visit. Best wishes to you and yours.

Rating

My Sympathy
by: MJ

Dianne, I am so sorry to hear of your loss! My prayers are with you at this time. I have not forgotten you (completely!) on the rub I promised you. I just have been distracted by other stuff life wings at us. I will get it to you soon. May God's Grace and Strength be your rock during this time. MJ

Rating

Brisket
by: Diane

On the brisket question..MJ and I have spoken about the lack of a lot of smoky flavor and yet I cannot say I am totally disappointed in the Masterbuilt. I like the convenience of being able to smoke a lot of food at one time and then I freeze it in portions. The last time I smoked, I did put my ribs and brisket on my weber performer using the smokenator 1000 for a couple of hours, and then transferred them to the MB for the rest of the time. I like the convenience of the unit and I think it makes a good product. I normally take my brisket off after it's absorbed all the smoke it is going to absorb, foil it, and return it to the MB for the remaining time. My husband, who loved the smoked foods, passed away last month. He always pronounced the brisket to be very good, and it was his favorite of all the things we smoked. I honestly think it's better the second day. I normally let everything cool down overnight in the fridge and then the next morning, I use the ziplock vacuum bags and portion it out for our meals. When reheating, I put it in a glass baking dish with maybe just a tad bit of water..seal with foil, and reheat in the oven. I like it, and my husband did, also.

Rating

Beef Brisket
by: JBC

Has anyone tried a beef brisket in the Masterbuilt? I have never smoked a brisket before but have done lots of research and really want to try one. Just wondering if the Masterbuilt is worthy.....

Rating

Digital temperature
by: Anonymous

Never trust the digital temperature reading, mine is 40 degrees off I have been smoking my meat at 260 all this time thinking that I was at 220. (damn it china you failed again)

Rating

pork!
by: mj

Glad that worked good for you. I'm not thrilled with trying to get a decent smoke flavor into pork using the MB. I still find charcoal rules when trying to smoke pork

Rating

Retro- Fit Kit
by: JBC

Thanks MJ for the specifics on the retro-fit kit. I do have a charcoal smoker as well, I use it periodically but wanted something that required a little less supervision so I went with the MB. Even though I havent received the retro yet, I smoked 3 chickens this past weekend; everytime the smoke died down I would empty the wood chip holder and add more chips. I used about 1/2 of a bag of chips, I mixed apple and hickory. The chickens did have a more intense smokey flavor.

Rating

Retrofit kit
by: MJ

The retrofit kit allows more chips at once (same result as loading the tray up prior to startin the unit) but does not increase smoking intensity to the meat - gotta go with the coals, dude !

Rating

adequate smoke but lacks smoke flavor
by: JBC

The first few times I smoked, I kept the vent almost completly closed and noticed that more smoke was coming from the chip loader. I changed this strategy and noticed a bit more smokey flavor to the meat; however, still not to the desired level I hoped for. Contacted Masterbuilt and informed them of the issue, they immediately offered me the Retro-Fit Kit at no charge. The kit is on backorder so I should receive in 30-45 days. Once I install the kit I will add another post of the results. I hope this helps; I love the convenience of the smoker but kinda disappointed due to the lack of smokey flavor.

Rating

skinning ribs
by: jr

use fish skinning to pull off fat

Rating

skinning ribs
by: jr

use fish skinning to pull off fat

Rating

Smoke in my master built smoker
by: Ken

I live on the Columbia river just 20 miles from hood river where they make little and big chief smokers. Needless to say I have have been smoking fish in a lure jensen smoker for over 25 years, till my smoker just plain fell apart. Those smokers are pretty cold but produce a lot of smoke. Smoking fish is my priority and I am having a hard time creating smoke with my new smoker, do I have to drill holes for vents? Why do I have to re-engineer a new smoker, I am trying a batch by opening the door frequently and letting it cool enough to heat the chip pan. Is this smoker made for meat only? Is it a cookeror smoker? I will let everyone know how this works out but I am disappointed.

