# Twin Chuckies (with my New AMNPS---"Pellets")



## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

*Twin Chuckies (with my New AMNPS)*


I got a new 5" X 8" A-MAZE-N-*PELLET*-SMOKER (AMNPS), and had to give it a try.
Since high heat is sometimes a problem with my AMNS, I decided to smoke 2 Chuckies at about 230˚ with my AMNPS.

*Day #1:*

I rinsed with cold water & dried two Chuckies with paper towels.
Then coated them first with Worcestershire Sauce (thick), and Montreal Steak rub.
Then wrapped in plastic wrap, and into the fridge for an overnight stay.

*Day #2:*

Pre-heat smoker to 240˚ (close top vent for pre-heat).
Put Chuckies on one MES 40 smoking rack, sprinkle with a little Brown Sugar, and put that rack in #2 position.
Load my new toy with Bottom 2/3 Maple----Top 1/3 Cherry (per Todd's suggestion).
Light one end with my "Fat Boy" propane torch. See *"Note"*  below for lighting suggestions.
Put AMNPS on the bars, to the left of the MES chip burner.
Cut heat back to 230˚. Open top vent all the way.
After 4 hours at 230˚, I sterilized my probes, and inserted them into my Chuckies.
The one was at 156˚, and the other was at 157˚.
When my Chuckies were at 171˚ and 166˚, I wrapped them individually in doubled foil, and added the following in each package:
4 ounces of Apple Juice.
1 ounce of Ken's Teriyaki Marinade.
2 ounces of BBQ sauce.

When they were at 210˚ and 204˚, with 70 minutes to go until Supper Time (5 PM), I killed the heat & closed my top vent, but left them foiled, and in my MES 40.
At 4:50PM the smoker temp was down to about 145˚, and my Chuckies were at 180˚ and 186˚. Pulled Chuckies for Supper.
Unwrap, pour juice from packages into container, allow to cool, put juice in fridge for fat separation---to be excellent Au Jus.
Take pictures & pull Beef.

*Note on lighting AMNPS:*
I can't stress lighting your AMNPS properly, too much!
It is important to light your AMNS (dust) properly, but it's even more important with the AMNPS (Pellets).
I lit my AMNPS every bit as good as I always light my AMNS, and I figured it was good enough.
Wrong!!!---it produced very little smoke, and almost went out.
I pulled it out and gave it a much better torch job, and got a good fire going (burning about a 2" long area in the first row).
I left the fire go for 6 or 7 minutes. Then I blew it out & kept blowing the red coals until I had a real good red hot coal base.
Then I put it back in. I had real nice smoke going all the way until I pulled the Chuckies for foiling.
I actually got perfect smoke for a total of 5 hours, and only consumed about half of the full load of pellets.
Once I got this new AMNPS going right, it was a thing of beauty---Nice amount of smoke, with no worry of jumping rows, burning too heavy, or burning too fast and burning out.
Then when I pulled the AMNPS, I set it where the high heat won't hurt anything, and took a teaspoon & pulled all of the hot coals & burning pellets far away from the unburned pellets.
Those unburned pellets will be good for next time. I think I'll start a new jug, just for leftover pellets that are not only one wood species.
Also Note: We did not care for the McCormick Grill Mates' Montreal Steak Rub. I only tried it because I saw it mentioned a few times. You don't know if you don't try.
That's about it.
Enjoy the pictures---Lotsa Qview, and a few BearViews Too !!!!

Bear

One of the Chuckies all rubbed up:







Two Chuckies ready for an overnight stay at 37˚:






One end lit:






My set-up:  I use that 9" X 12" Aluminum plate, tilted up on the left side, to direct the heat over to the middle of the smoker, instead of letting the heat run straight up to the exhaust vent.
During this particular smoke, my ET-732 stayed within 5˚ of the MES digital temp readout the whole time.
You can also see where I always put my AMAZING Smokers in my MES 40.






This picture shows how much smoke I like to have coming out of my fully open exhaust vent.
Not much more----Not much less, but Less would be better than More "IMHO":






Back to my 2 Chuckies and the juice I saved, just after removing from their foil packages.
The lid goes on the juice, and into the fridge, in the back, so it doesn't get bumped:






Pulled Beef "BearView":






My Supper (first helping---LOL):






BearView Close-up:






Au Jus on right---Fat on left. I just run a knife all the way around, and pop it off in one solid piece:






Next Day Snack Time---First some pulled Beef in Au Jus (Nuked up):






BearView Alert !!!!
Then some shredded Mozzarella (I was out of Provolone), and some left over taters:






I LOVE IT ALL  ![/quote]


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## shooter1 (Jun 17, 2011)

Nice Bear, looks delicious. Great Post, I really like the new AMNPS and the pellets. Looks like I'm going to have to buy another toy.


