# masterbuilt smoker and various smoking questions



## Tommyjamg

I just bought a smoker and it works pretty good. But as I read some of your posts, I see that you should use a "high-temp" cheese when adding to sausage. Where do you get that? I added regular off-the-shelf cheese and it melted. 
Also, what kind of steps are taken right after stuffing summer sausage before it goes in the smoker? Anything? Or can you just put it in and smoke it until it reaches 150 degrees?

Any steps after it's done smoking? Drying time? Refrigeration?

I know nothing.


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## djleye

Try to get ahold of Field Hunter on this site. He just did a bunch of summer sausage and he claims it is great!!! Bastard never shares though so I am not sure!!! :lol: 
he definately knows his way around a smoker!! :wink:


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## Tommyjamg

Excellent! I will do just that.

By the by, I just signed up for this site. Does it matter that I'm in Minnesota and not North Dakota?


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## mallard

First off, yes you need to use high temp cheese. Around here they sell it at Scheels all sports. 
As for making sausage, Get a good recipe book that emphasizes smoking wild game. Try several small batches, each with a different recipe, until you find the one that you like.


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## KEN W

I've made 100's of lbs of summer sausage and salami.I also have a Masterbuilt smoker.It is very easy to use and does a great job.

Try Grandpa Josh's summer sausage seasoning.Available in most super markets and butcher shops.It is more like salami......smoke-garlic-pepper taste.

If you prefer the tangy summer sausage flavor.....add 3 Tbs of encapsulated citric acid to 10 lbs of meat.Available at butcher shops.It takes a couple days in the fridge to develope the tangy taste.You can use the same Grandpa Josh seasoning.The citric acid will make an entirely different taste.

Grind and mix the meat.I use a 50-50 mix of venison/goose with beef/pork.Beef makes a firmer sausage than pork.Add the seasoning.I like to add extra garlic to it.Smash some cloves and add it to the water.Add the high temp cheese.I use 8 oz. for 10 lbs of meat.

Put in the smoker and set at 175 degrees.No smoke the first half hour.It will allow the casings to dry.Smoke will not penetrate wet casings.This smoker is very efficient.Put 2-3 OUNCES of wood in.DO NOT TURN UP TO A HIGHER TEMP to get it done faster.All the fat will run out and the sausage will crumble when sliced.

How long to smoke it depends on the size of the casings.The most common are 2 1/2 in. in diameter.For this size......keep adding wood so it smokes for about 3 hours.

Get yourself a thermometer.Insert it into one of the sticks and leave it in until a temp of 150 degrees is reached.For smaller size,smoke less time.

When 150 degrees are reached......put it in the sink and run cold water over it to stop the cooking.Put in the fridg overnight and you can start eating it the next day.


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## Tommyjamg

Wow. Totally different from how I did it. I threw 6 sausages in along with a couple dozen beer stick-sized sausages. I really packed it in. I set it for 150 and threw the soaked chips in right off the bat. I also set the clock for SIX HOURS!!! I believe the 6 hours ended at about 3am so I was well into my beauty sleep figuring the smoker would turn off automatically, which it did, and then cool off fairly quickly, which it didn't. By the time I checked it at 6am it was still about 100 degrees. But it didn't seem to dry them out (except the beer sticks). The sausages were pretty wet inside but dry on the outside. Plus I saw how my expertise at stuffing the sausage went from bad to better due to air bubbles, etc. Like I said, I never did it before. 
And then, since I read the casing should turn red, I figured the sausage wasn't done so a local butcher I called told me to cook them up for a few more hours until they reach 160. He says 160 is the magic number but another guy in his shop said 150 the day before.

Anyway, I smoked them longer, then soaked them in a cooler full of icy water for a couple of hours. Don't know if that was too long or not. 
Later that day I sampled a couple of the sausages and they tasted fine, even though it occurred to me I may have forgotten to add seasoning! The thing is I only had 2 beers during the whole stuffing process. My hands were too dirty so my kind sister was nice enought to get me a straw.

I can't wait to try this again and do it a little more scientifically, and with your advice. Now I just got to get me another deer!

