amznps question

[simple]

I tried my new Amazin Pellet generator the other day in my cold smoker.  I got about 10 hours of hickory smoke out of it; happy with that fact.

Noticing how much smoke it put out, I got to wondering if maybe it's too much of a good thing for the size of the smoker. I'm just using a little 4 cu. ft. fridge for this process.  I opened it to check how things were going, and was surprised to find it hard to see the bacon for the amount of smoke that was being produced. I had good airflow; a nice steady stream of smoke out the exhaust, although it was white, and denser than the TBS I usually have from my UDS.  Should I go back to the sawdust Amazen in this small of smoker?

 

[ironhorse07]

I am sure Todd will be along to answer for sure but I would just not fill the channels all the way to the top.

 

[pgsmoker64]

Ironhorse speaks true!  Cut back on the amount of sawdust you put in the smoker.

I adjust the amount of dust depending on what I'm smoking and how much smoke I want.

Good luck,

Bill

 

[dougmays]

4 cu ft. is a pretty small space....i would also suggest not filling the trails all the way to the top...also maybe loosen up the "packing", so that your dust is not so dense.

 

[simple]

Thanks for the quick replies. I notice all have mentioned the sawdust.  This is the pellet smoker, not the dust.  I assume the same logic would apply?

 

[dward51]

Yes, a thinner (not filled to the top) row of pellets would probably work. 

You can also use sawdust in the 5"x8" pellet trays (but not the other way around in the original dust tray), so if you have some sawdust on hand you could try that also.

 

[duckybud]

I use the dust for cold smoking and find that it will produce TBS for 12 to 14 hours.  The first couple of times I used it I was afraid it wasn't producing enough smoke but continued with a 2 day 25 hr smoke.  The bacon had a beautiful amber color and great smoke flavor. I keep the temp at around 80 degrees through the whole smoke and intake and exhaust fully open.  I pack the dust in with a light pressure from my fingers and fill as full as I can without the burn jumping rows.  I am on my 9th batch of bacon with this method and all have been great.  The one time I tried pellets I too got a heavy whiteish (sp) smoke and a bitter flavor to the bacon.  Hope this helps.

 

[daveomak]

Doug, morning....  Can you increase the air in and air out ??  that will thin the smoke some....  It will also help in drying the outer surface of the meat...  If you are using something like the "mailbox" mod, you can open the mailbox so some smoke escapes out the door and some smoke goes into the smoker also...  "cracking" the door ajar could help also....  

When cold smoking, I add smoke for 4-6 hours/day for several days too... In cooler weather, less than 70 deg, it won't hurt to leave the bacon hanging in the smoker either.... the smoke, nitrite and salt will "keep" the bacon OK.....   smoke at night to keep the temps down, that the AMNPS generates also is a good idea.... Seems multiple short smokes is the way smoking was done in the old days.... for up to several weeks in some recipes...  

Dave

From Wedliny-Domowe.... 
[h1]Cold Smoking[/h1]
Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.

You will find that different sources provide different temperatures for cold smoking. In European countries where most of the cold smoking is done, the upper temperature is accepted as 86° F (30° C). The majority of Russian, Polish and German meat technology books call for 71° F (22° C), some books ask for 77° F (25° C). Fish starts to cook at 85° F (29.4° C) and if you want to make delicious cold smoked salmon that is smoked for a long time, obviously you can not exceed 86° F (30° C). Cold smoking assures us of total smoke penetration inside of the meat. The loss of moisture also is uniform in all areas and the total weight loss falls within 5-20% depending largely on the smoking time. Cold smoking is not a continuous process, it is stopped (no smoke) a few times to allow fresh air into the smoker.

 

[dougmays]

Thanks for the quick replies. I notice all have mentioned the sawdust.  This is the pellet smoker, not the dust.  I assume the same logic would apply?

Sorry about that Simple....i think i got to reading the other replies and someone mentioned dust...so it stuck in my head. LOL. But yes same logic with pellets

Doug, morning....  Can you increase the air in and air out ??  that will thin the smoke some....  It will also help in drying the outer surface of the meat...  If you are using something like the "mailbox" mod, you can open the mailbox so some smoke escapes out the door and some smoke goes into the smoker also...  "cracking" the door ajar could help also....  

When cold smoking, I add smoke for 4-6 hours/day for several days too... In cooler weather, less than 70 deg, it won't hurt to leave the bacon hanging in the smoker either.... the smoke, nitrite and salt will "keep" the bacon OK.....   smoke at night to keep the temps down, that the AMNPS generates also is a good idea.... Seems multiple short smokes is the way smoking was done in the old days.... for up to several weeks in some recipes...  

Dave

From Wedliny-Domowe.... 

hey dave...i think you meant this for Simple, he started the thread :) I haven't tried bacon yet but want to very soon

 

[daveomak]

Simple.....   read what I wrote to Doug..... It is early in the AM here...   Thanks for catching my error Doug.... I need all the help I can get....  but you knew that already....     

