A-Maze-N Smokers

[alelover]

You don't need heat to cold smoke. I have done cheese at 47º before and it was great. Smoke is smoke. Temperature is not really a factor.

 

[biggronn]

Thanks to all you guys that answered my questions.Got plenty more.

Smokin' some Sacramento cut ribs today. My favorite!

My propane man (friend) is making me up a new regulator with a needle valve on it so I can lower my heat a little for smokin trout and salmon. Got a amnps coming for cold smoking.

I put my box of pellets away from the heat. Fired it up pretty good with a propane torch. So far it's giving me a nice TBS. I do think I'll cut a hole in the bottom side of my smoker for more air to give it more circulation.

My p/c won't let me download my pics. Got a demon in there somewhere. When I get it figured out, I'll start posting.
 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Ron, I have had or cut Spare Ribs, Baby Back Ribs, Rib Tips, Rib Skirts, St Louis Cut Ribs, Denver Ribs (Lamb), Beef Back Ribs and Short Ribs...I have even had Ribs from a South American Fish called a Pacu...What the Heck is a Sacramento Cut Rib?...JJ

 

[trizzuth]

Yeaah, now that's what I like to hear!

To celebrate my inaugural ham Virginia Country Ham cold smoking session, I popped into my local grocery store and got an entire pork belly!  Have 3 decent sized slabs of back that I am going to cure tomorrow so it will be ready to go at the same time the ham is done.  Can't wait!  I will report back with pics!

 

[biggronn]

The Sacramento cut of ribs is....you cut off the chine bone and end flap. Then you pull off the membrane on the bones. Nothing goes to waste. You can smoke what you cut off or use it for something else. I don't think it is just in California. I've seen it in Jeff's newsletter, just can't remember which one. Been doing them for years. I know what some are thinking. They like the full rack. I do too. When you're done, they're about the same size as baby backs. I don't understand baby backs. I guess folks like them for tenderness. If you smoke'm right, they're all tender. If you do it the Sac way , all the stuff you cut off can go in the smoker and supply the cook with delicious bites while he's smoking the ribs as they will be ready a lot sooner.
 

 

[biggronn]

Holy smoke!!!  I just reread your question as to what are Sacramento cut ribs. I'm losing it. (just turned 65)  I was talking about St. Louis cut ribs. Don't know where Sacramento cut comes from. Maybe cuz I'm 3 hrs north of Sacramento. LOL!

Boy! Is my face red.!!!

 

[chef jimmyj]

You Cali boys got your own names for lots of stuff!  From what you describe, this is what the rest of the country calls them...

...JJ

NAMP 416A St Louis ribs A St Louis rib is a 4.5 lb to a 4.9 spare rib that has been trimmed,sometimes called “trimmed rib”, with the breast bone is removed making it easy to cut between the ribs. A St Louis spare rib is designed to resemble a back rib and give better yield and plate coverage. The weight range of this "trimmed rib/St Louis rib is: 2 down  2.25 down 2.5 down  2.75 down; The smaller the size, the higher the price.

 

 

[biggronn]

OK OK. We have different names for stuff just like all different parts of the country. It's not just California guys.  We can smoke with the best of them. Gotta remember that California was settled by different people all over the country. In fact I was born in Georgia and raised in Texas. Stayed in California after 3 tours in Nam. I just made a mistake calling them Sacramento cut ribs. We call them St Louis cut too.

This message is strictly tongue in cheek. Nothing taken wrong and nothing meant in defense. Just having fun.
 

 

[chef jimmyj]

OK OK. We have different names for stuff just like all different parts of the country. It's not just California guys.  We can smoke with the best of them. Gotta remember that California was settled by different people all over the country. In fact I was born in Georgia and raised in Texas. Stayed in California after 3 tours in Nam. I just made a mistake calling them Sacramento cut ribs. We call them St Louis cut too.

This message is strictly tongue in cheek. Nothing taken wrong and nothing meant in defense. Just having fun.
 

I'm just playing! I have many friends and family on the West Coast and being a Jersey Boy have jousted for years over our quirks, all in fun! 

...JJ

 

[1beezer]

Jersey people have an accent and they can't drive. I work in Jersey and New York alot.

I used my tube to cold smoke more cheese today. Real easy to cold smoke in single digits. Made Dutch Oven corned beef and cabbage and some Beer Bread for dinner to keep the little lady warm by the woodstove. All in all a good day.

 

[trizzuth]

So on Friday, my new 6x8 AMNS came in and I couldn't wait to try it!  So I went to the store, picked up a block of Private Reserve Cheddar, Habaner Cheddar and a local Portuguese cheese called "Bom" something or other that my Portuguese in-laws eat all the time.  Firm good tasting mild cheese, not sharp at all.

Burned off residual oils as noted in the instructions and for this test, I just used my normal gas grille as the smoker box.  I had to foil over the back of it because it was pretty open and I didn't want all of the smoke to escape.

I lit one end and got it going really good, then did not think it would be enough smoke, so I lit the other end.  Ended up leaving the house for a few hours, came back and it was almost finished.  I think the cheeses got about 4-5 hours of smoke in total.  Wrapped them up in saran wrap and zip lock bags and into the fridge they went!  I couldn't take waiting, so I sampled a section of the portuguese cheese today and man that was good!  Still has a bit of that "freshly smoked" flavor people talk about at the beginning, but the signs are very promising!

Now to my real question: I had planned on using the AMNS in my gigantic 275 gallon Oil Tank Smoker I built that you can somewhat see in my avatar.  I need to have a good cold smoke for my Virginia Country Ham and 3 slabs of Pork Bellies that I have curing right now.  I am wondering if the smoke output of the AMNS would not be enough for that large of a smoker.

Maybe Todd can chime in here and give me some advice.  I really wanted to stay away from heat of any kind, and the current firebox for my smoker is an old wood stove connected directly to the side of it.  I could probably put some charcoal in the wood stove and then add chips as necessary to get a lot of smoke, but I'm concerned about the heat.  It has been very cold here in Massachusetts lately, so I'm not really concerned about outside temp, just internal temp of the smoker, and I want to keep it as low as possible.

I could always smoke it for a full day with the AMNS, then run it again, lit at both ends both times, or if needed, light it also in the middle to produce more smoke and then just refill it more often.

Any advice?  I want this ham and bacon to come out spectacular!  Thanks.

 

[ogre]

I use the AMNSP in my cold smoke only smoke house, the size is about 3'6 x 4' x 7 feet to inside peek. I have used it with great success. I have really liked using corn cob pellets in it. It has not been my experience that you need to light both ends but to each his own.