By the way, I used a 66/33 ratio of venison to pork for everything I did from brats and Italians, Hungarians, and sausage. Does that sound a little dry to you?

Oh, and one more thing. As far as mixing the pork and venison, I put both meats in one bowl and mixed it by hand (after a thorough washing of course). Is that the way you guys do it? 
And now I remembered one more thing. The cabelas grinder I bought came with a 4.5mm and a 7mm grinding plate. I used the 7mm plate to grind the venison and pork, which worked great because the meat was nearly frozen. But after I mixed the meats together, they were too warm to go through the 4.5mm plate. So my question is, is the 4.5mm plate more of a preference? Or does it make for a better sausage or brat?


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## KEN W

I prefer 50-50 instead of 2/3 to 1/3.Puts more fat in which helps as a binder to hold the sausage together when you slice it.

Tough to get the meat to 150 degrees when you only set the smoker at 150.Up the temp to 175.Also provides more smoke at that higher temp.Don't guess.....use a meat thermometer with a cord so you can put it on top of the smoker and continuously see the temp.

The casings will turn red from the cure you put in.Use Modern Cure with 2 tsp per 10 lbs of meat.DO NOT smoke sausage w/o adding the cure.The smoke drives out the oxygyn and at the low temps there is a danger of food poisoning.

Air bubbbles should be pricked with a pin or needle.Grind each meat and mix together by hand or with a meat mixer.Use Ice water when you add the water and seasonings.You want the meat as cold as possible to prevent the fat from smearing.

I grind everything through the middle-sized plates.


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## drjongy

I love my Materbuilt for jerky and smoking stuff before I throw it on the grill, but I never though you could make summer sausage and such. I find mine is real inconsistent with the temperature inside the smoker, some parts are much hotter than others. Do you have this problem at all, Ken? Do you think the smokers that cost 2-3 times as much are any better? Do you have the old Masterbuilt without the vent on top or the newer one?


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## KEN W

I have the older model.The newer ones also have a door latch.Haven't had any trouble with the door staying open yet.Also w/o the vent.....I have to leave the opening where the wood goes in open and inch or so to get a draft.Otherwise the wood stops smoking.

Yes there are hot spots.Basically in the corners where the the meat is not over the water pan.Which is why I don't fill mine completely.I leave the corners open.


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## 9manfan

How big is this smoker you are talking about, or how many sticks of sausage could you smoke at one time, with the high cost of processing now days we have thought about going this direction also.


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## drjongy

It's the size of a small fridge. It has four racks...you can actually put a lot of stuff in there, but I probably overload mine. I think I'll do like Ken says and just keep stuff in the middle. Now when I do jerky I am moving stuff around in there quite a bit.

I have the older model too and drilled a hole in the top for a vent. You need to keep the smoke moving or it can become bitter tasting. I think the newer model vent if very nice feature. They also improved the wood pan so it is removable, which is nice when you want to quit smoking something. All in all I think it is a great smoker for the price....I really can't see how the more expensive ones would be any different either.


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## KEN W

It has 3 racks in it.4 or so sticks per rack.12 sticks or so total.All depends on the size of the sticks.That is for the most common size......2 1/2 inches in diameter and 18-20 inches long.


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## 9manfan

Do you just lay the sticks on the racks or do you have to hang them, have you tried to make pepper sticks or ring baloney or just mainly summer sausage??


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## KEN W

I lay the sticks on the racks.There are no hooks to hang them.

I've basically made every kind of sausage you can make.Plus ribs,fish.and pork butt.I've also made pepperoni sticks and jerky that isn't smoked in it.Just don't put any wood in.Use a thermometer.Keeps the mess out of my wife's oven.


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## jacobsol80

I have a Masterbuilt about a year old that seems to be developing some cracks in the plastic case on the top of the door. Anyone else seeing this?
Any suggestions on preventing the plastic from cracking? I kept the smoker on the deck this summer protected with a vinyl cover. Could it be that the temperature is too hot back there?


