Hi All,
I am a long time gas and charcoal griller, never smoked anything outside my gas grill before. I know I am missing out so I finally ordered my 4 level electric smoker. I also ordered a cover, some pucks and a bubba puck. I imagine the thing comes with a decent instruction manual because I don't even know where to start. Is there a "Newbie guide" or a quick start guide somewhere? I would like to read up before it comes so I can go right to work and smoke something. It should be here in 5 days.
Any other tips or accessories i may need?
thanks!
Jeff (JF7FSU)
Jeff,
Welcome!
Here is a link to the FAQs at the recipe site http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=481
Also, the directory of the recipe site, lots of good info & recipes from the members http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=180
Lot's of other accessories that you will think you will need if you read enough.... but other than what you have ordered I would recommend a good remote thermometer such as the Maverick ET-73
Deb
Welcome Jeff
Deb has you going in the right direction. The manual is indeed ok to get you started - shows you where to plug in things and tells you to season the unit. But for recipes, troubleshooting, modifying, and techniques, rely on this site and the recipe site Deb linked to. No place better to get this info from! Hoping (but know you will) enjoy your new Bradley. It will open up arenas of smoking you haven't though about yet!
Welcome aboard Jeff,
You've come to the right place to learn how to use that new Bradley. Lot's of great posts and if you have questions, you will get them answered here.
Have fun, post results (with pictures). ;D Here is link on posting pictures by the way.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I read the FAQ and the only part I wasn't getting was the cures and Morton Tender Quick. Do you have to use this stuff to smoke? I thought I could use my own rub and that would be it? also I was looking at some of the recipes and they seem like pretty big portions. Also what is the reference to ramp on ramp off in some of the recipe's?
Quote from: JF7FSU on July 13, 2009, 04:57:19 PM
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I read the FAQ and the only part I wasn't getting was the cures and Morton Tender Quick. Do you have to use this stuff to smoke? I thought I could use my own rub and that would be it? also I was looking at some of the recipes and they seem like pretty big portions. Also what is the reference to ramp on ramp off in some of the recipe's?
You only need the cures/Morton TQ if you want to do things like sausage, bacon, ham etc. For meats like pork butt, brisket, ribs, chicken your own rubs will be just fine. If you want to do some cured and smoked items, check the posts from people like Nepas, Mr Walleye, Habanero Smoker and others. Ask them some questions and they will be more than happy to help you out. As far as portion size, you can always adjust to fit your needs. But you might be surprised, the great results do go fast. ;D
Welcome to the forum JF7
No need to say much more cuz they got ya covered.
nepas
W E L C O M E to the Forum JF7FSU!
Nice to see another Floridian on board.
Welcome JF7! Sounds like your on track. By the time your box hits the front step, you will be good to go!
Welcome Great information here, still learning :)
Quote from: FLBentRider on July 14, 2009, 09:36:51 AM
W E L C O M E to the Forum JF7FSU!
Nice to see another Floridian on board.
Yepper, I'm in ST. Petersburg... Floridians United In SMOKE~~!
Welcome aboard miami smoke
welcome have fun
seemore
Hi there Jeff and welcome to the forum,
I strongly suggest that you forget about manuals, instructions and links. You have over 1000 good folks here that are more that willing and able to assist you in anything you need. Depend on Bradley and all the good people WHO have counted on it to impress their family and friends over dinners and outings.
Best of luck
HR
Thanks everyone, my baby comes in tomorrow. My bubba pucks came in today and hopefully my biscuits come in tomorrow as well so I can season it right away. So the only thing left is what is ramp on ramp off? Is this a reference to the smoke generator?
Thanks!
Jeff
Ramp usually refers to a stepped increase in temperature. This is done using a PID (which is a very accurate temp control device)
A Ramp (up) program example:
150F for 1 hour
160F for 2 hours
170F for 1 hour
etc..
in my world, for a pork butt, I use the first Ramp to preheat - 275F for 1 hour - I put the meat in at the 30 minute mark.
The second Ramp I set to 200F for 23 hours. (it never gets that far) I take the meat out after the smoke, foil wrap and put into a 200F oven until the IT is 195F.
Welcome Jeff...nice to have ya here...lots of peeps to point a fellow Floridian (I am at heart) in the right direction...please feel free to have fun on this forum!!! Everybody just loves good food...
Well my OBS came in today and I put it together. I am going to Bass Pro Shop first thing to get a few starter pucks as my shipment was delayed for some awful reason. So I am going to try my initial voyage with a brisket I just picked up from Costco, its 5.2 lbs. Tell me if this is about right?
1) I think I need a total cooking time of about 8 hours?
2) temp should be about 220?
3) I will use hot smoke the first 4 hours.
4) I will use the mustard and some kind of rub.
After the 8 hours I will FTC it for about 2 hours. Will this work?
That sounds like plenty, but time is a large variable in smoking.
Would you recommend less time or transferring it to the oven after the hot smoke? Most of the recipes I see are 6-10 hours, I figured I would split the difference.