Rating

My experience with Masterbuilt
by: Anonymous

I'm currently on my second Masterbuilt. The first was the 0311 and now the 0411, the one with the window, light and meat temp probe. The reason I bought the second was because the heating element went out on the first after about 2yrs the day before a party and I needed a replacement right away. The first model had a larger tray to hold the wood chips and I never had a problem producing smoke at 220F, the usual temp I cooked at. With the new model, I need to crank the temperature to 240F to produce smoke. I think this is too high for a low and slow technique. I'm experimenting with cooking at a higher temp for several hours and then decreasing to about 200F. I'll be calling Masterbuilt regarding this modification I read about here. If that doesn't work, I'll try the modification with the drill holes. I don't know if more wood would help, I think it's a problem with getting the heat to the wood. It's already past the warranty period so I'm not worried about voiding it. I will also ask them about a new heating element for my old unit which I feel worked quite a bit better.

Rating

To soak or not to soak......
by: MJ

I see little difference regarding the soaking issue. Smoke is generated, it is just not the same intensity that the charcoal causes when the chips are burned directly on the coals in my humble opinion. I like the smoker for the convenience, but have regressed to doing the actual initial smoking over charcoal and finishing the meat off in the MB

Rating

More smoke
by: Anonymous

DO NOT SOAK THE WOOD.Doesnt matter what the manufacterer says.I have a cheap electric Brinkmann,and when I started using dry wood it worked great.

Rating

Smoke
by: Corey=Kansas

This is incredible! I thought I was the only one facing the 'lack of smoke' issue. Thank you everyone for the great posts, looking forward to replying back with an (hopefully positive) update.

Rating

Leave vent open
by: Nagel

One thing that I didn't notice anyone mention: Make sure that you're leaving the vent on top fully open for more smoke. The warmer air leaves the top, causing the coils to stay on more often. The coils being on will generate more smoke.

Rating

Charcoal with electric smokers?
by: Anonymous

I read that the red smoke ring on smoked meats only happens when you smoke with charcoal. Is it possible to add small charcoal bits to the wood chips? Has anyone tried that?

Rating

Masterbuilt Smoke Issue
by: Diane

Janice - I had this same problem several months ago. I was used to doing my smoking in my weber using a Smokenator 1000 and the smoke flavor was great. I bought the masterbuilt in order to do more at one time but was disappointed in the lack of smoke flavor in my ribs, even though the ribs were tender and flavorful..they were just lacking a lot of the smoke flavor. I wrote masterbuilt and got his customer service person Yaime Reyes at yreyes@masterbuilt.com. After corresponding on this issue, she sent me a "retro fit kit". It consisted of a larger wood chip box and I replaced the original according to the directions. I did a big load of ribs, brisket, and pork butt a few weeks ago. I believe that the food had a greater smoky flavor, but still not to the extent I get in the weber..however...the food tasted great. I think just using charcoal rather than wood chips has a great effect on the smoke flavor. So, I intend to do food this summer with my weber, but am not totally disappointed in the masterbuilt. The food it makes is really good. As for your ribs, don't know why they were not done in the middle? Mine are usually good to go in 5-6 hours. This last time, I also tried a method I learned at a BBQ festival here..after about four hours, I wrapped my pork butt and brisket in double heavy duty foil and let it continue to cook in the masterbuilt til interior temp was at 195..both turned out juicy and flavorful, but the ribs were the best. I did not wrap them..but pulled them off when they were at the bone test point. Good luck.

Rating

Meat was undercooked......
by: JaniceK

I just purchased a Masterbuilt and followed the directions in the user manual, however, after 5 hours of cooking my ribs @ 225 (per the recipe in Dadgum, That's Good) they were still not done in the middle and I had to finish them in the oven. I used hickory chips (soaked for 30 min.) but they didn't taste smokey either. Does anyone know what I was doing wrong?

Rating

Question for Brian
by: Diane

Brian, were you able to achieve smoke ring on your cooked foods after making these modifications? the product I get is very good tasting..just not enough smoke, and no smoke ring. Just wondered and thanks for the very detailed explanation of what you did!

Rating

Modification for more smoke
by: Brian N

I drilled about five pea sized hold on the bottom of the heat shield that is located just below the chip pan. The holes allow the direct heat from the coil to heat up the chip pan, this reates tons of smoke at low temperatures. Remember, the heat coil only comes on for a very short time during low temp cooking. It is important to heat the chips sufficiently to create smoke during that short time the coil is on. (This modification is amazing.)

