Charcoal in MES chip tray w AMNPS for smoke ring

[chiefwej]

Has anyone here tried putting charcoal in the chip tray when using AMNPS with wood pellets as a smoke source? It seems like one way to try for a bit of smoke ring and that charcoal flavor.

 

[ronrude]

I haven't tried it, but have had the same idea.  i love my MES but would like a little of the coal flavor too.  One of these days it will happen.  I will post if/when I do.

 

[indyadmin1974]

I think some folks have tried it.  That kind of defeats the purpose of the MES in my opinion though.

Without sounding like a jerk, I'd say if you want the charcoal flavor use a charcoal smoker.  If you don't have the room, that's understandable.  If I want BBQ without having to tend to my WSMs then I fire up the MES.  If I want Q with all the color which doesn't reflect in the flavor then I'll fire up my WSMs.

I'd use the search bar at the top of the page to look for that question.  It's a popular one:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/search.php?search=mes+charcoal

 

[keithd]

I've tossed 6 briquettes in the hopper, tried charcoal pellets, no joy.

It seems that there's an insufficient volume of burning wood and charcoal making too little nitrogen dioxide. My experiments thus far bear this out.
 

 

[brewandsmoke]

I'm pretty sure that the amazin website has charcoal specifically for the amnps. Haven't gotten mine yet but have been reading great things about it!

 

[chef jimmyj]

We have had this discussion many times and guys have tried it with mixed results. If your goal is Charcoal Flavor the Briquettes or Pellets will give a good result but if the goal is Smoke Ring, not many have had success. If you wish to try it, you will find low temp 225*F with water in your pan to keep humidity up, is more likely to give a result than Hotter/Drier Smokes....JJ