heh, I started a fire!

[daricksta]

 
Yeah, I've noticed that I'm not seeing large amounts of smoke, but thankfully, I'm too lazy, and so I wasn't adding the second batch of chips until maybe 40 minutes later.  In fact, since most of my smokes are short (chicken wings or spatchcocked chicken), I don't use much wood at all.  However, I really want to smoke a shoulder or ribs!  Unfortunately, ribs may have to wait, as Mrs Dogwalker keeps pointing out how much weight we gained over the holidays (it ain't purty).

Thanks for the info on the pellets, sounds really good!

I spatchcocked my first chicken last summer to cook on my grill. I was amazed at how easy it was to do. Yeah, the wife and I both need to lose that holiday weight--and the weight that was there before. But ribs and beef brisket and other goodies are definitely on the smoking menu this year. I was given an outstanding smoking cookbook with exciting recipes that you don't find in most smoking cookbooks.

 

[dogwalker]

 
I spatchcocked my first chicken last summer to cook on my grill. I was amazed at how easy it was to do. Yeah, the wife and I both need to lose that holiday weight--and the weight that was there before. But ribs and beef brisket and other goodies are definitely on the smoking menu this year. I was given an outstanding smoking cookbook with exciting recipes that you don't find in most smoking cookbooks.

Sounds great!  Can you give us a hint to the book?

 

[brickguy221]

 
Jim, my wife and I have learned from watching hours and hours of cooking competition shows that tastes are indeed personal. One judge might think a dish is undercooked while another thinks it's perfectly cooked. A judge might think a dish is perfectly seasoned while another swears it's too salty. To each their own.

I prefer wood pellets because for me smoke should enhance food and not overpower it. And the only time wood pellets are a PITA is when they keep snuffing out.

Rick, nothing tastes as good to me as it once did. Ever since I had 6 weeks of daily radiation 3 1/2 years ago and am now on chemo again for the third time, my taste buds are not as good as they once were. Seems I need a stronger taste in everything I eat now, which may be why I like wood chips taste better than wood pellet tastes. Anyhow, I am stuck with $60 - $70 worth of wood  pellets now until I get them used up and will always use the pellets on long smokes as the chips are a PITA on long smokes. I just pray that when I try smoking a brisket or pork butt, that the pellets will stay lit and not go out while I am sleeping or something like that. Imagine smoking a brisket for say 20 hrs and then waking up and find out that the pellets went out hours ago. That's scary ...

I may supplement the pellets with a few wood chips maybe the first 30 minutes or hour depending on how long I will be smoking at the beginning, in attempt to get a bit stronger smoke. I tried that a while back on some JD Pellets when smoking some ribs and I think it may have helped a bit. 

 

[daricksta]

 
Rick, nothing tastes as good to me as it once did. Ever since I had 6 weeks of daily radiation 3 1/2 years ago and am now on chemo again for the third time, my taste buds are not as good as they once were. Seems I need a stronger taste in everything I eat now, which may be why I like wood chips taste better than wood pellet tastes. Anyhow, I am stuck with $60 - $70 worth of wood  pellets now until I get them used up and will always use the pellets on long smokes as the chips are a PITA on long smokes. I just pray that when I try smoking a brisket or pork butt, that the pellets will stay lit and not go out while I am sleeping or something like that. Imagine smoking a brisket for say 20 hrs and then waking up and find out that the pellets went out hours ago. That's scary ...

I may supplement the pellets with a few wood chips maybe the first 30 minutes or hour depending on how long I will be smoking at the beginning, in attempt to get a bit stronger smoke. I tried that a while back on some JD Pellets when smoking some ribs and I think it may have helped a bit. 

I'm sorry, Jim. I keep forgetting your medical history. But darn it all you're still in there smoking! I refuse to do all night smokes while I'm asleep because I'm a hands-on guy. You're right--what if the pellets go out? With my MES 30 Gen 1 and the AMNPS I really never have problems during hot smokes. It's the cold smokes where I have problems keeping wood pellets lit. Bear recommends Dust for cold smokes since it requires less oxygen so I'm going to order some hickory and apple Dust from Todd in a while. The AMNPS burns either pellets or dust.

Do you place wood chips in the AMNPS or drop them in through the chip loader?

 

[daricksta]

 
Sounds great!  Can you give us a hint to the book?

I'll even post a link:
Never heard of Paul Kirk but he also co-wrote a book about the top 100 BBQ restaurants in the U.S. with recipes from those places. Here's a sampling of recipes from my new book: Lime And Garlic Pork Tenderloin With Jalapeño Onion Marmalade, Pork Tenderloin With Cajun Crab, Shrimp, And Cheddar Cheese Stuffing, Pan-Smoked Salmon With Asparagus And Mushrooms, Tea-Smoked Duck With Fragrant Rice, Shanghai Smoked Chicken, Smoked Corn On The Cob With Flavored Butters, Pastrami With Whiskey Sauce, Beef Brisket With Spicy Barbecue Rub And Angel's Mustard Slather (no idea who Angel is) and more. This ain't your daddy and granddaddy's smoker cookbook.

 

[brickguy221]

 
I'm sorry, Jim. I keep forgetting your medical history. But darn it all you're still in there smoking! I refuse to do all night smokes while I'm asleep because I'm a hands-on guy. You're right--what if the pellets go out? With my MES 30 Gen 1 and the AMNPS I really never have problems during hot smokes. It's the cold smokes where I have problems keeping wood pellets lit. Bear recommends Dust for cold smokes since it requires less oxygen so I'm going to order some hickory and apple Dust from Todd in a while. The AMNPS burns either pellets or dust.

Do you place wood chips in the AMNPS or drop them in through the chip loader?

