Masterbuilt Electric Smoker Recipes

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Masterbuilt is one of the most popular brands for smokers in the world. As a result, there are various Masterbuilt Electric Smoker Recipes out there that you can use to learn how to operate your smoker.

So in this article, I’m going to dig into how to cook a variety of recipes, including the following meats:

  • Chicken
  • Ham
  • Pork
  • Salmon 

Garlic Smoked Chicken Recipe

Garlic Smoked Chicken Recipe

These steps will include steps for brining a chicken. You can skip brining if you want, as that is pretty extensive. However, brining does improve the chicken, so if you do brine, start ahead by a single day. 

Ingredients

  • 5-pound whole chicken 
  • 2 liters of water 
  • 8 cloves of garlic (5 or 6 for brining)
  • (for brining) 2 halves of lemon 
  • (for brining) 1/3rd of a cup of cooking salt 
  • (for brining) About 5 branches of parsley and thyme. 
  • (for brining) 2 bay leaves and a sprig of rosemary 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon of basil
  • 2 teaspoons garlic and 1 teaspoons onion powder
  • If you did not brine, add 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, rosemary, and parsley
  • Applewood chips 

Instructions For Brining (Optional)

1.Combine all of the brining ingredients in a pot large enough to submerge a five-pound chicken.
2.Bring the ingredients to a boil and stir them until the salt is entirely dissolved.
3.Please wait until the ingredients have cooled entirely before submerging the chicken in its entirety.
4.Pat the outside dry with paper towels before moving onto the next step.

Instructions For Smoking

1.Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, using the Masterbuilt’s external temperature reader, wait until the temperature is consistently 250 degrees.
2.Cut down the remaining fresh garlic and mix the seasonings listed above that are not intended for brining.
3.Ensure the chicken is entirely dry before proceeding. After this, place the chicken inside an aluminum pan.
4.Once you can confirm the chicken is dry, treat the seasoning mix as a dry rub. Rubbing the entirety of the inside and the outside.
5.Once you are satisfied with the inside, tie the chicken’s legs together using butcher’s twine.
6.Place the chicken and the wood chips inside of the smoker. Place an internal meat thermometer inside of the chicken if you have one.
7.Check the wood chip container every couple of hours, refilling it if the wood chip container is low. Stop refilling the container within the last half an hour.
8.Pull out the chicken and check to see if it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees. If the chicken has yet to reach the safe internal eating temperature, put it back in for another half an hour.
9.Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.

This recipe is not appropriate for adding additional fruit juices into the liquid container of your smoker. Consider coating your chicken in sweeter sauces and spices like teriyaki, cayenne, and paprika if you would seek this out.

In the next section, I’m going to be taking a look at smoking a brisket.

Smoked Beef Brisket Recipe

Smoked Beef Brisket

To have proper brisket, you will need to know how to trim your brisket correctly. Below, I will get into the instructions needed to trim brisket as well. After the trimming instructions, I will get into the smoking instructions.

Always be sure to have a meat thermometer available to get a proper internal temperature.

Ingredients

  • A whole brisket (including point and flat) 
  • 2 tablespoons of garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons of onion powder 
  • Mesquite (or oak) wood chips
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Instructions For Trimming Your Brisket

To trim your brisket, you will need to have access to a fillet knife and a large cutting board. When trimming, you will want to focus on removing as much fat as possible and making the brisket even so that it cooks evenly on all sides. 

Focus on removing the white, globby bits (the fat). You will want to lift these bits and put your fillet knife between the meat and the fat. You will want to keep as much of the meat as possible as you do this.

As you are cutting, your goal is to make the brisket as square as possible. So you will want to remove thin pieces of meat on the end that will likely burn and trim the underside until it looks nice and even on all sides. 

That being said, you can get away with not trimming your brisket, but you will not have as good a flavor or even cooking if you do so. So we heavily suggest that you trim your brisket before moving onto smoking. 

If you want some detailed instructions on how to do this like a pro, check out this video below:

Instructions For How To Smoke A Brisket

1.To have this ready by the time supper rolls around, you will need to start at around noon. This process takes about five to seven hours to make a fully cooked brisket.
2.Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
3.Make sure the brisket is trim before proceeding.
4.Cover your brisket with the seasoning onion powder, garlic powder, and salt mix we mentioned earlier. Be sure that the brisket is thoroughly coated.
5.Wrap the brisket in butcher’s paper, which will allow you to seal in the flavor.
6.Place the brisket inside of the smoker while it is still inside of the paper.
7.Be sure to check the wood chips container every couple of hours. Refill the wood chips container as needed.
8.Pull out the brisket and allow it to rest to ensure all of the juices can settle.
9.Cut your brisket into thin pieces to ensure everyone gets a piece.

Given that brisket smokes for an incredibly long time, people also like to ensure that their moisture bowl does stay filled. Some people like to enhance this flavor by adding beef broth, which makes your beefy flavors extra potent. 

Some people like to coat their seasonings with an additional binder, which gives the meat a stronger bark-like texture. It also provides the seasoning a way to stick. Binders are typically mustard, mayo, or olive oil, depending on your flavor preference.

In the next section, I’m going to explore what it takes to smoke a ham properly. 