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## Tommyjamg

KEN W said:


> I prefer 50-50 instead of 2/3 to 1/3.Puts more fat in which helps as a binder to hold the sausage together when you slice it.
> 
> Tough to get the meat to 150 degrees when you only set the smoker at 150.Up the temp to 175.Also provides more smoke at that higher temp.Don't guess.....use a meat thermometer with a cord so you can put it on top of the smoker and continuously see the temp.
> 
> The casings will turn red from the cure you put in.Use Modern Cure with 2 tsp per 10 lbs of meat.DO NOT smoke sausage w/o adding the cure.The smoke drives out the oxygyn and at the low temps there is a danger of food poisoning.
> 
> Air bubbbles should be pricked with a pin or needle.Grind each meat and mix together by hand or with a meat mixer.Use Ice water when you add the water and seasonings.You want the meat as cold as possible to prevent the fat from smearing.
> 
> I grind everything through the middle-sized plates.


When you say "add ice water" ... what do you add it to? I think I completely missed that part.


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## jamiep

Hi. One thing I highly recommend with the Masterbuilt is a good dual probe digital thermometer. I use the ET-73 by RediChek. It showed a difference of 25 degrees from the inside of the smoker to the digitial readout. I was always wondering why my briskets came out dry. even afte following MossyMo excellent tips.

Jamie


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## Norm70

absolutely never trust a temp readout from a factory thermometer. I found myself haveing about 5 digitals handy(love the wireless ones!). instant reads are also really nice. HMMMMMM....I haven't smoked it up in about a month, Pulled pork is sounding mighty good right now!


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## KEN W

Norm.....do you have the Maverick ET-7 Remote-Check Wireless Thermometer With 2 Probes?


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## Norm70

ya, that is probably my most expensive thermometer, i have several other cheaper models also.


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## KEN W

Do they work well?Is the temp in your Masterbuilt close to what you set it at?How far away does the remote work?

Are they worth the expense?


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## Norm70

i think the remote is to 50 feet i think?? I put it on my window sill facing the smoker and i read it from inside the house. I do not have a masterbuilt, but i do not trust any of the smoker thermo's i have had them off by over 40 deg before. Ken can you remove the masterbuilt thermo??? you can test it. if you don't know how to test it just let me know i can help ya.

I like the probes because you can put them close to the meat near heat source and they are easy to test. Digital probes are a good investment just make sure to take care of them. NEVER put them directly in water wipe them clean and store them in a warm place. I have learned the hard way that those digitals break quickly if not treated right.


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## Norm70

ken i guess i ever did answer your question. are they worth the expense. Most mavericks are good. they make a cheaper option than the et-7 and it works well don't remember the name of it off the top of my head though. I have one at home if you want me to check i can. the et-7 is well worth it if your smoking stuff at precise temp increments(such as sausage and most other smokes for that matter). So yes i would get one. let me know what your looking at for a price i may be able to find and et-7 online for ya for alot cheaper than retail.


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## KEN W

Norm.....how far off is the one built into your smoker.I have one of the new Cajun Injector smokers.Looks just like the Masterbuilt.I do make a lot of sausage and it seems the smoker is hotter than it should be.How do you remove the thermometer?

Most of the prices are around $40 including S&H.


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## Norm70

the 1st smoker i store bought it was over 40 deg off. I think honestly i would go get a cheaper version to test out your temp in your smoker. I am not sure how to remove them in a masterbuilt i just would not trust them.

In probe thermo whichever one you would buy, to test it, stick the probe end of the thermo into a pot of boiling water it should read 212, if not you adjust accordingly to what it says. Check once more with cup of ice water make sure it reads 32. if you figure what temp the probe is at then take a potato stick the probe through it and put it on a grate in your smoker. set the smoker at a certain temp(what you would normally smoke at) and get a read out from your probe thermo that you buy. this should give you an accuate reading as to what temp the smoker is running at. If it is off adjust accordingly.

Hope this helps you ken the et-7's are very durable but to check the temps that the smoker is running at you could probably just get a cheaper maverick redi check and get by.

Hope i explained myself well enough let me know if i did not.


