Help!

[Bearcarver]

Give the AMNPS pellet tray a whirl and you will achieve TBS nirvana! That simple. But I will also recommend 100% smoke wood pellets. No blends, no fillers or flavors added etc. The pellets sold by Amazen (same manufacturer of the tray) are just the kind you want. In fact you can get a sample of their pellets when you buy the tray.

As for the salmon... this too will come. There are plenty of good recipes here. Use the search tool, or browse the forum categories. This site is very proactive in promoting only "safe" recipes and techniques. Read lots and educate yourself about how to protect yourself and your family or anyone else that eats the food you create, from getting food poisoning- parasites, Botulism, Listeria, etc. It can be deadly! Learn the proper safe food handling temps and times. Learn about the use of Cure #1, and once you are knowledgeable and confident with a known safe recipe and practice, you can try you hand at cold smoking salmon. Actually, I might suggest starting with cold smoking some cheese first. But just be careful of what you find on the interwebs. There is a lot of bad info out there. But definitely post up your smokes and ask questions.

Again WELCOME!!!

Hi Isaac!!
Again Old Browneyesvictim gave you some top end info there,
And this forum has a Great Search engine.

I only have one complete Smoked Salmon Step by Step, but everybody seems to like it.

Here it is:
Smoked Salmon


Bear

 

[Isaac R]

Guess who just bought themselves a new A-Maze-en pellet tray!
Not me.
Because I bought myself two of them!
Naturally I had immediately gone to amazon to purchase the new tray and nearly ordered it, but a random thought occurred, and i decided to check A-maze-en's website out of curiosity. Turns out, if you buy scratch and dent products that were only cosmetically damaged (that are new and fully functional of course), you get nearly 50% off what you would pay on Amazon!!!
So naturally I opted to buy two, because who saves money on a deal and then actually saves it?
I bought the tray and the 12" tube, but was faced with a dilemma. Shipping was only free at $50 and my total was around $30. So I made the obvious choice and instead of paying for shipping, I bought more stuff :)
I am now the proud owner (to be) of a beautiful new tray, tube, and a 20lb bag of pitmaster's choice pellets :)
I feel like a better smoker already
Now if only I knew how to use the tray and pellets ;) ;) (someone please teach me)

 

[Isaac R]

Hi Isaac!!
Everything said so far is Great Info, but the Smoker you have (Shown in your post above) is actually a Gen #1, which is the one of the better MES units.
You don't say where you live so I can't tell which Amazing Smoker to recommend to you.
If you're at a High Altitude, you should get a Tube Smoker, and if you aren't the AMNPS (Tray) would be best.
That should solve your smoking problems.

Here are a couple Links I made to help tell which MES is which & some info about them:
Masterbuilt Smokers (Bear's Thoughts & Findings)
MES Generation Number Recognition Pictures & Pics (Digital Units)

Also If you want some ideas & tips on what to make in your MES, and how to do it, just click on my Link @ the bottom of this post.

Note: Like Jeff, I never needed a Mailbox for anything other than my mail.

Bear

Hi bear, I've looked and looked and can't seem to find the link you referenced at the end of this post. If you could help me out, because I'm quite tired and probably just missing it

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi bear, I've looked and looked and can't seem to find the link you referenced at the end of this post. If you could help me out, because I'm quite tired and probably just missing it

No problem:
This is at the bottom of all of my posts:
Check Out Bear's Easy to Follow Step by Step Index Page.
Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".
All Kinds To Choose From.

Bear

 

[browneyesvictim]

I am now the proud owner (to be) of a beautiful new tray, tube, and a 20lb bag of pitmaster's choice pellets :)
I feel like a better smoker already
Now if only I knew how to use the tray and pellets ;) ;) (someone please teach me)

Can you feel the power?!?!

I might suggest typing in "Amazen pellet tray" on youtube to see some videos how to light and use the pellet and tray. Nothing to it really. Just make sure the cherry established pretty good before you put it in your smoker. A gas torch works great. You will get 3-4 hours of smoke out of each row of the tray. Don't be afraid to save and re-use any unburnt pellets. And if-and-when you foil or cover your meat, you no longer need to burn your pellets. So you can snuff them out or just fill enough pellets in the tray that you need to begin with. For most cooks you only need a few hours of smoke to take on a perfect smoke flavor anyway, so you don't always need a full tray. For me, that's usually when I am smoking bacon, ham, or something like that. But for ribs for example, I only smoke for a couple hours at first, then the ribs are foiled with butter and brown sugar and a little apple juice or dr. Pepper or some other braising liquid. But once they are foiled, there is no need to keep burning pellets because its not going to penetrate the foil anyway.

Carefully consider your pellet storage. Keep them dry and don't let them draw moisture. 20 lbs should last you a while! So seal them up in an air tight container. I also keep another metal (fire safe) container that used/unburnt pellets get dumped, then sealed up, then get re-used later.

When it comes to smoke, don't fall into the trap of thinking more is better. And especially don't believe your not smoking if you don't see a cloud of smoke coming out of your smoker! Properly done, you should barely see any smoke at all coming out of your top vent. You will learn to smell it when it is burning correctly. It will be very thin, and slightly blue in color. You wont need to do anything more to achieve this perfect Thin Blue Smoke than to light the pellet tray and set it in. It is pretty clear in Bears Step-by-steps how this is done while setting up your smoker.