Second modification was to the smoke box enclosure. This the large box that contains the wood chip pan , wood chip loader. There are already three small holes drilled on one side of this unit, three small holes is insufficient. I drilled another three pea sized holed next to the existing holes to increase flow and smoke volume. Smoke galore!!!

Rating

Upgrade?????
by: MJ

Do you have any details around your post? Where did you hear about the upgrade? thanks

Rating

Low smoke
by: Anonymous

I heard there is a free upgrade from masterbuilt that solves this problem.

Rating

Hey rgv !
by: MJ

I also await your response to Dianne. We are looking for a way to input maximum smoke to our meat ASAP in the process. I have tried the 250 deal to get things poppin smoke wise, but as of yet have not re-created the magic pink ring in the meat!

Rating

Smoking Info
by: Diane

Do you mean you are getting plenty of smoke flavor and smoke ring by doing ribs at 250 and using dry chips? Also, I thought the water pan fits, as is, below the very last shelf. Where else is there to put it? So glad you are happy with your masterbuilt and hope to achieve the same results.

Rating

Smoking Info.
by: rgv21350

Started smoking baby back ribs at 250 degree instead of 190 with dry wood chips and don't have a problem with smoke flavor. Put water in the water pan and move it so it sits below the rack it is designed to go in. The ribs come out moist and tender. Wouldn't trade by Masterbuild for another smoker!

Rating

lack of smoke in warm temps
by: Anonymous

I always produce a ton of smoke when i'm smoking in colder outside temps, but when the temps get in the 60's or above the smoke output is cut drasticly. Has anyone experienced this as well? Any suggestions how get get more smoke when the outside tempeture is warm?

Rating

Duh
by: Diane

I began my last post intending to inquire about whether maybe marinating meat in liquid smoke before putting it in the Masterbuilt might help with flavor.

Rating

liquid smoke
by: Diane

MJ...so you are saying that basically none of the food you cooked in the masterbuilt tasted smoky..?? Like I said, these ribs were very good..just not smoky..but then, it defeats the purpose of buying the unit to begin with, I think. Even with the weber/smokenator, I would take the product off and wrap in foil, bring to 190 or so and then wrap in newspaper and place in a cooler.

What kind of offset smoker do you have and how hard is it to manage? I guess if I am going to put the work into a day of smoking (adjustments, etc), then I will have to look for something that will make greater quantities of food than the Weber can make. Can you please describe the smokiness you achieved, description of the unit, and if you used a water pan, and what kind of fuels. You can also write me offline..dgunty@yahoo.com. Many thanks.

Rating

charcoal smoker
by: MJ

Dianne - sorry - I see you did read my earlier post. Prior to getting the masterbuilt, I was using my large heavy offset smoker / grill to at least get things smoked and partially cooked before wrapping in foil and finishing either there or the oven. My masterbuilt is way too "used" now to return - hope there is an answer to increase the smokiness........or it will just end up being where I finish things after starting them the old fashioned way!

Rating

Then maybe it's the electric itself?
by: Diane

Thanks, MJ, and yes, I did see your previous post. Makes me think it's the electric part of the smoking..like I said, worked well, made very nice and tasty ribs..but I bought it thinking I would get great smoky flavor with the convenience of not having to watch the coals all the time..less maintenance. Also, I cannot make a ton of food in the Weber at one time, so you shoot a day watching it all..was hoping to make bigger quantities to freeze. How did your pork butt taste? and brisket? I guess I keep coming back to the fact that a smoker should make things taste smoky, not just taste a bit better than if I had done them in an oven.

Rating

Chips vs chunks
by: MJ

Dianne, I only use chips on my charcoal grill and get great results - did you read my post earlier today? Sounds like we have the same issue.....

Rating

one more thing..
by: Diane

Or, it is THIS electric smoker? When I was using the weber, I only used chunks..can the chips simply not generate enough smoke to create the ring?

Rating

Not only the ring, but the smoked flavor!
by: Diane

Thanks for joining in on this and telling me what results you've had in regard to the smoke ring. I'm in a fix..I loved the convenience of this smoker, but, for $300...do I want to keep it (even IF Sams would take it back cleaned up as best as I can... It's not just the smoke ring..while the ribs tasted wonderful as far as ribs go, they were just lacking in smoky flavor! I could taste just a hint of smokiness in the back of my throat. If I had never done smoking in the Weber, I would probably think this was wonderful..