I place them in the chip loader, but not a full load, probably 1/8 cup when I do it, but I only do that on something that is going to take an hr or 1 1/2 hrs to smoke and then only one time at that. On longer smokes, I don't as long as the pellets are staying lit. After reading another post today about trying to lay chips on top of the Pellets in the Maze, I may try that next time I have a longer smoke like 4-5 hrs or so.

 

[dr k]

I'll even post a link: http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Smoking-Recipes-Home-Smoking-Enthusiast/dp/1616083174/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452127030&sr=1-1&keywords=simple+smoking

Never heard of Paul Kirk but he also co-wrote a book about the top 100 BBQ restaurants in the U.S. with recipes from those places. Here's a sampling of recipes from my new book: Lime And Garlic Pork Tenderloin With Jalapeño Onion Marmalade, Pork Tenderloin With Cajun Crab, Shrimp, And Cheddar Cheese Stuffing, Pan-Smoked Salmon With Asparagus And Mushrooms, Tea-Smoked Duck With Fragrant Rice, Shanghai Smoked Chicken, Smoked Corn On The Cob With Flavored Butters, Pastrami With Whiskey Sauce, Beef Brisket With Spicy Barbecue Rub And Angel's Mustard Slather (no idea who Angel is) and more. This ain't your daddy and granddaddy's smoker cookbook.

It should be right up your alley. Out of the ten reviews the only negatives were from beginners that said the book was too advanced with sophisticated recipes.
-Kurt

 

[daricksta]

It should be right up your alley. Out of the ten reviews the only negatives were from beginners that said the book was too advanced with sophisticated recipes.
-Kurt

Glad you saw that, Kurt. Those gave me a chuckle. Although I was also of that mindset 3 years ago when I first started smoking, my kitchen cooking and outdoor cooking skills have progressed to the point where this book is exactly what I wanted. You've got to push the envelope if you want to keep growing and developing as a cook. My favorite bro-in-law has graced my wife and I with the compliment that at our house he's treated to flavors and dishes he's never experienced anywhere else. Our daughter brags to her friends that her parents are gourmet cooks.

To my wife and I the fun in cooking is in seeking out recipes that are not what the average household cooks up and successfully making those dishes. I'll be posting the results with Qview of the recipes I make from that cookbook. I think they'll be right up your alley, too.

 

[daricksta]

 
I place them in the chip loader, but not a full load, probably 1/8 cup when I do it, but I only do that on something that is going to take an hr or 1 1/2 hrs to smoke and then only one time at that. On longer smokes, I don't as long as the pellets are staying lit. After reading another post today about trying to lay chips on top of the Pellets in the Maze, I may try that next time I have a longer smoke like 4-5 hrs or so.

I thought you were laying wood chips over pellets in the AMNPS. That's why I asked. Before I order Dust for cold smokes, I think I'm going to give that a try to see if it's a better way to keep the pellets lit.

 

[dogwalker]

Hey, thanks for the info on the book and the mini-review!  Sounds good!

 

[lowandjoe]

In the beginning of my longer smokes, I will use wood chips for the first 2 hours or so and use them heavy.  After that, I use the AMNPS for the rest of my smoke.  I've found that to be a good winning combination for my pulled pork butts.  It really hammers in that smoke flavor in the bark and the AMNPS gives me a great bark.  I would use only the AMNPS and it just wasn't enough of the smoke flavor I was looking for, but the combination of the two has me dialed right in.  I would give it a try.  Experiment with an hour or so of wood chips in the beginning and see how you like it. 

 

[brickguy221]

 
In the beginning of my longer smokes, I will use wood chips for the first 2 hours or so and use them heavy.  After that, I use the AMNPS for the rest of my smoke.  I've found that to be a good winning combination for my pulled pork butts.  It really hammers in that smoke flavor in the bark and the AMNPS gives me a great bark.  I would use only the AMNPS and it just wasn't enough of the smoke flavor I was looking for, but the combination of the two has me dialed right in.  I would give it a try.  Experiment with an hour or so of wood chips in the beginning and see how you like it. 

Sounds sensible to me  ... I may give that some thought in trying it myself ... 

 

[daricksta]

 
In the beginning of my longer smokes, I will use wood chips for the first 2 hours or so and use them heavy.  After that, I use the AMNPS for the rest of my smoke.  I've found that to be a good winning combination for my pulled pork butts.  It really hammers in that smoke flavor in the bark and the AMNPS gives me a great bark.  I would use only the AMNPS and it just wasn't enough of the smoke flavor I was looking for, but the combination of the two has me dialed right in.  I would give it a try.  Experiment with an hour or so of wood chips in the beginning and see how you like it. 

I've used wood chips and wood pellets at the same time before. That was when I only had apple wood chips and not pellets. I have the MES 30 Gen 1 and my sole source of smoke is my AMNPS. I get the exact amount of smoke flavor I like every time. It's also possible to oversmoke food using the AMNPS depending on what's being smoked and how long it's exposed to smoke.

I don't like in-your-face smoke flavor.  Some people like it just like some people like to eat the hottest food they can find--packed with habanero and or ghost chili peppers. To me, both too much smoke and too much heat obscure the different flavors found in well-prepared dishes. I love Thai food because of its unique flavors but I've learned that if I order it with 5-star heat all I'll taste is the heat. I want smoke to enhance rather than overpower food just like I want to taste the heat from chiles but also the other flavors in the dish as well.

 

[lowandjoe]

To each their own, I guess.  I just know that with bigger cuts of meat, I generally use more smoke because I know that the smoke flavor is only going to penetrate so far.  This is especially true when doing a thick pork butt.  If I was to just eat the bark alone, it would be really heavy with smoke. But chopped up and mixed in with the pulled pork and it balances itself out.  Now poultry or ribs, I don't need to double up on the smoke.  I love how every cook is a learning experience :)