Help...another AMNPS related thread

[dr k]

As long as the light source is between you and the smoke your looking at or your between the light and smoke you'll get the best light scattering to see if it's blue or more white. Otherwise you can't see a rainbow when it rains.. Like your pic with the flash on your phone etc great blue smoke. If white, then all long, med and short wave lengths can't make it through the smoke so all light is reflected back to you and see white, all the colors of the spectrum. If you see blue then all long red spectrum and med wave lengths go through TBS and only reflect the short wave length blues back to your eyes like water, glaciers and sky fine particles that reflect blue as the others go deeper. Then at dusk and dawn all wave lengths get scattered to where the longest red wave lengths can only make it to your eyes at twilight. If smoke dissipates quickly after it leaves the top vent then it's water vapor and what floats away is smoke. Shine the light at drifting smoke and it'll always be blue with an Amnps.

 

[Aj33]

As long as the light source is between you and the smoke your looking at or your between the light and smoke you'll get the best light scattering to see if it's blue or more white. Otherwise you can't see a rainbow when it rains.. Like your pic with the flash on your phone etc great blue smoke. If white, then all long, med and short wave lengths can't make it through the smoke so all light is reflected back to you and see white, all the colors of the spectrum. If you see blue then all long red spectrum and med wave lengths go through TBS and only reflect the short wave length blues back to your eyes like water, glaciers and sky fine particles that reflect blue as the others go deeper. Then at dusk and dawn all wave lengths get scattered to where the longest red wave lengths can only make it to your eyes at twilight. If smoke dissipates quickly after it leaves the top vent then it's water vapor and what floats away is smoke. Shine the light at drifting smoke and it'll always be blue with an Amnps.

To your last point, as the smoke leaves the top vent it quickly gets thinner and often, if I get the right angle,I can see the smoke that drifts off has a blue-ish hue.

the picture with the phone flash, just to clarify it looks like tons of smoke is being outputted. In reality no more than in other pictures or videos posted in this thread.

 

[GaryHibbert]

Congratulations on a great smoke!!
I use an old dinner plate I picked up at the thrift store when I nuke pellets. That way I can spread them out into a single layer. If you're going to do one more minute in the nuke, I'd suggest you let the pellets cool thoroughly first. If you're getting some smoke off the pellets, then it's time to cool them down some.
When I'm doing a smoke with only 1 row of pellets, I completely fill the row with as many pellets as it will hold--that gives them a chance to preheat before they start smoking. Also, I ALWAYS stack them up as high as possible at the end I'm going to light.
Your 15 degree temp swings aren't bad for a MES. I always say I'm smoking at 240ish.
You are definitely on the right path now, so time to start enjoying your smoker.
Gary

 

[tallbm]

To your last point, as the smoke leaves the top vent it quickly gets thinner and often, if I get the right angle,I can see the smoke that drifts off has a blue-ish hue.

the picture with the phone flash, just to clarify it looks like tons of smoke is being outputted. In reality no more than in other pictures or videos posted in this thread.

Hi there and welcome!

I think you have got it going well.
I wouldnt worry about microwaving the pellets anymore than you already are, if they get bone dry and you open the door to the smoker and close it, they may have gotten enough draft and encouragement to go up in flame.... happens to me with mesquite bellets in my mailbox mod if i microwave them too much hahaha.

I would say go with what you got and if/when it becomes an issue then adjust. Other than that get to learning and trying all kinds of different meat smokes and enjoy what you make because the smoke part is handled! :D

 

[Aj33]

Congratulations on a great smoke!!
I use an old dinner plate I picked up at the thrift store when I nuke pellets. That way I can spread them out into a single layer. If you're going to do one more minute in the nuke, I'd suggest you let the pellets cool thoroughly first. If you're getting some smoke off the pellets, then it's time to cool them down some.
When I'm doing a smoke with only 1 row of pellets, I completely fill the row with as many pellets as it will hold--that gives them a chance to preheat before they start smoking. Also, I ALWAYS stack them up as high as possible at the end I'm going to light.
Your 15 degree temp swings aren't bad for a MES. I always say I'm smoking at 240ish.
You are definitely on the right path now, so time to start enjoying your smoker.
Gary

Thank you very much Gary.

yep the dinner plate idea is a top one. Going forward I will fill each row, most likely around 3/4 of the height. I didn’t want to over commit and find the smoke was nasty.

I have managed on the odd occasion to have 5* swings either side of the target temp. I would say that 15* is my norm.

I could always get a decent smoke out of the chip tray and loader but compared to the AMNPS I would call it a compromise. I was loading every hour or so, so it was a very light smoke. My main problem with it was the dirty smoke at the beginning of each load.

Think I am doing a half chicken on Sunday if it doesn’t rain.

 

[Aj33]

Hi there and welcome!

