First Successful Smoke

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goldmine1965

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Nov 9, 2015
113
12
Iowa
After getting advice from Bear on managing temperature, I had a successful day smoking 2 Cornish Game Hens. Hopefully the picture is attached correctly. Great tenderness and juicy, nice smoke flavor. The wife thought they tasted great. A couple of observations..Jeff's rub recipe is a little spicy for me, so I will eliminate or greatly reduce the Cayenne Pepper. It must have been windy or I had the wood chip loader out too far. I think there was too much air flow. I burnt through 2 rows of pellets in AMPNS in 2 hours.

 
 
After getting advice from Bear on managing temperature, I had a successful day smoking 2 Cornish Game Hens. Hopefully the picture is attached correctly. Great tenderness and juicy, nice smoke flavor. The wife thought they tasted great. A couple of observations..Jeff's rub recipe is a little spicy for me, so I will eliminate or greatly reduce the Cayenne Pepper. It must have been windy or I had the wood chip loader out too far. I think there was too much air flow. I burnt through 2 rows of pellets in AMPNS in 2 hours.

They look wonderfully delicious. Instead of cayenne pepper, you might try either regular chili powder or ancho chile powder. Both are less hot than cayenne, with the ancho being less hot than chili powder, in my opinion. Ancho chile powder is a great all around spice. Ancho chile is the dried, slightly spicier version of the poblano chile pepper which is very mild and flavorful.
 
 
They look wonderfully delicious. Instead of cayenne pepper, you might try either regular chili powder or ancho chile powder. Both are less hot than cayenne, with the ancho being less hot than chili powder, in my opinion. Ancho chile powder is a great all around spice. Ancho chile is the dried, slightly spicier version of the poblano chile pepper which is very mild and flavorful.
Jeff's rub recipe already has chili powder in it, so I think I will do a batch subbing the ancho chile for the cayenne. This was my first time using the AMPNS. Does the burning of 2 rows of pellets in 2 hours seem excessive?
 
It does to me. I used it yesterday to smoke a brisket flat and I think I got 10 hours out of all 3 rows.
 
Jeff's rub recipe already has chili powder in it, so I think I will do a batch subbing the ancho chile for the cayenne. This was my first time using the AMPNS. Does the burning of 2 rows of pellets in 2 hours seem excessive?
Maybe the lit pellets jumped rows if filed too high. Leave about a quarter inch of exposed perforated steel at the top so it's not over filled. You should get 3-4 hours of smoke per row.
-Kurt
 
 
Jeff's rub recipe already has chili powder in it, so I think I will do a batch subbing the ancho chile for the cayenne. This was my first time using the AMPNS. Does the burning of 2 rows of pellets in 2 hours seem excessive?
I never had a problem with the cayenne in Jeff's rub, but did in his sauce, so I leave it in the rub, but delete it from his sauce as well as the Tabasco also. FYI, I also altered the other ingredients in his sauce a bit as well as added one he didn't have in it and everyone that has tasted it loves it with my revisions of it.
 
 
Jeff's rub recipe already has chili powder in it, so I think I will do a batch subbing the ancho chile for the cayenne. This was my first time using the AMPNS. Does the burning of 2 rows of pellets in 2 hours seem excessive?
If you fully filled the two rows, yes it is. I usually burn 1.5 rows in about 6 hours at around 240°. The only time I blew through 4 rows was when the temp in my MES 30 skyrocketed to 295°. I had neglected to clean the hi temp cutoff switch. That incident taught me to clean it after every smoke. The problem's never reoccurred.
 
After reading about others experience on fast burning pellets, it appears most likely to be too much airflow. I had the chip tray completely out of the smoker and the chip loader out about 1-2 inches, though I will pay more attention to how full the row are. I will put the tray back in and just pull the loader out a inch or two and see how it responds.
 
 
After reading about others experience on fast burning pellets, it appears most likely to be too much airflow. I had the chip tray completely out of the smoker and the chip loader out about 1-2 inches, though I will pay more attention to how full the row are. I will put the tray back in and just pull the loader out a inch or two and see how it responds.
Can't recall which Gen you have but only the MES Gen 2 smokers have the airflow problem where it's helpful to pull out the chip loader. The Gen 1 and 2.5 smokers don't have that issue.
 
 
Can't recall which Gen you have but only the MES Gen 2 smokers have the airflow problem where it's helpful to pull out the chip loader. The Gen 1 and 2.5 smokers don't have that issue.
Not sure which generation I have either. Benn searching to find out but have come up empty so far.Model number is 20070910.
 
 
Can't recall which Gen you have but only the MES Gen 2 smokers have the airflow problem where it's helpful to pull out the chip loader. The Gen 1 and 2.5 smokers don't have that issue.
Rick, that isn't quite right on the 2.5 smoker.  I have the new BT Gen 2.5 smoker and I have found it necessary to pull out the chip loader in order to keep my AMNP lit.

I may be wrong here, but I think Bear has placed his Maze on the bottom rack on some of his smokes. I think he uses mostly Hickory pellets also. I place mine on an open wire rack about 2" off the bottom of smoker, and it requires pulling the chip loader out with dump side down. More so on some pellets and less on others. Depends what kind of pellets I am using.
 
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Not sure which generation I have either. Benn searching to find out but have come up empty so far.Model number is 20070910.
I could be wrong, but I believe the Model NO 20070910 is a Gen 1 Smoker with  the box on top having square corners and not rounded corners that later ones had.
 
 
Rick, that isn't quite right on the 2.5 smoker.  I have the new BT Gen 2.5 smoker and I have found it necessary to pull out the chip loader in order to keep my AMNP lit.

I may be wrong here, but I think Bear has placed his Maze on the bottom rack on some of his smokes. I think he uses mostly Hickory pellets also. I place mine on an open wire rack about 2" off the bottom of smoker, and it requires pulling the chip loader out with dump side down. More so on some pellets and less on others. Depends what kind of pellets I am using.
Thanks, Jim. I hadn't read that about the 2.5 smokers but I've missed a lot of posts lately.
 
 
Not sure which generation I have either. Benn searching to find out but have come up empty so far.Model number is 20070910.
You have the same smoker I have, the MES 30 Gen 1. It's the best relatively-inexpensive electric smoker on the market.
 
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Do you need to pull out the chip tray and/or the chip loader for good airflow on yours?
I've never pulled out the chip tray. I used to pull out the chip loader a couple of inches. Then I started smoking leaving it in and the pellets burned fine. I used to insert the AMNPS with the lit end in the rear but the past few times I've left the lit end facing the door with no problems. The only time I have problems with the AMNPS is cold smoking, which I've posted about. Pulling out the tray and the loader didn't help. What did help was warming up the interior temp which trying to keep it at cold smoke temps. That's a better tougher but it worked for me.
 
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