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## fpnmf (Jun 17, 2011)

Looks fabulous!!

Them pellet thingamabobbers for sale yet??

  Craig


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

fpnmf said:


> Looks fabulous!!
> 
> Them pellet thingamabobbers for sale yet??
> 
> Craig


I don't think they're on the Amazing website yet, but they will be real soon.

Thanks Craig,

Bear


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## tjohnson (Jun 17, 2011)

Great Job Bear!

Love That Pellet Burner, don't ya?!

TJ


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## gros cochon (Jun 17, 2011)

Very interresting. I've been putting off buying the AMNS because of the price & availability of dust in Canada. But pellets I can find in every hardware store around here, and are pretty cheap too. Is this new AMNPS something you're testing out for Todd, or is it already out. Oh, and great looking food too. Nice job my friend.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

Gros Cochon said:


> Very interresting. I've been putting off buying the AMNS because of the price & availability of dust in Canada. But pellets I can find in every hardware store around here, and are pretty cheap too. Is this new AMNPS something you're testing out for Todd, or is it already out. Oh, and great looking food too. Nice job my friend.


Major testing is all over---These are ready to sell. I'm sure they'll be on his site real soon.

With Todd's products, testing never really stops, but these are ready now. I know because I had one before a few changes---This one is READY !

I think you have to be careful which pellets you get, but I'm sure Todd will explain that---I'm new to pellets, except rabbit pellets (before & after).  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## rbranstner (Jun 17, 2011)

I've talked to Todd a bit about the new Pellet smoker. I can't wait to get one.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

Shooter1 said:


> Nice Bear, looks delicious. Great Post, I really like the new AMNPS and the pellets. Looks like I'm going to have to buy another toy.


Thanks Mike!  This thing is great !

Bear



TJohnson said:


> Great Job Bear!
> 
> Love That Pellet Burner, don't ya?!
> 
> TJ


Thanks Todd !

IMHO, the only weakness the AMNS has is the possibility of jumping through rows above 180˚ (especially above 210˚), but it wasn't made for hot smoking. It was made for all of the smokers that can't produce smoke at low temperatures. (((I guess you knew this though,Todd!----LOL))).

Now I can smoke with my MES set as high as it will go (275˚), without any problems !!!!

You Da Man, Todd !!!!

Bear


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## beer-b-q (Jun 17, 2011)

Looks great Bear, I hope that by next week I will be back to feeling well enough to cook something with mine...  Just don't feel well enough yet to tackle any food too heavy...


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## scarbelly (Jun 17, 2011)

Great post Bear. You forgot to mention one of the coolest features of the new unit. You can still smoke with your dust too both hot and cold smokes. Lots of folks have invested in dust and this new unit can do both. I ran a pellet test with mine the other day and it went for nearly 11 hours on one load and still had some more to go.

This baby is awesome!!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

Scarbelly said:


> Great post Bear. You forgot to mention one of the coolest features of the new unit. You can still smoke with your dust too both hot and cold smokes. Lots of folks have invested in dust and this new unit can do both. I ran a pellet test with mine the other day and it went for nearly 11 hours on one load and still had some more to go.
> 
> This baby is awesome!!


I know that, but I didn't forget.

No matter how much I trust you & Todd, I won't do that until I try it myself. The Bear doesn't go by hearsay, as it is inadmissible in court.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Then it will get the Bear's seal of approval, along with a new thread, with BearViews included.

You got 11 hours on one load of pellets---That's exactly the same as mine----I got 5 hours with just under 1/2 load.

Seems it works the same on both coasts !!!   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## gotarace (Jun 17, 2011)

Excellent Detailed Q-View Bear....Those Chuckies look Fantastic. I had to see this at lunch time
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  now my belly is really growling!!! Both meals looked GREAT!!!

Thanks for the trail run summation of the ANMPS...looks like another slam dunk for the A-MAZE-N family of smokers...Congrats Todd. One will be hitting the Gotarace stable soon..