I think you have got it going well.
I wouldnt worry about microwaving the pellets anymore than you already are, if they get bone dry and you open the door to the smoker and close it, they may have gotten enough draft and encouragement to go up in flame.... happens to me with mesquite bellets in my mailbox mod if i microwave them too much hahaha.

I would say go with what you got and if/when it becomes an issue then adjust. Other than that get to learning and trying all kinds of different meat smokes and enjoy what you make because the smoke part is handled! :D

Thank you for the advice. On second thoughts I am inclined to agree!!

I have done a few different type of smokes (Pulled pork, chicken, pork chops and loin chops, veggies, duck breasts) successfully, but plenty of things I haven’t tried. One is ribs!! Need to do some reading on the best way to tackle them.

got to say the AMNPS feels like cheating but no arguing with the results.

one cut I have is, pork leg that’s been de-boned and rolled. I have tried to do this as pulled pork before but it ended up dry. So need to figure out what to do with this.

 

[smokerjim]

one cut I have is, pork leg that’s been de-boned and rolled. I have tried to do this as pulled pork before but it ended up dry. So need to figure out what to do with this.

i would cure that and make a ham. or just season it and smoke it to 160 degrees for a pork roast.

 

[Aj33]

i would cure that and make a ham. or just season it and smoke it to 160 degrees for a pork roast.

Thanks.

160 or 145? I have used 145 with chops etc.

 

[smokerjim]

Thanks.

160 or 145? I have used 145 with chops etc.

i might be wrong but i would say because it was deboned and tied you would need to go to 160, but maybe some one with more knowledge will jump in.

 

[Aj33]

Can anyone name some decent pellet brands please?

I most likely won’t have access to some of the beans you have. A quick google shows I can get some Traeger, GMG and Monolith.

 

[dr k]

For 100% specie on the bag of pellets no 70% oak/alder 30% specie on the bag like Traeger or big 20lb bag of bbqers delight. One pound bags of bbqers delight, Lumber Jack, Cookin Pellets and Todd at amazenproducts.com are 100% the specie on the bag no fillers.

 

[Bearcarver]

Hello all!

first post, and like many looking for some sage advice!

before getting into the detail, just a note I am from the UK and this forum has been great for BBQ info etc. So thanks to all.

being from the U.K., I can’t get hold of an AMNPS, but did find a copy which I purchased. It looks exactly the same including it’s dimensions.

my smoker is a MES 30 2nd gen I believe with with the slanted water pan.

I have been using the chip tray and loader with some success, no real disasters but I just thought it could be better particularly with using the AMNPS I had read so much about.

haven’t cooked anything yet but thought I would have a few dry runs to make sure I dialled everything in. during these dry runs I have been able to light the tray (using AmazN pellets, pit master blend). Keep the tray lit in the MES and not have the tray go out.

happy days, except I don’t get TBS. I get a light but mainly white smoke. Sort of a TWS. I have tried every trick I can find on here, tried placement, playing with the chip loader at different positions, letting it burn for 10mins before blowing it out etc etc.

on the chip loader, the only effect it has is with the amount of smoke production from quite a bit with it pushed all the way in to absolutely tons gushing out of the top vent with it out.

I know that lighting the pellets is an important stage and wonder if I am doing this correctly?! I microwave the pellets for a couple of mins, add them to the tray so it’s not more than around halfway to two thirds up the walls. Use a butane chef blow torch to light one end, when it catches fire I stop let it burn for up to 10mins and blow it out. Even at that point it’s a mixture of TBS and white smoke. Wait a few mins and put it in. Could it be the white is moisture? should I keep the torch on it even when the flame is present?

Hopefully a video of the smoke I describe will be uploaded below!


thanks for any help in advance.

Sorry I'm so late on this, but you already have some Great Help above:
Like Gary said, some of that Smoke is probably steam. That's another reason I like a window in my door, because I can look through the window & see how heavy the smoke is. You can't tell how heavy it is by looking at the smoke coming out of the top Vent, especially in the Winter.

I also don't worry about whether the Smoke is Blue, light Grey, or White, as long as it's not heavy & I'm able to see through it to the back wall of my Smoker.

As for getting it going, Once the flame goes out, I blow on it until the flame ignites again. Each time the flame goes out, I do that until it lights up again. Then when I have a good heavy cherry deep in the row of pellets, I just give it a quick short puff to put out the flame, before I put it in.

BTW: I fill my Pellets to about 3/8" from the top of the interior walls. No closer than 1/4", or the fire could "Jump Rows".

Bear

 

[Aj33]

For 100% specie on the bag of pellets no 70% oak/alder 30% specie on the bag like Traeger or big 20lb bag of bbqers delight. One pound bags of bbqers delight, Lumber Jack, Cookin Pellets and Todd at amazenproducts.com are 100% the specie on the bag no fillers.

Can only get limited options of some of those. But thanks for steering in the right direction.

