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  1. daricksta

    Anyone Use The AMNS For Cold Smoking?

    Todd's got the 6x6 AMNS on sale and I'm interested in buying it for cold smoking. I've used the AMNPS for years but too much Dust falls through the bottom. Is this less of a problem with the AMNS? Todd's description is that it's designed for cold smoking but I want to make sure it keeps dust...
  2. daricksta

    New to smoking

    Just like Old Sarge I clean also clean the racks after every use. If grease dripped down onto any trays or pans I clean those two. My Masterbuilt is only 30" and many times when I place pork ribs or beef briskets on the racks the ends of the meat touch the walls. So part of my cleanup is wiping...
  3. daricksta

    Trying a more complex rub. Thoughts?

    I agree with Sonny E. I can't tell how this would taste but I also like a bit of heat at the end of the sweet. I'd add a 1/4 tsp of cayenne which really isn't that much. And I'm also a big fan of smoked paprika. I'm also not sure of using both celery salt and celery seed unless you like the...
  4. daricksta

    1st Cheese Attempt

    Looks like you have the same smoker I do, the MES 30. You're fortunate that the pellets reignited at those heat temps since I have problems with pellets going out during cold smokes due to poor airflow within the smoker. I have to relight the pellets a few times. When the temp sneaks up above...
  5. daricksta

    Honey sriracha beef jerky. First attempt. (Critiques/tips are welcome)

    Thanks for the info. And you know, after 3 tries I'm still working on perfecting my beef jerky. But you mentioned pastrami. I got a food slicer for my birthday so now pastrami is next on my to-do list for smoking. It also means I can slice my own top round for jerky instead of having a butcher...
  6. daricksta

    Help! Ready to buy MESS, but can't make heads or tails!

    Bear, See the top controller on your 7 yr old MES 40? MS is putting those on the new hybrid MES 30 (don't know what Gen # to assign them). These might be custom made for big box retailers like Lowes so sell at a lower price point. Note how on the outside it looks like a Gen 1 but the innards...
  7. daricksta

    MES and after market pellets

    You're right. I won't buy products like those.
  8. daricksta

    Honey sriracha beef jerky. First attempt. (Critiques/tips are welcome)

    I've made about 3 batches of beef jerky but have never used any cure. I did buy some pink curing salt (I think it's #1, not sure because I haven't used it yet). What would be a good reason to cure the beef before smoking it? I never worry about the Danger Zone because of the temp I smoke beef...
  9. daricksta

    Help! Ready to buy MESS, but can't make heads or tails!

    The Gen 2.5, from what I've read, is a great design. It's available in a 40" model without Bluetooth here, among other places: . If this is within your price range and you don't need Bluetooth, I think you'll be very happy with this. And just so you know, I bought my MES 30 Gen 1 off Amazon. The...
  10. daricksta

    "Hot" Smoked Cheese

    The Q-MATZ I use that I bought from Todd Johnson/A-MAZE-N look very similar to these. I've used mine only for smoking cheeses and beef jerky. None of that ever melts into of falls through the racks anymore.
  11. daricksta

    "Hot" Smoked Cheese

  12. daricksta

    "Hot" Smoked Cheese

    This is why I should make notes. I think I used apple wood pellets this time because--of I remember correctly--I didn't want hickory (which I usually use) to overpower the more delicate flavors of the Gruyere and Gouda. If I'm just smoking sharp cheddar and mozzarella I use hickory. This batch...
  13. daricksta

    "Hot" Smoked Cheese

    That sounds great--and a whole different product, little warm cheese loaves. I never thought of that.
  14. daricksta

    MES and after market pellets

    Kurt, you quoted the post wrong or misread it. Here's the actual statement in the post: "Mesquite or Hickory 100% base wood (alder or oak) WITH FLAVOR OILS NO ACTUAL Mesquite or Hickory wood in the pellet" (I added the caps in that phrase for emphasis). My opinion is this: tell me in advance...
  15. daricksta

    MES and after market pellets

    Great photo. But I would add that the intensity of smoke flavor is not only dependent on the smoke source, but on the the food being smoked, the cooking temp as well as the total cooking time. In my MES 30 Gen 1 using applewood pellets in my AMNPS, I "cold" smoked some cheeses a few months ago...
  16. daricksta

    MES and after market pellets

    Kurt, here's where I got my info on Traeger pellets. This is a SMF post from 2012. For their pellet base they use alder on the west coast and oak on the east coast. I bought alder pellets from Todd for specialized purposes and I rarely used them. It's possible the Traeger CSR didn't tell you the...
  17. daricksta

    MES and after market pellets

    I looked into Traeger pellets. Apparently they're made from white oak. The flavor is derived only from the oil used to coat the pellets. Someone had stated this in one of the SMF forums and I went online to do some research. If you dig deeply enough into the Traeger website, they admit as much...
  18. daricksta

    New Set & Forget? Yoder, Pitts & Spitts or Cook Shack

    Really depends on what your budget is. You're looking at upscale smokers and if you're willing to spend that much would you be willing to smoke that much to make the expense worth it? And how well would they hold up to the elements if kept outside, even in Texas? I don't personally know anything...
  19. daricksta

    Masterbuilt 40

    Pellets won't work in the wood chip holder. You need to ignite them using direct heat, like a torch or a firestarter gel of some kind. You'd have to manually load the pellets into the wood chip holder since using the loader would just dump them onto the holder. I don't think the heating element...
  20. daricksta

    Any hope for my MES40 or should it be trashed?

    Because of all the rust and mold, I think you should trash your MES. Maybe you have the time and are in sufficient physical shape to put even more time into scraping and scrubbing off all the rust and what appears to be white mold, including scrubbing all the rack guides and the wood chip...
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