But first a little background: I've been using a 6x8 AMNS for a while now, but I always had a problem either keeping it lit or getting a complete burn. I tried microwaving the dust, tamping it down more, tamping it down less, etc. Nothing seemed to work. I'd been corresponding with Todd about it and as you would expect, he was very helpful. He told me he was working on a modification that might help. It seems that the the way the feet (legs?) are attached might block the air flow. I don't know if anyone else had this problem, but (spoiler alert), the mod fixed it.
This is a pic of the bottom of my original AMNS. Note the how a flat part of the leg is welded under one of the paths of the maze.
This pic is of the bottom of the modified AMNS. They don't have the horizontal flat that the prior one does, so less air is blocked. The legs are now X shaped, so they don't follow a path.
So yesterday I did a cold smoke of about 4.5 pounds of salmon to make lox plus a couple of pieces of gouda, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. I dry cured the lox in kosher salt and some peppercorns for 24 hours. I then added some water and cured for another 12 hours. Totally dry curing (like grav lax), can make the salmon too firm, sort of dried out. Brine curing can make it a little mushy, depending on the particular piece of fish. I was hoping this combo cure would give me the best of both. I then smoked for 4 hours with hickory. I microwaved 3 1/2 cups of sawdust and lit both ends of the AMNS.
Todd nailed it! The AMNS burned completely from the initial light and lasted a little over 5 hours. I left the cheese in for the full time. The lox came out great. As we all know, results can vary depending on the characteristics of a particular piece of meat, so until I repeat this compound curing process a few times, I can't say whether it was the fish or the process, but it was great thuis time.
The money shots:
And thanks to Todd. His customer focus is second to none!
This is a pic of the bottom of my original AMNS. Note the how a flat part of the leg is welded under one of the paths of the maze.
This pic is of the bottom of the modified AMNS. They don't have the horizontal flat that the prior one does, so less air is blocked. The legs are now X shaped, so they don't follow a path.
So yesterday I did a cold smoke of about 4.5 pounds of salmon to make lox plus a couple of pieces of gouda, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. I dry cured the lox in kosher salt and some peppercorns for 24 hours. I then added some water and cured for another 12 hours. Totally dry curing (like grav lax), can make the salmon too firm, sort of dried out. Brine curing can make it a little mushy, depending on the particular piece of fish. I was hoping this combo cure would give me the best of both. I then smoked for 4 hours with hickory. I microwaved 3 1/2 cups of sawdust and lit both ends of the AMNS.
Todd nailed it! The AMNS burned completely from the initial light and lasted a little over 5 hours. I left the cheese in for the full time. The lox came out great. As we all know, results can vary depending on the characteristics of a particular piece of meat, so until I repeat this compound curing process a few times, I can't say whether it was the fish or the process, but it was great thuis time.
The money shots:
And thanks to Todd. His customer focus is second to none!