I'm wrong again...... still early...... Simple's name is Doug also.....   Stupid, Stupid me........ what is wrong with two apologies in one post.......  I'm human.... (just in case you didn't know)

 

[allen]

Dave, Thanks for posting about the Cold Smoking, I hopefully soon will have a AMNPS 5x8. I enjoy making bacon, I have made BBB and Canadian.

 

[dougmays]

Simple.....   read what I wrote to Doug..... It is early in the AM here...   Thanks for catching my error Doug.... I need all the help I can get....  but you knew that already....     

I'm wrong again...... still early...... Simple's name is Doug also.....   Stupid, Stupid me........ what is wrong with two apologies in one post.......  I'm human.... (just in case you didn't know)

hahahaha...well not it's me that owes the apology! LOL. Is a side affect of BBQing brain damage ;)

 

[dave17a]

What's the diffrence. Pellets are supposed to be all wood. Smoked cheese twice and it is great on pellets, two different flavors. Bitter is smoking too long.

 

[duckybud]

Dave,

Have to disagree with your statement that bitter taste is from too much smoke.  I have found that getting TBS flowing and smoking as long as you like will not produce bitter taste.  Dust at lower smoking temps will produce TBS, I have not found the same to be true of pellets at low temps.  I smoke for up to 36 hours over 3 days at arounf 80 degrees with no bitter taste.  Hope this helps.

 

[daveomak]

Dave,

Have to disagree with your statement that bitter taste is from too much smoke.   I have found that getting TBS flowing and smoking as long as you like will not produce bitter taste.  Dust at lower smoking temps will produce TBS, I have not found the same to be true of pellets at low temps.  I smoke for up to 36 hours over 3 days at arounf 80 degrees with no bitter taste.  Hope this helps.

duckybud, morning.... You are correct....   TBS... you can't put too much of that on meats....  The smoke I was referring to is the thick white stuff....  I have smoked bacon for  36 hours over 6 days.... 6 hrs/day.... the smoke is not bitter....    

When folks start out smoking meat and read the directions that come with some smokers.... that say, "fill the chip tray"....  they get too much smoke and creosote and other stuff and wonder why the meat tastes bad....  

I guess after writing about thick/thin smoke for so long, I keep forgetting to clarify what I am trying to convey.....   Sorry..... I do get lax and do forget new members are here daily and I need to be more specific on my comments.....

It is good you noted that...  I need to be "awakened" periodically....    Thanks....   Dave

...........  BAD...............................GOOD..................

smoke good vsevil.jpg

• daveomak
• Feb 20, 2013

 

[snorkelinggirl]

I tried my new Amazin Pellet generator the other day in my cold smoker.  I got about 10 hours of hickory smoke out of it; happy with that fact.

Noticing how much smoke it put out, I got to wondering if maybe it's too much of a good thing for the size of the smoker. I'm just using a little 4 cu. ft. fridge for this process.  I opened it to check how things were going, and was surprised to find it hard to see the bacon for the amount of smoke that was being produced. I had good airflow; a nice steady stream of smoke out the exhaust, although it was white, and denser than the TBS I usually have from my UDS.  Should I go back to the sawdust Amazen in this small of smoker?

Hi Simple,

I have observed exactly the same thing when comparing the smoke using dust in my AMNS vs. pellets in my AMNPS for cold smoking cheese. I have also observed that the chamber temp gets warmer using the AMNPS.  Looked like about 10 degrees warmer than when using the AMNS on a day with very similar outside temp and conditions.  I appreciated the suggestions you got about filling the rows with less pellets to produce less smoke, and may give that a try sometime.  In general, however, I personally prefer to use the AMNS with dust for any cold smoking project, and then using the AMNPS with pellets for any hot smoking project.  Just my preference.

I'm interested to hear what works out best for you!

Clarissa

 

[dirtsailor2003]

So to throw another iron into the fire. I have been using the 18" AMNTS in my GOSM and it runs perfect TBS for the size of the smoker. I also have a mailbox adaption for the Gosm that I used to use with a homemade smoke generator. I am going to start using it again when I am hot smoking in the GOSM for the smoke. I recently bought the 12" AMNTS and had planned on using it in the Mini-WSM for small batches of cold smoking. I also planned on using it in the bottom of the Casa Q for hot smoking. I plan on trying it in the Mini this weekend to smoke some cheese, and I will report how it does in the small space. I think that the pellets pack tighter in the tu be and may smolder better than the maze of the of the amnps, just thinking out loud.

 

[smokinclt]

Dave I think that is the best picture I have ever seen representing the difference between TBS and that awful white stuff... Thanks and I might have to steal that one... 

Doug #3