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## raptor700 (Jun 17, 2011)

Great Chickie's Bear  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Nothing like a little Bearview from the Bear himself  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I've really got to get one of those pelletmajigies to add to my arsenal,

Great post Bear


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## garyinmd (Jun 17, 2011)

Great job as always Bear and always love the you lay it out with times, temps, etc.  Like most replies above another addition to the family is in the future 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 . I have a old 4 drawer filing cabinet in the garage and keep keep my goodies in one of them, looks like drawer two will be needed soon.  Quick question, in the picture of the meat and new toy in the smoker it looks like your ET732 probe is just hanging through the grate which puts it a distance from the grate for temps.  My 732 came with a holder so it will go right beside the meat, just curious.


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## alelover (Jun 17, 2011)

Great post Bear. Those chuckies look great and the leftovers look pretty righteous too. The Q-View was awesome as always. Love that fat disc you extracted totally intact. That pellet deal looks like it works pretty well. Hmmm.  I think I still have some of that 20 year old perforated steel in my basement.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

Just so everybody knows, I'm trying to answer every question, but every time I hit "Quote" at the bottom of one of your comments, a freakin' ad fills the reply box.

I've been trying top answer "garyinmd". I clicked on his "Quote" about 30 times, and went to "previous page and back at least 20 times, and the ads keep filling my reply box before I can get there.

It only seems to be doing it when I try to reply to a quote, so I'll answer Gary this way.

Gary, I knew somebody would ask about that probe. I figured I'd answer it then. That is before any probing. It is the built in probe that lives inside the smoker. I hung it there so that after 4 hours, I wouldn't have to dig it out to use it. My 732 probes are still in my corner gun cabinet where I keep them.

Thanks for you kind words, Gary,

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

Beer-B-Q said:


> Looks great Bear, I hope that by next week I will be back to feeling well enough to cook something with mine...  Just don't feel well enough yet to tackle any food too heavy...




Thanks Paul,

I'm glad to see you're starting to come around. That must have been a big bad bug!!!!

Get well real soon !!!!

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

gotarace said:


> Excellent Detailed Q-View Bear....Those Chuckies look Fantastic. I had to see this at lunch time
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks gotarace !

Sorry about the belly growling!!!

Well not really---LOL  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## smokinstevo27 (Jun 17, 2011)

Looks Great Bear! I'm not big on that McCormicks either. Salty and just kinda off to me. I like Bear view from the Bear himself.

Steve


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## Bearcarver (Jun 17, 2011)

smokinstevo27 said:


> Looks Great Bear! I'm not big on that McCormicks either. Salty and just kinda off to me. I like Bear view from the Bear himself.
> 
> Steve


Thanks Steve!

That McCormicks Montreal seems to have a lot of stuff that doesn't dissolve or go away. Not sure what it is---maybe seeds??? Too salty too.

Four of us ate of it, and none of us liked it. I'm not fussy with rub. I tried about 10 different rubs. Some were better than others, but this is the first time I actually disliked one.

Thanks again,

Bear


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## garyinmd (Jun 17, 2011)

Thanks Bear, I have a older MES 30 that does not have the internal probe, never thought to look at that.  If my MES 30 ever dies I will have as 40 on the deck shortly there after, right now it is hard to justify to the boss I need more than the one.    I  do not post every smoke 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   but still sit in the back ground to learn from you and the other masters.

Thanks

Gary


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## meateater (Jun 17, 2011)

Looking great Bear, I thought you went nutz and was smoking with rabbit food for a minute. I hope Mrs. Bear don't see you using her cutlery on the smoker. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  Just might have to get some pellets when I run out of dust.


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## venture (Jun 17, 2011)

Nice post Bear.  But the real story, for me anyway, is Todd.  Will this guy never quit?  I would never have figured that thing would work, but???

Good luck and good smoking.


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## jak757 (Jun 17, 2011)

Looks great Bear.  I'll be using one in my new MES 40 very soon.  I'm looking forward to it!!


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## SmokinAl (Jun 18, 2011)

Nice job Bear. Great looking chuckies, and another very informative tutorial! Thanks!


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## africanmeat (Jun 18, 2011)

OMG thet looks yummy bear 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





thanks for the Qview


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## Bearcarver (Jun 18, 2011)

meateater said:


> Looking great Bear, I thought you went nutz and was smoking with rabbit food for a minute. I hope Mrs. Bear don't see you using her cutlery on the smoker.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Buddy !

Shhh--Don't tell her!

Bear




Venture said:


> Nice post Bear.  But the real story, for me anyway, is Todd.  Will this guy never quit?  I would never have figured that thing would work, but???
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


Thanks Merv!