Looking forward to your smoke post with pics using your new Amazen! Congrats!

 

[smokerjim]

I find it helps if you microwave the pellets for 3 or 4 minutes mixing them up half way through to get out any moisture . But maybe you won't have to.

 

[Isaac R]

No problem:
This is at the bottom of all of my posts:
Check Out Bear's Easy to Follow Step by Step Index Page.
Just click on "Bear's Step by Steps".
All Kinds To Choose From.

Bear

Thanks!
Will definitely be referencing all of this when I set up my smoker for a meat making marathon tomorrow ;)

 

[Isaac R]

Can you feel the power?!?!

I might suggest typing in "Amazen pellet tray" on youtube to see some videos how to light and use the pellet and tray. Nothing to it really. Just make sure the cherry established pretty good before you put it in your smoker. A gas torch works great. You will get 3-4 hours of smoke out of each row of the tray. Don't be afraid to save and re-use any unburnt pellets. And if-and-when you foil or cover your meat, you no longer need to burn your pellets. So you can snuff them out or just fill enough pellets in the tray that you need to begin with. For most cooks you only need a few hours of smoke to take on a perfect smoke flavor anyway, so you don't always need a full tray. For me, that's usually when I am smoking bacon, ham, or something like that. But for ribs for example, I only smoke for a couple hours at first, then the ribs are foiled with butter and brown sugar and a little apple juice or dr. Pepper or some other braising liquid. But once they are foiled, there is no need to keep burning pellets because its not going to penetrate the foil anyway.

Carefully consider your pellet storage. Keep them dry and don't let them draw moisture. 20 lbs should last you a while! So seal them up in an air tight container. I also keep another metal (fire safe) container that used/unburnt pellets get dumped, then sealed up, then get re-used later.

When it comes to smoke, don't fall into the trap of thinking more is better. And especially don't believe your not smoking if you don't see a cloud of smoke coming out of your smoker! Properly done, you should barely see any smoke at all coming out of your top vent. You will learn to smell it when it is burning correctly. It will be very thin, and slightly blue in color. You wont need to do anything more to achieve this perfect Thin Blue Smoke than to light the pellet tray and set it in. It is pretty clear in Bears Step-by-steps how this is done while setting up your smoker.

Looking forward to your smoke post with pics using your new Amazen! Congrats!

Thanks for this! I will definitely be quite ecstatic if I manage to achieve TBS within my first few times of smoking with the pellet tray. And I'm convinced my meat will definitely start tasting better and having a much better consistency thanks to y'all :)

 

[Isaac R]

I find it helps if you microwave the pellets for 3 or 4 minutes mixing them up half way through to get out any moisture . But maybe you won't have to.

Wow! Hadn't thought of that. Are you positive they're microwave safe?

 

[Winterrider]

It is ok, just go a little at a time and let cool, repeat. Just did some the other day.

 

[smokerjim]

Yes it's safe to microwave them I do it all the time, I just spread them out on a plate.

 

[Bearcarver]

Wow! Hadn't thought of that. Are you positive they're microwave safe?

I never had to do it, but from what I've heard from others, I would do it in short spurts, and I wouldn't turn it on & leave the room. Keep an eye on it.

Bear

 

[GaryHibbert]

Wow! Hadn't thought of that. Are you positive they're microwave safe?

Isaac, I always nuke my pellets for 2 goes of 2 minutes each. Trial and error showed me I have no problems keeping them smoking nicely if I nuke them first. I tried 2 goes of 3 minutes each (once) and filled the microwave with smoke. Good thing Miss Linda likes the smell of hickory smoke LOL
Gary

 

[dr k]

Sam's has a two pack of these desiccants on sale for $16.00. They work great in totes. Up to 30% drop in RH compared to ambient RH outside of the tote. Drier winter months is a good time to jump start using these.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...ubic-ft-rechargable-moisture-absorber.276279/

 

[Bearcarver]

Wow! Hadn't thought of that. Are you positive they're microwave safe?

All you really need is to keep your pellets dry to start with.
Jugs with screw tops work Great!!

This is how I keep my Pellets & my Sawdust Dry:

 

[smokerjim]

Bear great idea, amazing,so simple but I would of never thought of it

 

[Isaac R]

Thanks for all your answers guys!
I'm still waiting (quite impatiently I might add ) for my pellets and tray/tube to arrive .
Will experiment with my microwave once I get the chance

 

[JckDanls 07]

Does anybody put some type of cover over the top of the pellet tray to keep the drippings from falling in it and extinguishing it ??

 

[Bearcarver]

Does anybody put some type of cover over the top of the pellet tray to keep the drippings from falling in it and extinguishing it ??

Yup,
If you look in some of my pics, you'll see what I use.
I cut a 9" X 11" foil pan in half (Lengthwise). Then I put it above the AMNPS (Upside Down) to protect it from drips. Not too close, because you don't want it to block any air from getting there. I save the other half for when the first half needs changing.

Bear

 

[Isaac R]

Hey guys, I'm using the maze right now, and I'm finding that the temperature is not going above 90°. I followed the instructions on the manual, and I have a ton of smoke (though none of it is TBS sadly...) But the temperature is not going up at all