I would monitor the internal temp to around 180-190F
Dagnab it, my ET-73 is shipping from Yard and Pool and won't be here until later in the week. All I have is a digital stick thermometer. I guess ill check it after 6 hours. Thanks for the tip.
Hi Guys,
One last thing I havent seen addressed here is cleaning the OBS. How should I clean it? With a cloth, hose, soap and water? I'm sure the racks need to be scrubbed but what about the V plate and interior?
I leave the interior alone.
I wash the racks, bowl, V-tray, and the bottom tray.
I soak in the sink, scrub (if needed) and run through the dishwasher.
If the interior "seasoning" starts to flake off, I brush it off.
Thanks FLBentRider. My V-Plate doesn't seem to fit that great and it seems awful close to the bottom rack, is this normal? Its not loose or anything but it just kind of sits there and doesn't seem to mate with the outside brass fittings.
PS Picked up a 48 pack of apple pucks this am and already seasoned it. I got the brisket in the fridge marinating in Mustard and rub and will put on late tonight for lunch tomorrow.
The "V" goes down.
It should look like it would funnel drippings into the water bowl.
Sounds like you have it upside down.
(http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk7/flbentrider/bradley/DSCN2160.jpg)
I have the 4 rack OBS. I am sure I must be doing something wrong. There are 3 brass fittings on either side to hold the V tray that are in a obtuse v pattern. When I place the tray in it seems to balance on the bottom point of the V on the middle brass fitting thus it is not secure. Am I supposed to unscrew the brass fitting?
EDIT: I got it now. I have to snap it under the middle brass fittings....DUH.
Its kinda like putting an oven rack in, you have to angle the tray down then up as your sliding it in.
C
Mine only has 4 fittings. two on each side, front and back.
Quote from: FLBentRider on July 18, 2009, 12:36:59 PM
Mine only has 4 fittings. two on each side, front and back.
The older smokers only have 4 brass pins 2 on each side.
The newer smokers have 6 pins 3 on each side we did this so the drip tray could not be put in upside down
Brian
Ok I smoked a 5.3 lb brisket with apple for 4.5 hours. I kept the tower at about 225 the whole time. I do not have my remote thermometer yet so I eyeballed it with the door thermometer. It was pretty stable. When I took out the brisket it looked pretty good and I used a digital meat thermometer and it showed the internal temp at the thickest point to be about 190. I imagined it would be a lot less. So is it done or do I boat it for a few more hours? I just threw it in a pan with some apple cider, hope I dont ruin it.
So what did I do wrong?? The brisket was the only thing in the smoker BTW.
UPDATE: I boated it for 1 hour and am FTC'ing now until morning. Should be a good lunch I hope!
That does sound aweful quick for that temp. I have only done whole packers and are twice the weight of the flat you did. At 4 hours, mine are usually around 140 to 150 IT. I also only go to 210. My first thought is the door thermometer would read lower than what the meat was seeing. What shelf position did you use? If it was a lower position, you could have been heating the meat at 230 to 240 deg. That would certainly push a higher temp sooner. The FTC sounds like a long time (overnight). So how did it turn out?
Where did you place the brisket. If you placed in on the bottom rack, then the temperature could have been much higher at that location then the door thermometer was displaying.
I used the lowest rack, so maybe it was a higher temp. I wound up boating it for an hour at 220 and then FTC until morning. I then transferred the whole thing to the fridge until dinner time. I just warmed it up in the oven at 220 and it was DELICIOUS! LOL, I thought I might have cooked it too fast to I figured I would compensate with a long FTC. It was very tender and soft. Here are a few pics of my first smoke job.. Next will be a turkey breast. Thanks for all the patience and help!
(http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/jf7fsu/IMG_0791-1.jpg)
(http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/jf7fsu/IMG_0793.jpg)
(http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/jf7fsu/IMG_0794.jpg)
Hey JF, That brisket looks pretty darned awesome. It would look better on my plate though!!! :D Glad to hear it came out so good for you. What's next on the smoking agenda?
I'm gonna try a 5 lb turkey breast on the bone next weekend.
That looks good!
JF,
Congrats on your first smoke adventure. Looks really good. You are well on your way!
Turkey breasts are fun to do and you can really have fun ramping up the flavors. How are you going to do it? Brine it before smoking? Rub or no? The options are endless. Have fun with it.
One piece of information, poultry is a smoke sponge and it also has a ton of moisture so open your vent 100% open the whole time.
Let the rest of us know how you do the turkey breast.
KyNola
Thanks Kynola for the open vent advice, I think I will do a rub. I'm on the fence about brining it, I've never done that. What do you suggest?
One question though. How does one fit a Packer in this thing? The 5 pounder fit nicely on the rack, I cant imagine fitting one twice the size on one rack? How does one do this, fold it in half?
Oh yeah, one other thing, I used Hebrew National Deli Mustard on my brisket and it was so good, I can't imagine using French's CYM. It's really tasty.