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## MossyMO

Ken
Have owned 4 Masterbuilts (almost identical to the Cajun Injector, bet Masterbuilt manufactures them for Cajun Injector), still have 2 of them. They do have hot spots, edge of racks and front and rear corners above the element; but with each Masterbuilt I have owned, the thermometers have been with in 5º of being accurate.

I am not disagreeing with Norm, majority of analog thermometers that come with store purchased smokers are quite inaccurate. But that has not been my experience with Masterbuilts digital thermometer.

Redi-Check ET-73 is a very well made, accurate, probed digital thermometer. Have 6 different digital thermos with probes, all are accurate but I would say the ET-73 is our favorite (more features than the others) and was the most expensive.


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## jamiep

My redichek has done wonders... I had previously made 2 briskets at about $40 each adn they were just ok, edible with lots of sauce. so for $60 investment in a thermometer it has shown that the temp was 25degrees off. Over 16 hours that is a lot of heat. My last brisket was awesome. and so was the pulledpork and stuffed jalapenos. It is worthit if you want tohave good meat.
and they will pay for themselves over thier life.

JamieP


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## KEN W

Thanks guys.

I now have a Cajun Injector and had a Masterbuilt before this one.As you say Mossy.....they are probably built at the same place.Both had the hottest spot in theback right corner where there is no water pan under the rack.

1 more question.....how do you guys clean yours?Easy Off oven cleaner works,but it also eats the finish off inside.Putting vineager in the pan and cranking up the heat as high as it can go for 2 hours works OK.


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## rmyers04

Could you tell me if i can make jerky out of corn beef??
and how do you think it would turn out??


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## MossyMO

Ken
I do not clean the walls of the smoker unless it gets crusty, then I use a product called Greased Lighting; works great. After the cleaning I will run smoke with the smoker empty to re-season it. I feel the more smoke and creosote on the walls, the more seasoned the smoker is. The water pan I line with aluminum foil for easy cleaning and the racks I will soak for a bit before wiping them off.

rmyers04
Corned beef should work also for jerky, but it will have some added flavoring from being processed for corn beef. Corn beef is excellent for making smoked pastrami !!!


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## jamiep

cleaning my masterbuilt is pretty simple. i put the racks in the dishwaser or use soap and water, the water/grease tray hand wash, then ocassionally wash down inside with warm soapy water only if it gets real crusty. I make sure the seals are clean and scrape the excess grease from the back. I also put my smoker on a bbq mat to protect the concrete.

How do you do smoked pastrami sounds yummy. I getting ingredients to do some jalapenos stuffed. doing them tomorrow.


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## MossyMO

I have made pastrami using corned beef, so brining process can be skipped.

Pastrami Recipe

Brine
1 gallon cold water 1 cup kosher salt 
2-1/2 tsp prague powder #1 
3/4 cup white sugar 
6 bay leaves 
2 tsp garlic powder 
2 tsp juniper berries 
2 tsp black peppercorns

Dry Rub
1/3 cup COURSE black pepper (not table ground) 
1/3 cup juniper berries 
1/4 cup coriander

Get a good fresh brisket as lean as you can find and trim off all but abut 1/4" of the fat cap. Should be about 8 - 10 lbs.

Soak in brine for 7 days. Pump/inject meat with brine every few inches at least twice during the brining phase.

Remove from brine and rinse in clear cold water. Pat dry and rub well with dry rub ingredients. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set in refrigerator for 2 days. If you have a food vacuum sealer that will work well here.

Smoke at 200º with your favorite wood. Spray every hour or so with apple juice or 50-50 mix of apple juice and Captain Morgan (I use the cheap imatation (Ron Diaz) for this, save the Morgan for a drink).

You only need apply smoke for about 3 hours so, after that you can just use heat (no wood chips) or transfer it to your oven for convenience. Wrap in double layers of foil and heat until internal meat temperature reaches 180º.


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## jamiep

Thanks MossyMo

I have a 7lb brisket in Freezer will this work?


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## MossyMO

Brisket will work great, it will be a 9 day prep before you smoke it. Let us know how the pastrami turns out?


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