He'll never quit making the things work better. This one took a few changes & adjustments, but he got 'er done!

Bear




JAK757 said:


> Looks great Bear.  I'll be using one in my new MES 40 very soon.  I'm looking forward to it!!


Thanks John!

That's great!   
	

		
			
		

		
	







John


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## Bearcarver (Jun 18, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> Nice job Bear. Great looking chuckies, and another very informative tutorial! Thanks!


Thank You Al !!

Bear


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## gersus (Jun 18, 2011)

Another awesome smoke, Bear. Keep up the good posts!

I don't want to hijack this thread but I have been wondering something for a while now.  Why do I need an AMNS? In my MES I've been using hickory or cherry wood chips.  I put just a few in the loader at a time and only maybe 3 or 4 times during a smoke.  This bears plenty of smoke flavor in whatever I'm cooking, even when I smoked BBB at 120 degrees, so I don't understand the NEED for an AMNS. I read nothing but praise for the AMNS and I can see it does its job well.


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## venture (Jun 18, 2011)

Now, if we would soak a pellet, and stick it in the hole a carpenter bee made?  Would that be like a finger in the dike? (please don't change the spelling of that)

Good luck and good smoking


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## captturbo (Jun 18, 2011)

The chuckies look fine and all but what made me go 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





was that sammich with the cheese on it. Yum!


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## nwdave (Jun 18, 2011)

Cold smoking tool, adapted to the hot smoking environment.  The first time you want to smoke cheese, you'll see why we sing the praises of the AMNS and the AMNPS.

A word about pellets.  Not all pellets are created equal.  During the prototype tests (mine started last winter) we discovered that most pellets are blended with either alder or oak.  Note, I say most, there are exceptions.  Unfortunately for me, most of mine that I had in stock were alder blended with whatever.  Alder blend does not fair well in the AMNPS.  Oak is just fine.  It gets tricky.  I'd suggest not running out and buying a 20# bag of something until you know exactly what's the blend.  Traeger doesn't say on the bags, at least in my neck of the woods.  Bear Mountain is mostly alder blended with whatever.  For some reason, Apple pellets are fickle too.  Drove me crazy (not a long trip) until Todd shipped me some good Apple.  Then the game was on.  I know that Todd is stockpiling some GOOD pellets for us.  While expensive, I've found BBQdelight to be good to go. 

A trick I used with getting the pellets started.  Same routine as Bear's except, since I've got a aquarium air pump laying around from a previous smoke generator atttempt, I use that to blow on the coals.  I've got an inline valve to control the air flow and that really works great. 

As you noticed, Bear's was with an MES.  My tests were with a GOSM.  I'm sure Todd shipped prototypes out to members with different types of smokers, just to get a good data base and information. 

The AMNPS is like any other tool:  Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder how you managed to get along without it.

~Dave

 


gersus said:


> Another awesome smoke, Bear. Keep up the good posts!
> 
> I don't want to hijack this thread but I have been wondering something for a while now.  Why do I need an AMNS? In my MES I've been using hickory or cherry wood chips.  I put just a few in the loader at a time and only maybe 3 or 4 times during a smoke.  This bears plenty of smoke flavor in whatever I'm cooking, even when I smoked BBB at 120 degrees, so I don't understand the NEED for an AMNS. I read nothing but praise for the AMNS and I can see it does its job well.


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## venture (Jun 18, 2011)

gersus, you do NOT need an AMNS. 

The price is so reasonable that I would recommend you try it.  Only then will you know why so many experienced smokers here are pointing you in that direction.

Good luck and good and good smoking.


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## tjohnson (Jun 18, 2011)

gersus said:


> Another awesome smoke, Bear. Keep up the good posts!
> 
> I don't want to hijack this thread but I have been wondering something for a while now.  Why do I need an AMNS? In my MES I've been using hickory or cherry wood chips.  I put just a few in the loader at a time and only maybe 3 or 4 times during a smoke.  This bears plenty of smoke flavor in whatever I'm cooking, even when I smoked BBB at 120 degrees, so I don't understand the NEED for an AMNS. I read nothing but praise for the AMNS and I can see it does its job well.


gersus,

You certainly do not need an AMNS.  Many guys get along fine without it.  Like any other tool out there, if it can make your job easier or the finished product better, it usually a good investment. 

