It’s inevitable that you’ll want to add some Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications after you’ve been using your smoker for a while.
The Masterbuilt propane smoker is a fantastic smoker at an amazing price, but you’ll be able to enhance your smoked foods by modifying the smoker to perform better for your specific requirements.
If you’re wondering what Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications are even possible or what can be easily done, then detailed below are the ten most common and most helpful smoker modifications that you can perform yourself.
Most Useful Masterbuilt Propane Smoker Modifications
Upgrade Your Masterbuilt Smoker Wood Chip Tray
One of the first Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications you should make is to replace the standard wood chip tray in the bottom with a cast iron skillet pan.
You have a few issues with the standard wood chip tray, it can rust out within one year, and the wood chips can catch on fire, which means you need to replace wood chips faster, and the smoke is poorer quality due to fire rather than heating.
A cast-iron skillet pan will stop your wood chips from catching fire and allow your wood chips to smoke longer with better quality smoke being produced.
If you’re going to have to replace the wood chip tray in a year anyway, you may as well start out with better quality smoke right now.
Get A Better And More Accurate Meat Probe Thermometer
If you’re looking for longer cooks with more accurate temperatures registering from the meat, and you don’t want to be manually checking the thermometer constantly, then one of the easiest Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications is to get an enhanced meat probe thermometer.
For anywhere from $25+, you can get a better quality and more accurate thermometer that can be checked wirelessly.
This means you can pull your meat out at the exact right time, and you can check from your phone rather than having to go outside constantly to see what the temperature is.
Seal Your Masterbuilt Propane Smoker To Reduce Smoke Loss
Smoke loss is a common complaint from many Masterbuilt smoker users; you often get this through the doors or from the joints on the smoker.
So, there are two Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications that you can implement to limit to smoke loss.
Use some high-temperature caulk to seal any joints and areas that are leaking smoke; this is extremely easy to do and is cost-effective.
You can also install some high-temperature gaskets around the doors to limit the smoke escaping from them.
By minimizing the smoke leaving your smoker, you’re going to end up with enhanced flavor in your food, you’re smoking for a reason, and if you’re letting all of that smoke escape, then the benefits of owning a smoker are limited as well.
Add Wheels To Your Masterbuilt Smoker For Easier Moving
Unless you’re going to build an enclosure for your Masterbuilt smoker, you shouldn’t be leaving it outside in the elements.
Both rain and sun can cause issues for things like your controller and general water damage to the components of your smoker that can cause corrosion.
If you have a little know-how, then one of the more helpful Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications to help you move your smoker inside and outside is to install casters onto the legs of the Masterbuilt smoker.
You may already have some wheels on the back, but if your smoker is too heavy or you need to deal with rugged terrain to get back inside, then you’ll likely need some rugged casters to make life much easier for you.
Add Insulation To Control Heat Loss
If you live in a very cold or very hot environment, your Masterbuilt smoker can have issues reaching temperatures or getting too hot.
You may also find that your smoker doesn’t work in sub-freezing temperatures, so one of the better Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications is to add insulation to the outside of your smoker.
You have a couple of options for insulation, you can apply insulation directly to the outside of your smoker, or you can build an enclosure for your smoker and add insulation to that smokehouse.
In both cases, you can buy some high-temperature insulation products from Amazon and apply it easily with self-adhesive backing.
If you do create an enclosure, remember to install a smokestack that goes outside the enclosure; otherwise, everything is going to get filthy with fat and smoke.
Add A Propane Needle Valve For Refined Flame Control
Adjusting the flame of your Masterbuilt propane smoker is done via a knob on the front of the smoker, but this is often not accurate enough when trying to get exact temperatures.
One of the easier and cheaper Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications is to install a propane needle valve between your propane tank and the burner.
Once you add the propane needle valve, you’ll be able to control the propane flow much easier, which means more accurate cooking, especially at lower temperatures, which is where most people complain about the built-in controller.
Build A Cold Smoker With The Mailbox Mod
If you’re looking to implement cold smoking, then you can buy some official Masterbuilt attachments for your Masterbuilt smoker, but one of the cheaper Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications is to implement the standard mailbox mod.
The Masterbuilt smoker mailbox mod allows you to burn your wood chips in an external device, generally a simple mailbox, which is attached to your Masterbuilt smoker through dryer duct.
So, you can burn your wood chips for longer times, you don’t need to open the smoker doors, and you get better airflow for cleaner smoke.
The mailbox mod is reasonably simple to implement, but you should follow some detailed instructions rather than trying to wing it.
Once implemented, you can use cold smoking on anything, including preserving meats or smoking cheese.
Plug Up The Burner Holes To Reduce Flame Blowout
In the bottom of your Masterbuilt propane smoker are burner holes that allow air to enter the chamber where the flames are heating the wood chips; one of the common issues, especially in windy environments, is that the flames can go out.
You do need some of the burner holes but not all of them, and you can plug the ones on the side that gets the most wind.
Using high-temperature cement is a quick and cheap way to plug these holes and ensure that your flames don’t go out.
If you’ve implemented the propane needle valve or you simply keep the flames low, you’re more likely to have them go out, so low-temperature cooking will benefit from this mod.
Install High-Temperature Grommets
If you’ve purchased a more expensive meat probe thermometer, then one of the issues you’re going to face is that you need to stick the wires in the door of your smoker.
The issue with this is that it breaks the seal, smoke can leak, and the wires are getting jammed into the door, which can reduce the life of your expensive meat probe.
One of the Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications involves drilling a 1.25” hole in each location you want a temperature probe to enter the smoker and then adding a high-temperature grommet to the hole, which seals it from smoke loss but allows you to push through the wires from the meat probe.
The high-temperature grommets will significantly extend the life of your meat probe and will ensure that your smoker is sealed tightly with no smoke loss.
Add A Pellet Smoker For Longer Smoking
One of the more simple Masterbuilt propane smoker modifications you can implement is a pellet smoker, such as the A-MAZE-N pellet smoker.
By implementing a pellet smoker, you can easily add more smoke for longer in your smoker.
Rather than refilling your wood chip tray every few hours, the pellet smoker will give you up to 11 hours of clean smoke before you need to replace the wood pellets.
This means you don’t need to stick around and watch your smoker, especially if you upgraded to the wireless controllers and wireless meat probe thermometers.
If you’ve implemented the mailbox mod, then the pellet smoker can also be added into the mailbox so that you get longer smoking, and the cleanup is much easier when you can just pull the pellet tray out and wash and clean as needed.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIt2h_l9kf0
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/masterbuilt-xl-propane-smoker-first-cook-and-mods.165066/
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