 

[Aj33]

Sorry I'm so late on this, but you already have some Great Help above:
Like Gary said, some of that Smoke is probably steam. That's another reason I like a window in my door, because I can look through the window & see how heavy the smoke is. You can't tell how heavy it is by looking at the smoke coming out of the top Vent, especially in the Winter.

I also don't worry about whether the Smoke is Blue, light Grey, or White, as long as it's not heavy & I'm able to see through it to the back wall of my Smoker.

As for getting it going, Once the flame goes out, I blow on it until the flame ignites again. Each time the flame goes out, I do that until it lights up again. Then when I have a good heavy cherry deep in the row of pellets, I just give it a quick short puff to put out the flame, before I put it in.

BTW: I fill my Pellets to about 3/8" from the top of the interior walls. No closer than 1/4", or the fire could "Jump Rows".

Bear

Thanks for the added info.

Your posts in general across the forums have proved really useful for me!

 

[smokerjim]

Can anyone name some decent pellet brands please?

I most likely won’t have access to some of the beans you have. A quick google shows I can get some Traeger, GMG and Monolith.

i use pitboss pellets, basically for the price and they work fine for me.

 

[Aj33]

i use pitboss pellets, basically for the price and they work fine for me.

Thanks for the heads up.

not sure I can get those over here but will have a look.

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for the advice. On second thoughts I am inclined to agree!!

I have done a few different type of smokes (Pulled pork, chicken, pork chops and loin chops, veggies, duck breasts) successfully, but plenty of things I haven’t tried. One is ribs!! Need to do some reading on the best way to tackle them.

got to say the AMNPS feels like cheating but no arguing with the results.

one cut I have is, pork leg that’s been de-boned and rolled. I have tried to do this as pulled pork before but it ended up dry. So need to figure out what to do with this.

Ribs are pretty simple. Smokin Al has a fool proof appraoch where you get the meat probe in between the ribs into the meat (use 1 or 2 probes if u have them) and then take the ribs to 195F ( I do 198F for softer meat).

Do them unwrapped the entire time! I do mine at 275F smoker temp or if i want more smoke flavor i do them at 250F.

****IMPORTANT TIP!!! Ribs are deceivingly easy to over salt. To avoid this problem season with the following ALL SEPERATELY.
Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Paprika, then Salt but don't go wild with the salt, just get some salt on both sides. You can go heavier on all the other seasonings but go moderately on the salt.
Doing all of these spices separately means you can control them all perfectly.
If you use a pre-mixed seasoning/rub you can't control the salt and that makes it super easy to over salt with a mix.

Finally, I would go with the GMG, then Monolith (seems to be a UK/Euro brand), THEN as a last resort Traeger. Trager at one time, and maybe still, has added "flavor oils" to give flavors rather than use the natural wood and let the wood smoke give the flavor.

I hope this helps :)

 

[Aj33]

Ribs are pretty simple. Smokin Al has a fool proof appraoch where you get the meat probe in between the ribs into the meat (use 1 or 2 probes if u have them) and then take the ribs to 195F ( I do 198F for softer meat).

Do them unwrapped the entire time! I do mine at 275F smoker temp or if i want more smoke flavor i do them at 250F.

****IMPORTANT TIP!!! Ribs are deceivingly easy to over salt. To avoid this problem season with the following ALL SEPERATELY.
Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Paprika, then Salt but don't go wild with the salt, just get some salt on both sides. You can go heavier on all the other seasonings but go moderately on the salt.
Doing all of these spices separately means you can control them all perfectly.
If you use a pre-mixed seasoning/rub you can't control the salt and that makes it super easy to over salt with a mix.

Finally, I would go with the GMG, then Monolith (seems to be a UK/Euro brand), THEN as a last resort Traeger. Trager at one time, and maybe still, has added "flavor oils" to give flavors rather than use the natural wood and let the wood smoke give the flavor.

I hope this helps :)

Thank you for the advice.

The GMG seem to be a blend. For example the Apple is Red oak, hickory and Apple in thirds.

will do some more digging today to see if there are other brands.

 

[Aj33]

Would it be the same temps for lamb ribs?

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for the advice.

The GMG seem to be a blend. For example the Apple is Red oak, hickory and Apple in thirds.

will do some more digging today to see if there are other brands.

Unless Monolith does 100% of the wood on the label, then all of your options will be blends.
In the states we have the Lumberjack brand which does 100% of the wood on the label or clearly states otherwise and CookinPellets (only does 3 differnt options and 1 is a blend).

So I think you will have a hard time finding 100% of wood.
The AMNPS can also burn wood dust so that may give you some more options to look at. I think one guy in Philippines was Japan was able to find these little logs of compressed sawdust that may have been 100% of the wood. All he has to do is break them down by hand (they crumble easily). You may have pure dust options or those same logs.

In any case you should have some options and will get some kind of flavors u can play with :)