My only other experience smoking has been with the weber and the Smokenator 1000 unit inside of it. I know from long experience that when you do food in a weber, you get a ring of pink (whether smoking or not)..so I'd like to hear from people who are using a smoker with offset box (the black ones with pipe..), not a professional rig, but just something you could find in Home Depot..do you get a deep smoky flavor and a smoke ring using charcoal. Maybe it's just using the charcoal that gets this?

Any comments appreciated. Thank you again.

Rating

"Smoke-ring less" in La
by: MJ

I agree with this fully regarding the lack of smoky flavor. I have used mine for a few months with various types and quantities of wood and have yet to see the smoke ring I get from my charcoal grill. This includes ribs, pork butts and brisket. I have tried with and without water in the pan and with different rubs - no real success with expected smokiness....Anyone out there have any suggestions for us "smoke ring seekers" using our Masterbuilt smokers?

Rating

one more question
by: Diane

Thanks to those who responded to my question about the smoke issue on the Masterbuilt. Today I used it for the first time. I have to say, it worked well. It heated in good time, I put in a slab of spare ribs and two slabs of baby back ribs..used the water tray..and used hickory wood chips. I saw almost constant thin bluish grey smoke coming out of the vent at the top, which I kept closed almost all the way. I could not see well into the chamber due to the condensation on the window, but in about 5 hours, I removed the ribs. They "looked" beautiful. They were perfectly cooked and right at that "tearing" stage..they were even moist. But, and perhaps I was being naive here...I don't think they taste very smoky. I used three loads of chips..took one rib off earlier and tasted and thought it didn't taste too smoky, so I added one more tray of chips. I used a weber grill with smokenator 1000 last year. I don't know what I expected with this electric smoker..I guess I thought the smokiness would come all from the wood. However, as good as they tasted as far as ribs go, there was no smoke ring, and not a lot of smoky taste to them. I think if I ordered them in a BBQ restaurant my comment would be..nice taste, but not smoky like I expected. And they certainly don't taste as smoky as my old ribs did in the Weber. So anyone out there..have you used both charcoal/chunks and then an electric smoker, and am I wrong to expect the same kind of flavor? I bought this at Sams...they say they give 100% satisfaction and I'm tempted to clean it up as well as I can and return this and say I'm not satisfied. My husband thought they were fine, and yes, they were tasty..just not smoky enough..hint of smoke, is what I'd call it, though they were beautiful looking, too. The unit performed well...I didn't have to add any water...the temp held constant..I was just disappointed in the taste and wonder now if I do a pork butt, will I get a smoke ring?? Any comments would be helpful as I make this decision. Thank you.

Rating

Not generating enough or no smoke
by: Anonymous

If you're getting smoke from the loader and not the chimney, then maybe the chimney isn't open or there is something going on in the wood tray. Wood chips should only be soaked for 15-20 minutes. Even wood chunks don't get soaked that long. For an electric smoker, the longer they soak, the longer it takes to generate smoke. Don't wait for the smoke to stop to reload the tray, reload when smoke starts to thin out. I always generate smoke and I wet smoke, meaning that I fill the water tray, which normally thins out the smoke. Cherry wood is hard to see, but it's there. Apple is the easiest to smoke.

Rating

Little or no smoke in Masterbuilt?
by: Diane

Hi, have been reading all these comments about not getting a lot of smoke. I just set mine up today and I'm going through the process of letting in run for three hours, the last 45 minutes of which I added hickory chips. Now, I did not soak them..just added them, so maybe that has an impact. I am used to my weber with smokenator unit and lots of smoke. With this one, I added the chips and then returned the loader to the load position as instructed. I waited..saw no smoke..then began to smell it and thought it was coming out the top vent..wrong..it was coming out of the loader area? Is this normal? There was a steady stream of it, and I saw no smoke inside? then I did open the vent a little more and saw some smoke coming out of the unit itself, but again, cannot see anything inside? Is this normal? should any smoke be coming out of the loader area? It appears to be inserted normally and in the correct position after dumping. Does everyone soak chips for 15 minutes, and, is this smoke simply too thin for me to see IN the unit? I will be doing ribs, butt, and brisket mainly..but would like to know if this is defective or not before the 90 days runs out. Many thanks.

