AMNPS questions

kryinggame · Nov 25, 2011

Hey all, I'm doing research on the AMNPS. Although I sent Todd a PM, I'm curious to learn what you all have to say. I just ordered the MES30 from Amazon and it should be in next week. Here are my questions:

1 - Would I use pellets instead of wood or the combination of the two?

2 - Can pellets be reused?

3 - How do I know how much pellets to use? For example, it doesn't take a long time to smoke a small chicken. Would I use the same quantity of pellets for a chicken as I would for a Boston Butt?

4 - Where do I get the pellets from? Must I buy the pellets from your company or can they be purchased at, Home Depot (for example)

Thank you!

SmokinAl · Nov 25, 2011

kryinggame said:
Hey all, I'm doing research on the AMNPS. Although I sent Todd a PM, I'm curious to learn what you all have to say. I just ordered the MES30 from Amazon and it should be in next week. Here are my questions:

1 - Would I use pellets instead of wood or the combination of the two? The pellets are all you need, you can use chips too, but there is no need to do that.

2 - Can pellets be reused? No

3 - How do I know how much pellets to use? For example, it doesn't take a long time to smoke a small chicken. Would I use the same quantity of pellets for a chicken as I would for a Boston Butt? No, one row will last 3 or 4 hours. So for a chicken you would just fill one row, for a butt you would fill all three rows.

4 - Where do I get the pellets from? Must I buy the pellets from your company or can they be purchased at, Home Depot (for example) You can find the pellets several places, but to my knowledge Todd is the only source of pure pellets. In other words if you order hickory pellets from Todd they will be 100% hickory. If you buy Traeger pellets they will only be part hickory.

Thank you!

scarbelly · Nov 25, 2011

Al covered it well. The one area I would like to add is that you can also use sawdust for cold smoking. The reason you would use sawdust is to keep the temperatures down when smoking cheese.

The AMNPS is very versatile that way.

Bearcarver · Nov 25, 2011

Good info above!!!

I will add---Put more pellets in than you figure you will need.

When you're done smoking, you can easily take a spoon or a screwdriver, or whatever, and separate the hot burning pellet coals from the unburned pellets, and after it cools down, blow the powdery ashes out, and save the unburned pellets for next time.

Bear

jjwesley · Nov 25, 2011

kryinggame said:
4 - Where do I get the pellets from? Must I buy the pellets from your company or can they be purchased at, Home Depot (for example)

The only thing I would add is a warning to NOT buy heating pellets. Be sure that they are marked BBQ or cooking pellets in some way. There have been numerous discussions on the reason(s) for this. For some of the "whys" and "why nots" try http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/101266/smoking-with-wood-heating-pellets among others in this forum.

The only other idea I might add is that AMNPS was developed and designed around AMNS pellets. Not all cooking pellets are manufactured exactly alike. Each manufacturer has their own method and as I'm sure you will discover from the fhreads, some will out perform others. In the end, personal taste and experimentation will provide you with the best answer.

kryinggame · Nov 25, 2011

Gents, thanks for the feedback.

I generally smoke ribs (baby back and spare), chicken, salmon & boston butts.

I'm sorry if these seems to be a dumb question but are pellets = to wood?

For the above meats, which are good pellets to use?

I like having a noticable smoked flavor. Personally, I don't get that flavor from apple, cherry and alder.

Thanks!

Bearcarver · Nov 25, 2011

kryinggame said:
Gents, thanks for the feedback.

I generally smoke ribs (baby back and spare), chicken, salmon & boston butts.

I'm sorry if these seems to be a dumb question but are pellets = to wood?

For the above meats, which are good pellets to use?

I like having a noticable smoked flavor. Personally, I don't get that flavor from apple, cherry and alder.

Thanks!

Then you could be a smoke hog---like me!!!!

I use Hickory for about 85% of my smokes---I like to know it was smoked----The heck with that mild stuff!!!

Bear

jc1947 · Nov 26, 2011

kryinggame said:
Hey all, I'm doing research on the AMNPS. Although I sent Todd a PM, I'm curious to learn what you all have to say. I just ordered the MES30 from Amazon and it should be in next week. Here are my questions:

1 - Would I use pellets instead of wood or the combination of the two? I prefer pellets. But you can also use wood chips but you have to add more about every 30-45 minutes.

2 - Can pellets be reused? Yes, the unburnt ones.

3 - How do I know how much pellets to use? For example, it doesn't take a long time to smoke a small chicken. Would I use the same quantity of pellets for a chicken as I would for a Boston Butt? I fill my AMNPS and when I am done smoking I simply use a putty knife to separate the burning pellets from the unburnt.

4 - Where do I get the pellets from? There are many places you can get pellets. I get mine from Todd. His prices are competitive . His pellets are pure wood. And there is no equal customer service anywhere! Must I buy the pellets from your company or can they be purchased at, Home Depot (for example)

Thank you!

JC1947

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AMNPS questions

kryinggame

Smoking Fanatic

SmokinAl

SMF Hall of Fame Pitmaster

scarbelly

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

Bearcarver

Gone but not forgotten RIP

jjwesley

Newbie

kryinggame

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Bearcarver

Gone but not forgotten RIP

jc1947

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