Honey Smoked Ham Recipe

Honey Smoked Ham

This recipe assumes that you are using an unseasoned fresh ham. That means to look for a ham that meets those requirements; it needs to indicate that you should cook it thoroughly. 

I will also be going through how to make a ham glaze, which will help you add extra flavor. 

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh 10-pound bone-in spiral ham
  • 1 cup of brown sugar 
  • 1/3 cup of paprika
  • 1/2 cup of sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of garlic powder 
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 
  • 1/3 cup of pineapple juice 
  • 1/2 cup of honey 
  • 2 tablespoons of dry mustard (or dijon mustard)
  • 1/2 cup of water 
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves 
  • Hickory chips

How To Make A Glaze For Your Honey Ham

1.Take a medium saucepan and turn it up to medium heat.
2.Add water, ground cloves, dry mustard, honey, and pineapple juice to the saucepan.
3.Continuously stir it so you can prevent the mixture from clumping up.
4.Reduce the hit and allow it to simmer until the mixture has darkened and thickened, which should take about 15 minutes.

Once you are done with the glaze, put this somewhere to the side. 

How To Smoke Your Ham

1.Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.Ensure that all moisture is removed from the surface of your ham, patting it down with paper towels as necessary.
3.Mix your dry rub of brown sugar, cinnamon, paprika, sugar, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.
4.Place your ham into an aluminum tray and cover it with your dry rub.
5.Smoke the ham for three hours, and don’t forget to insert a meat thermometer.
6.Be sure to check the hickory chips every hour, replacing them as needed.
7.Once the game reaches a bare minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, it is safe to eat.
8.Remove the ham and pour your glaze over it.

Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder Recipe

If you go to a BBQ restaurant, one of the most common things you can order is pulled pork. So, of course, you would want to make some pulled pork for yourself, so you no longer have to buy them at a restaurant. 

Pulled pork shoulder should also be cooked at a low temperature over a long time, known as “low and slow.” Also, be careful to buy high qualities meats. You can choose to cut off the fat like brisket, but it is less common in this case. 

Ingredients

  • A large pork shoulder 
  • 1 tablespoon of paprika
  • 1/2 cup of chili powder 
  • 1 tablespoon of salt
  • 1 cup of brown sugar 
  • Mesquite wood chips 
  • Aluminum foil
  • BBQ sauce (optional) 

Steps To Make Pulled Pork Shoulder

1.Combine all of the seasonings into a single dry rub combination.
2.Ensure the surface of your pork shoulder is entirely covered in dry rub. Make extra as needed.
3.Place in the fridge overnight. Remove it to sit for about an hour.
4.Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, adding in mesquite wood chips.
5.After the smoker has finished preheating, wrap your pork shoulder in aluminum foil to retain the heat. Don’t forget to place a heat thermometer.
6.Smoke anywhere from 8 to 12 hours (about one hour per pound).
7.Once your pork shoulder reaches 195 degrees Fahrenheit, pull it out.
8.The pork shoulder should be easy to tear apart using standard meat forks.
9.Add BBQ sauce if you feel like you need any extra flavor.

You will want to place it in the fridge for two reasons: first, allowing it to sit overnight in a cold environment will dry it out, which is necessary for a smoker to have properly crisped meat. 

You can also place things like apple juice or cider in the water tray, which pairs well with applewood and the flavor profiles we are going for. Just be sure you wash out the water tray before the next usage. 

Smoked Salmon Recipe

Smoked Salmon

Smoked salmon is interesting because it provides a different flavor profile compared to most other meats you would smoke. It is also incredibly healthy for you, provided you don’t eat five or six of them in one sitting.

However, you might be tempted, given the taste of smoked salmon.

You can also choose to brine salmon using dry ingredients, which is great for removing the moisture from the surface of your salmon. Some people like to use brown sugar, but that doesn’t typically pair well with lemon pepper (which is what we will be doing.

With this recipe, cover it in a sprinkling of salt, put it in the fridge, and wait half an hour.

Ingredients

  • 4 large salmon fillets (bones removed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
  • 3 teaspoons of lemon pepper 
  • 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, rosemary, and thyme

Steps To Make Smoked Salmon

1.Preheat the smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.Brine the salmon by covering it with salt, placing it on a tray, and waiting for 5 minutes.
3.Combine the lemon pepper, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
4.Ensure that the fish is dry before pouring them out and rubbing them in the dry seasoning mix.
5.Heat the salmon for up to an hour until the internal temperature is 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

You may also choose to heighten the lemon flavor by placing a small amount of lemon juice and water in your water tray. However, try not to allow the lemon to overpower these other flavors. 

Final Thoughts

All of these can be effectively made using a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. I also encourage you to tweak some of the seasoning mixes to find something that works for you.

Smoking is a science when it comes to getting the right internal temperatures. Almost everything else when using an electric smoker is art. So don’t be afraid to try something different, as your creativity may be rewarded.

Bobby Johnson

When he's not writing about barbecue, you can find Bobby smoking meat for friends and family. He's been a backyard pitmaster for roughly half his life, and has worked with nearly every cut of meat. Not everyone has a hands-on guide to teach them BBQ, but that's what Bobby hopes to do with Electric Smoker HQ. He wants to help people create amazing food that they can be proud of.