Rating

Why you're not generating smoke
by: Rick S

The chips are oversaturated with water. For the electric smoker, just soak the chips in water or beer for 15 min. So far with me and my Masterbuilt I have no problem generating smoke with the following woods, hickory, mesquite, pecan, apple, and alder. Whenever I use cherry, it looks like it's not generating smoke, but it is. It's just to thin of smoke to be seen unless you get real close, but it's there. Only use chips, not chunks on the Masterbuilt electric.

Rating

how to start the smoke
by: Anonymous

do i have to light the wood chips or does the element start the smoke ?

Rating

Smoke Issue
by: MJ

I have just purchased the 20070311 model and have had a problem with getting chips to smoke at 225 degrees. I do get smoke when I raise the temp above 240. Could there be an issue with the "smoking" element and not the "heating" element?

Rating

Smoker
by: Anonymous

I have found that if my outside tempurature is high (above 50) it will produce much less smoke. This is due to the fact that the heating element is on for less time.

Rating

No Smoke
by: Rick S

I received a response from Masterbuilt and they had me exchange the smoker and the new one works great. They also mentioned to only wet the chips for 15 min or so. Even though the instructions say 30 min., they recommended 15 min. Before when I had a charcoal smoker, I used to smoke with chunks, which take longer to absorb the water, but wood chips absorb quickly. I have already used it a dozen times with hickory, mesquite, cherry, apple, pecan, and alder, and always produce smoke at 225 degrees. If soaking the wood for less time doesn't do it, then take it back and exchange it.

Rating

Smoke on Electric Master Built
by: Anonymous

The advantage of electric smokers are maintain a constant temp is easy, the ability to cold smoke and its possible to load the smoker at noon and go back to work and have your meat ready when you get home. Set it and forget it. The disadvantage is when smoking below 225 degree the ability to generate a lot of smoke. I have never soaked my chips and second I added a seperate smoke generator(there are a couple of people who make them)which generates all kinds of smoke. Works great.

Rating

No Smoke
by: Rick S

I just bought a Masterbuilt Electric smoker too. Same thing. I used apple for first smoke and it worked good. I used cherry for second smoke and the only way I can get it to smoke is by raising the temperature to max 275 degrees. Most meats that I smoke are between 225 and 250. Is this normal? Because even dry wood wont burn at that temperature range. I sent Masterbuilt an email if they answer I'll let you know

Rating

Troubleshooting
by: Bill-E

There are a couple of things to check to make sure that it is actually smoking:
1. Check the smoke box and empty out all ashes. Make sure you don't have a build up that impedes heat transfer.

2. Turn on the unit, let it warm up for 1/2 hour and check the temperature of the smoking coil. It should be really hot. Remember that there are two coils, the heating coil and the smoking coil.

3. Are you wet smoking? It will make the smoke effect less coming out of your chimney. Take your hand and hold it above the chimney. Smell your hand afterwards, if it smells like the wood type that you are using then chances are you are getting smoke.

Rating

no smoke
by: Anonymous

i just got a smoker for christmas and moved into a new house so i opened it up last weekend and i was running behind so i let my chips soak about 45 min it produced quite a bit of smoke its a masterbuilt about the size of a mini fridge i used mestiqe wood in cold water it was about 20 degrees outside where i had it soaking sso u may have soaked it to long after a hour topps it should be ok

Rating

Deb C.
by: popC

I have a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker.

Be careful when you side in the smoke box, make sure that the electric heating element is in between the tray holding the chips and the bottom of the smoke box. Let me know!

Rating

Masterbuilt Smoker Problem Creating Smoke
by: Bill

If your Masterbuilt smoker produced plenty of smoke using the apple wood chips, then it's most likely that it was due to using a different type of woodchip. It's possible that the apple didn't absorb as much water as the hickory did, but even then, the hickory should have at least produced smoke after it dried out.

If you notice that sort of problem the first time you use smoker chips out of a new bag, try soaking them in water for less time and see if that makes a difference.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to FAQ - Meatsmokers and Equipment

footer for smoker cooking page

Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

Comments for Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker

Comments for
Smoker's Not Smoking Using Masterbuilt Electric Smoker