MES 40 AMAZEN question

[mitchk]

Hi all,



I stayed up most of last night digging around on here since I'm almost ready to start my first attempts at summer sausage ever.  I ordered a MES 40 from sams club and I was looking into wood choices on here and came across the AMAZN products.  I think I'm pretty much sold on them, but I had a couple questions.  First:  which smoker would fit best in the MES 40, the 6x6 or 6x8 or 5x8?  


Second:  As I said, I'm brand new to this, so with that in mind, if I'm smoking summer sausage batches, how many batches will a 1lb pound bag of AMAZN pellets make?   I wanted to order a couple different flavors to see which one I liked best, but I didn't know how much it would take.



Thanks



Mitch

 

[mitchk]

thanks, will do!

 

[jp61]

All of them will fit your MES40. I have the pellet smoke generator and if I remember right you get about 3 - 3 1/2 hours of smoke/row. If you go on his site you'll find more info. http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12

 

[hkeiner]

Yes, the AMNPS is probably the better choice over the AMNS for most MES owners. The AMNPS can burn both pellets and sawdust while the AMNS works only with the sawdust. I have both but I use only the AMNPS mostly now.

 

[mitchk]

thanks guys,

I called Todd, but no answer, I'll try again in a bit.   I've been wasting the morning researching and I think I'm going to go with the AMNPS system.  Still a little confused on the operation but I'm sure once I talk with Todd Ill be up to pace.

 

[seenred]

You'll love the AMNPS for use in your MES.  I have the MES40, and I use the pellet smoker all the time.  Don't worry about operation, its incredibly easy to use.  Todd will help any way he can.  If you're unsure about pellet flavors, I would suggest ordering one of Todd's package deals, which will come with the smoke generator, a torch, and several flavors of wood pellets, all for a great price.  Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it goes!

 

[tjohnson]

WOW...You Guys know my gadgets better than me!!

The Package gives you a good variety of pellets

If you don't need a torch, then get the AMNPS 5x8 and maybe a 5# bag of Pitmaster's Choice Pellets.  The AMNPS comes with oak pellets, to get started.

Todd

 

[rabbithutch]

Howdy, Mitchk.

Like you, I settled on the MES40 a year ago. I did one smoke and decided that the unit would never give me the smoke flavor I wanted. I bought the 5x8 (I think - it has 3 rows) and several pellet wood 'flavors'. Since then, I've bought several more. I add my recommendation to the pitmaster's blend.

IME, a row of pellets lasts about 2.5 - 3.0 hours. It really depends on how high you fill them. I use a Bernzomatic propane torch to light my pellets. I also spritz them with isopropyl alcohol at the end that I light them to give them a little boost. I then let the pellets flame for a few minutes until I'm certain they are will lit, then I blow out the flames and place the AMNPS in the bottom, left corner of the MES on the rods that support the built-in chip burner. I usually put a foil tent - open at each end - over the pellets if I think they might get splattered by grease from cooking.

You won't regret a decision to get the AMNPS, but if you are uncertain because you haven't used the smoker at all yet, I suggest you wait until the unit comes and you have it burned in and do your first smoke with the chip burner. You will find that the chips - the kind you buy at the supermarket - burn up quickly. I was adding chips about every 20-30 minutes on mine. After that the AMNPS made great sense to me because I really liked the ease of use of the smoker and planned to use it a lot..

Hope this helps you in making your decision.

 

[mitchk]

Just did some messaging with rabbithutch and he sold me on it!  I just ordered the AMNPS and a bunch of pellets.  Looking forward to trying it out.  thanks for all your input guys.

 

[mike johnson]

X2 to all said. Id get the pitmasters 5lb. bag for sure but id also get some peach because you can now cold smoke in your MES40 with just the AMNPS lit. And everyone I know LOVES smoked Cheese.

 

[deltadude]

Congrats MitchK on your NEW MES40!  Welcome to the MES owner's club here at SMF.

Here is a thread from another new MES40 owner that might be helpful.

Link to The New MES Owner Tip List
 

You can't go wrong with the AMNPS, I have it and use it, however Like the owner in the first thread(I linked), I do think it helps to learn how to use the MES built-in smoke system, you never know when you might have to rely on it to finish a smoke.

Here is a link on my setup using the AMNPS, it might be helpful.

Again congrats on your new MES!

 

[ronrude]

It's a great combo.  Last Monday night, i put in a shoulder and a fully loaded AMNPS at 6 pm and pulled it out the next morning to take it to work.  If I didn't have the AMNPS, I would have to feed the box every hour.  The chip tray works well and it is good to learn, but Todd's smoker lets you rest.