How The AMNPS Affects The MES 30

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It's so easy to do. Unlike other cooks I've never compiled a notebook of what I've done in the past for future reference. I don't have time to get into it: writing down meats and cheeses temps and hours smoked and wood chips and rubs and mops used and foiled or unfoiled. I just remember the important stuff that I did. I'll remember that this last time I smoked 3 racks of St. Louis ribs and didn't foil them and the result was thicker bark. I already remember that I've twice smoked baby backs and foiled them and what rubs and mops I used and the temp I cooked them at and about how long and how they turned out. But each time I smoke I learn something new whether it's what to repeat or what not to do again.

I'm not trying to raise my smoking skills to competition level. I'm just trying to be the best smoker I can be in my own backyard and to please whoever eats at my table.

I agree with you 100% about not trying to raise your skills to competition level. I smoke the way I like to, and like my Q just fine. Not saying I don't have a million things to learn, just doing it my way.

Sorry, one more post. This is a photo from Jeff's current newsletter. I've produced smoked ribs that look just like these. I don't like heavy black bark on my pork ribs or beef brisket. I don't like the texture or the taste. This is my favorite style and the one my family prefers. Use the 3-2-1 method (or 2-2-1 or other variations) and you'll get this result every time.

No apology needed, I was reading his newsletter as well and that is the way I like my ribs also. I'm not sure how I like beef brisket, never had a lot to make a good decision.

I can't stop looking at those ribs!! Sure is a purrdy picture!!
 
Now those are some mighty pretty ribs 
icon14.gif


Gary
 
I agree with you 100% about not trying to raise your skills to competition level. I smoke the way I like to, and like my Q just fine. Not saying I don't have a million things to learn, just doing it my way.

No apology needed, I was reading his newsletter as well and that is the way I like my ribs also. I'm not sure how I like beef brisket, never had a lot to make a good decision.

I can't stop looking at those ribs!! Sure is a purrdy picture!!
I swear to you that the last two times I made baby back ribs (not St. Louis ribs as shown in the photo) they looked just like these. And I did it all in me little MES with the AMNPS. The biggest decision with ribs (and beef brisket, which I've smoked in my MES a few times) beside the rub and to mop or not to mop and if so what to mop with, is what wood pellets to use. Hickory? Oak? Pecan? Apple? A combo? None of the above?

I took a BBQ class where the instructor swore we couldn't tell the difference in taste between the woods if he held a blind tasting. That may or may not be true but it's easy to prove. Just smoke up some ribs with one flavor of wood pellets, refridge the leftovers, cook up another identical batch on a different day using a different wood flavor, refridge those leftovers, then heat them both up carefully and compare the flavors. Smoked flavors actually intensify over time; the leftover ribs are much more delightfully smoky than when I pulled them out of the MES.
 
The gelled alcohol thing sounds interesting.

Did you just get like the sterno can stuff you use for under foil pans?
 
Last edited:
 
The gelled alcohol thing sounds interesting.
Parrot-Head, it worked like a charm. My days with a propane torch are over. Only thing to watch out for is when you're blowing on the smoking pellets to get that red cherry. If you blow too hard little bits of molten gelled alcohol go flying up and land on your arms, face and hair. I did that once--once--and then quickly adjusted to avoid it happening again.

The only gelled alcohol the Lowes near me carries is a six-can pack that  was designed to be used as patio table torch but they can also be used for sterno cans. The gel is soft so I just spooned it out onto the pellets and the AMNPS as I think I described earlier in this thread. It was the easiest way to lit the AMNPS I've ever found--and it stayed lit.
 
Last edited:
 
The gelled alcohol thing sounds interesting.

Did you just get like the sterno can stuff you use for under foil pans?
Survivor man used gel hand sanitizer.  Kinda like lighter fluid you probably need to let it completely burn up if there is a fragrance in it.

-Kurt
 
Todd's Garlic spice and a couple other specialty pellets that don't have the name of the wood is White Oak.

-Kurt
 
 
Todd's Garlic spice and a couple other specialty pellets that don't have the name of the wood is White Oak.

-Kurt
That sounds great. I read in my Ray Lampe book about the flavored woods being used for smoking. He mentioned Garlic Spice and as well as old wine and bourbon barrels. Todd's on the cutting edge with offering all those new fangled wood pellet flavors. I am a man of simple tastes, however, and just stick with yer basic wood pellets. If I want to add a garlic, wine, etc. flavor to the meat I'll put it in the marinade or rub or finishing juice or sauce.
 
 
Funny how you accumulate all that stuff, isn't it? I'm done with using a propane torch (what'll I do with my leftover cans of propane?) since my successful experiment with gelled alcohol as an AMNPS lighter. It was easy and worked great. The pellets never went out over the 7 hours I smoked and I even had some unburnt ones left over!

I shy away from craigslist. Some very bad people sometimes post there or answer ads. On the other hand, we have a good friend who swears by it.
My girlfriend is loaded with Dial fragrance free gel hand sanitizer from the American Red Cross.  It's 62% ethyl alcohol.  I covered one 1" hickory pellet and put it in my filled AMNTS.  It's like a wick that starts what it's touching.  No more hassling with keeping the blow torch lit in the wind. 

-Kurt
 
  • Like
Reactions: daricksta
 
My girlfriend is loaded with Dial fragrance free gel hand sanitizer from the American Red Cross.  It's 62% ethyl alcohol.  I covered one 1" hickory pellet and put it in my filled AMNTS.  It's like a wick that starts what it's touching.  No more hassling with keeping the blow torch lit in the wind. 

-Kurt
May I compliment you on the brilliance of yourself? First, I've never seen Dial hand gel with alcohol at the supermarket because I would've bought it just to sanitize my hands. Second, you took it further and fashioned your own cheap--as in free--AMNTS starter. I'm using gelled alcohol but I still had a couple of problems with keeping my AMNPS lit initially the 2nd time I used the stuff but I think that was more user error. Yep--I'm not using a blowtorch anymore, either.
 
 
May I compliment you on the brilliance of yourself? First, I've never seen Dial hand gel with alcohol at the supermarket because I would've bought it just to sanitize my hands. Second, you took it further and fashioned your own cheap--as in free--AMNTS starter. I'm using gelled alcohol but I still had a couple of problems with keeping my AMNPS lit initially the 2nd time I used the stuff but I think that was more user error. Yep--I'm not using a blowtorch anymore, either.
Les Stroud, the Canadian Survivorman on the Discovery Channel, was using hand sanitizer to start a survival fire.  He gets the credit.  I just thought of it when you were talking about gelled alcohol.  Now that I see Todd has it I'll add it to my next pellet order.

-Kurt
 
Hey Pretty Cool     Sanitized and lit at the same time !!

Gaet
 
 
Hey Pretty Cool     Sanitized and lit at the same time !!

Gaet
Clean burning!? Lol  If you get some on your hands, you don't have to wash it off! Ok I'm going to quit now.

-Kurt
 
Hey maybe they will start making a Hickory or Pecan Fragrance ???

Gary
 
 
Les Stroud, the Canadian Survivorman on the Discovery Channel, was using hand sanitizer to start a survival fire.  He gets the credit.  I just thought of it when you were talking about gelled alcohol.  Now that I see Todd has it I'll add it to my next pellet order.

-Kurt
I forgot that Todd offered it but what I bought at Lowes will last me quite a while. The hassle is I have to spoon it out of can instead of squeezing it out of a bottle.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky