# Central Wisconsin Joining



## WI_GameMeats (Oct 31, 2018)

Hey All,

I've been reading and lurking around for a while on SMF - finally thought it was time for me to join and continue learning from all of you!


----------



## gmc2003 (Oct 31, 2018)

Welcome aboard, glad you finally decided to join.

Chris


----------



## smokin peachey (Oct 31, 2018)

Welcome from PA lots of good stuff and good people here on the forum. I think Tom has a WI group going so look him up.


----------



## kruizer (Oct 31, 2018)

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.


----------



## 6GRILLZNTN (Oct 31, 2018)

Welcome from Middle TN. You’re going to love this forum!


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Oct 31, 2018)

Welcome aboard from Appleton! Glad to see another WI member joining! If you can't find the answers here..some one will get curious and try it them selves is what I say!


----------



## oldsmokerdude (Oct 31, 2018)

Always good to have new members. Welcome!


----------



## ksblazer (Oct 31, 2018)

Glad you decided to join us.

We look forward to having you on this forum and sharing  your smoking experiences here.


----------



## SmokinAl (Nov 1, 2018)

Welcome to SMF!
Happy to hear you decided to join in on the fun!!
Al


----------



## HalfSmoked (Nov 1, 2018)

Welcome glad to have you on board.

Warren


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 1, 2018)

Stuffed 12lbs of Venison Snack sticks last night.  Hoping to get these smoked today/tomorrow!  I'll get some pics to share too.


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Nov 1, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> Stuffed 12lbs of Venison Snack sticks last night.  Hoping to get these smoked today/tomorrow!  I'll get some pics to share too.


Very nice. Wish I still hunted every time I read about venison :)


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 1, 2018)

Welcome to SMF !!
Hey you look familiar!! LOL

Bear


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 2, 2018)

Thanks Everyone!
So this is my first smoke using the MES.. First thing I'll say is that it is much less tinkering and babysitting than smoking on my weber kettle, which is all I've used before.  I also used the Sausage Phosphate from Butcher and Packer for the first time.  Has anyone else used too much of the phosphate binder which caused "too chewy" sausages?  I added the recommended 1oz per 12.5lbs.  I guess I'm just not used to the consistency you see in that picture.  I used a 35% Venison and 65% Pork mixture with a homemade seasoning mix (I love them spicy).

Other than that I would space out my snack sticks more evenly throughout the smoker so that the sticks are evenly smoked.


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Nov 2, 2018)

Heck looks good to me. I haven't done much in the snack stick department, largely as I had stuffing casings. 

Has any one told you to get the AMNPS yet? LOL


----------



## 6GRILLZNTN (Nov 2, 2018)

Those look pretty good!


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 2, 2018)

Haha yeah the AMNPS is on my wishlist on Amazon right now!  Yeah the snack sticks are vacuum sealed now and in the freezer for another time, probably a Packer game with some cheese and crackers.


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Nov 2, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> Haha yeah the AMNPS is on my wishlist on Amazon right now!  Yeah the snack sticks are vacuum sealed now and in the freezer for another time, probably a Packer game with some cheese and crackers.


So you know, Fleetfarm sells the AMNPS if you got one near you, check the site. Alot faster to get it that way then online!


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 2, 2018)

That’s smart! What pellets do people use in it?


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Nov 2, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> That’s smart! What pellets do people use in it?


Alot of people order from AMAZEN PRODUCTS. I use Lumberjack Pellets, as they are located in WI. They also have some cool varieties.

I've also used Pitboss, but either they are really bad, or I got a bad bag. <I had problems just making them light..and when they did stay lit, they'd end up lighting the entire AMNPS up in an hour, I think the binder they used was to blame or some thing!>

Honestly, find a pellet you like and stick with it. Just remember apple pellets unless specified to be 100% Apple, are normally 20-40% Apple, rest is Adler. Lumberjack Pellets have 100% Apple, which is why I tried them now, and I've not been disappointed!


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 2, 2018)

You buy those from fleet farm too? How much smoke flavor does one entire AMNPS add to a batch of smoking?


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Nov 2, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> You buy those from fleet farm too? How much smoke flavor does one entire AMNPS add to a batch of smoking?


Not Fleetfarm, but alot of places carry them, I just ordered mine online personally, as I got a sampler to do multiple flavours.

As for how much..depends on how heavy you roll it? Some people will light both ends, I don't. I normally do on a pork butt, half of the 5x8 AMNPS for smoke. I also don't tend to use the 'heavier' woods like hickory etc. Apple and Cherry are what I use. I hate mesquite outright!


----------



## HalfSmoked (Nov 3, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> Not Fleetfarm, but alot of places carry them, I just ordered mine online personally, as I got a sampler to do multiple flavours.
> 
> As for how much..depends on how heavy you roll it? Some people will light both ends, I don't. I normally do on a pork butt, half of the 5x8 AMNPS for smoke. I also don't tend to use the 'heavier' woods like hickory etc. Apple and Cherry are what I use. I hate mesquite outright!




I'm with you Tom no mesquite Here either.

Warren


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 3, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> You buy those from fleet farm too? How much smoke flavor does one entire AMNPS add to a batch of smoking?



One load in an AMNPS will normally give you up to 11 hours of Perfect (Medium) Smoke, if you only light one end properly.

I lit both ends one time about 5 years ago, and it was much too heavy, so I put the one end out.

Light to medium smoke can be put on for many many hours, but Heavy smoke for even a short time can be a BAD Thing!!

Bear


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 3, 2018)

See I haven’t gotten into smoking anything for longer than 3-4 hours and have only added a minimal amount of wood chunks that I’ve cut up myself or a small batch of chips from the store - which didn’t add too much smokiness flavor to the meat. I’m just worried a full AMNPS will give my meat an overpowering flavor of smoke.  Am I right to assume that?


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 3, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> See I haven’t gotten into smoking anything for longer than 3-4 hours and have only added a minimal amount of wood chunks that I’ve cut up myself or a small batch of chips from the store - which didn’t add too much smokiness flavor to the meat. I’m just worried a full AMNPS will give my meat an overpowering flavor of smoke.  Am I right to assume that?




You control how much smoke you get from an AMNPS.
As long as you only light one end, you should never get too strong a smoke flavor.
The AMNPS was designed in size to only burn pellets or dust so fast as to not allow the smoke to be too heavy, as long as you only light one end.
As for length of time, I keep mine going as long as I have the meat in the smoker, unless it's in the foil stage, or if it's done & I'm just holding it until Dinner time.

If you only want 3 hours of smoke, only fill one row.
6 hours---Fill 2 rows.
Or you can fill it with more than you will need, and when you want it to stop, just separate the unburned from the burned. Do this about 20 minutes early, because it takes awhile for it to stop smoking. I keep a Teaspoon with my Smoking stuff just for things like that.

Bear


----------



## WI_GameMeats (Nov 3, 2018)

Thanks Bear. Very helpful! 

Could you give me a comparison to smoke flavor given from the standard MES smoke chamber while adding roughly 1cup of apple chips for a 3 hour smoke.  This is what I did for those venison snack sticks and the smoke flavor was almost spot on for my preference.


----------



## Bearcarver (Nov 3, 2018)

WI_GameMeats said:


> Thanks Bear. Very helpful!
> 
> Could you give me a comparison to smoke flavor given from the standard MES smoke chamber while adding roughly 1cup of apple chips for a 3 hour smoke.  This is what I did for those venison snack sticks and the smoke flavor was almost spot on for my preference.




No---Actually I can't, because burning chips in your MES chip burner is not a controlled thing.
It can go from No smoke to Light Smoke, to medium smoke, to heavy smoke, to much heavy smoke, then go back & go through the same cycle again.
The AMNPS will keep on giving you the right amount of smoke the whole time, once you get it lit Properly.

So wipe that chip burning out of your mind---It's just a wasted wrinkle in your brain--It means nothing to your future of Awesome Smokes!!

Bear


----------



## SmokinLogs (Nov 4, 2018)

Welcome to SMF from Indiana!


----------

