Fish too close to amnps?

[Omnivore]

Hi all,

I'm smoking a bunch of salmon bites today (can't remember who posted about these but they looked so delicious I had to try them asap). I think I'm going to have 3 full racks in my MES 30 which means there will be fish on the 3rd rack right over the amnps tray on the bottom rack. Should I be fine with just setting a piece of foil on top of the amnps tray to catch any drips and also to deflect the smoke a little bit? I haven't done the mailbox mod yet but will have to soon if I start smoking 4 racks of fish at a time.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[smokerjim]

I would say like you said tinfoil or a aluminum pan bent like a tent, as you mentioned the mailbox mod is great for this.

 

[Bearcarver]

I never smoke any meat on the bottom Rack---Too close to the Heating Element.

Also if you put foil too close to the AMNPS, above the AMNPS, it could put your AMNPS out.

Bear

 

[chef jimmyj]

Also if you put foil too close to the AMNPS, above the AMNPS, it could put your AMNPS out.

What Bear said, or burn really fast. Making more smoke than you want on Salmon. Learned that the hard way. A full AMNPS in 3 hours. Made some, couldn't taste the Pork, Ribs...JJ

 

[Omnivore]

thanks everyone - I ended up making a little foil tent for the amnps. I was kind of baffled because after about 3 hours of steady, but REALLY thin TBS, I had used way less pellets than usual, which was weird since people warned me of them burning too fast. Then I realized that my chip dumper was pushed in all the way, which I think was the culprit. Always something...

I need to just hit Home Depot and do the mailbox mod this weekend

 

[Bearcarver]

What Bear said, or burn really fast. Making more smoke than you want on Salmon. Learned that the hard way. A full AMNPS in 3 hours. Made some, couldn't taste the Pork, Ribs...JJ

Yup---Thanks for adding that, Jimmy---I usually forget that one:
Covering an AMNPS with foil can snuff the fire out.
Or if it's at the right height, instead of snuffing it out, it can hold heat close to the Pellets, causing them to burn too fast, and can actually cause ignition & burn-up.

Bear