The AMNS and now the new AMNPS make smoking a little easier.  The biggest advantage of using one, is the duration of good quality TBS.  Bear got 5 hours out of 1 1/2 rows @ 230° during his chuckie smoke.  Without the AMNPS, he would be filling the chip loader every 30 minutes or so.

Let's say you want to do an overnight smoke or a 12 hour bacon smoke.  Light the AMNS and forget it!

Todd


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## chefrob (Jun 18, 2011)

looks great bear and another great smoker from todd!


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## teeznuts (Jun 18, 2011)

Just had chuckie tacos myself. Looks great!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 19, 2011)

gersus said:


> Another awesome smoke, Bear. Keep up the good posts!
> 
> I don't want to hijack this thread but I have been wondering something for a while now.  Why do I need an AMNS? In my MES I've been using hickory or cherry wood chips.  I put just a few in the loader at a time and only maybe 3 or 4 times during a smoke.  This bears plenty of smoke flavor in whatever I'm cooking, even when I smoked BBB at 120 degrees, so I don't understand the NEED for an AMNS. I read nothing but praise for the AMNS and I can see it does its job well.


Hi gersus,

Like a few have said, "You don't need an AMNS", but I just smoked 17 pounds of Bacon with one yesterday. I'll be slicing it on Monday, and posting it all sometime this week. After reading that, you may change your mind. Here is a small preview----I got 11 1/2 straight hours of perfect smoke, without touching anything. It was the most perfect smoke I have ever done. I didn't taste it yet, but it looks perfect, and the whole thing went off without my doing anything with wood chips, chunks, or dust, after I put the AMNS in the MES 40 at 7:30 AM.

If you are getting continuous smoke from an MES at 120˚, you are very lucky. Have you gotten that since Summer has started?  Will you be able to get that when the ambient temp is 90˚. The MES is insulated so good that to maintain 120˚ in the smoker, the element doesn't have to come on often enough or long enough to make chips burn for any length of time. People used to try all kinds of things, like charcoal in the chip drawer, soldering irons in a pan, hanging a creosote creator on the side & drilling a hole in the side of the MES, but nothing has even come close to the AMNS & AMNPS---IMHO. These things are Awesome.

And thank you for the compliments,

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Jun 19, 2011)

CaptTurbo said:


> The chuckies look fine and all but what made me go
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Cappy!!

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Jun 19, 2011)

NWDave said:


> Cold smoking tool, adapted to the hot smoking environment.  The first time you want to smoke cheese, you'll see why we sing the praises of the AMNS and the AMNPS.
> 
> A word about pellets.  Not all pellets are created equal.  During the prototype tests (mine started last winter) we discovered that most pellets are blended with either alder or oak.  Note, I say most, there are exceptions.  Unfortunately for me, most of mine that I had in stock were alder blended with whatever.  Alder blend does not fair well in the AMNPS.  Oak is just fine.  It gets tricky.  I'd suggest not running out and buying a 20# bag of something until you know exactly what's the blend.  Traeger doesn't say on the bags, at least in my neck of the woods.  Bear Mountain is mostly alder blended with whatever.  For some reason, Apple pellets are fickle too.  Drove me crazy (not a long trip) until Todd shipped me some good Apple.  Then the game was on.  I know that Todd is stockpiling some GOOD pellets for us.  While expensive, I've found BBQdelight to be good to go.
> 
> ...




All good info there, dave!

Bear


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## gersus (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I can't wait for you to post your 17 lb of bacon! I'll give one of the new pellet AMNS's a try. I can see the benefit, I bet the quality of the smoke is better than using the loader on an MES even in a hot smoke.

Keep up the good posts!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 19, 2011)

chefrob said:


> looks great bear and another great smoker from todd!


Thanks Rob!

Yes An Amazing that works in high heat!!!------>  Awesome!!!

Bear
 




teeznuts said:


> Just had chuckie tacos myself. Looks great!


Thanks Teez!

Bear


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## Bearcarver (Jun 20, 2011)

gersus said:


> Thanks for the info. I can't wait for you to post your 17 lb of bacon! I'll give one of the new pellet AMNS's a try. I can see the benefit, I bet the quality of the smoke is better than using the loader on an MES even in a hot smoke.
> 
> Keep up the good posts!


That new Bacon post should be up by the end of the week. I want to write it up real easy to follow, as it was the best Bacon I have made yet, and the AMNS had a lot to do with it.

Bear


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## gersus (Jun 20, 2011)

Sounds great! I'm looking forward to it.


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