Anyone tried smoking them in the bradley then finishing them in the oven. Looking for a more uniform cook.
Quote from: Fair-chase on November 19, 2009, 06:48:05 AM
Anyone tried smoking them in the bradley then finishing them in the oven. Looking for a more uniform cook.
Yes you can do this. Try to keep your oven at 170*
nepas
Quote from: NePaSmoKer on November 19, 2009, 07:04:16 AM
Quote from: Fair-chase on November 19, 2009, 06:48:05 AM
Anyone tried smoking them in the bradley then finishing them in the oven. Looking for a more uniform cook.
Yes you can do this. Try to keep your oven at 170*
nepas
Ditto
Wouldn't you get a more uniform cook in a 170 deg oven versus the bradley ? No hot spots hopefully?
When trying to slow cook summer sausage or snack sticks, I can never keep my meat temp within 25 degrees of the smoker temp. Mine was set to 140 degrees for 3+ hours, and at 150 for the last hour. Meat temp dropped from 99 to 97??(door was not opened)??? I'm about ready to take my Bradley back and invest in a commercial grade smoker. Everyone says these are the best, but I can't seem to get the meat temps to crest 100 degrees. I should not have to finish either of these foods in the oven. I do own the 6-rack DBS. I like the design and the style, but I don't want to ruin my meats by cooking too fast. I have been smoking the current batch of snack sticks for close to 8-hours and they are still below 100 degrees. I built a box to put around the back and sides to keep the wind from affecting it, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Any ideas? I have a 60-day return policy at the store which is about half used up.
Quote from: Fair-chase on November 19, 2009, 06:48:05 AM
Anyone tried smoking them in the bradley then finishing them in the oven. Looking for a more uniform cook.
Every time actually.
Start the sticks at 140* for 1 to 1.5 hours to dry the casings. Once casings are dry to the touch bump heat to 150* with 1 to 2 hours of smoke. Vent should be 1/4 open water in pan is OPT. Keep this 150* heat for another 2 hours then bump to 160* IT of sticks should be around the 130* point. They will stall at this point for several hours. In the meantime bump the heat to 170* Check the IT of sticks Try not to exceed a smoker IT of 180*
Sticks can take anywhere from 8 to 20 hours to smoke. Weather can affect the IT of the smoker in which you may have to adjust the IT. If your sticks have been in for 8 hours and are below 100* How many pounds are in your smoker and how many times have you opened the door?
Even in my large smokehouse with a 24,000 BTU burner sticks can take 16 hours.
nepas
I have it on 170* right now. I have the thermometer in the top rack (6-rack DPS). I did rotate the sticks around and put a rack from the bottom up towards the top. Checked the IT on those and it was 125* (now down to 100*???). Coloring and drying looks very uneven, so I just removed the drip pan to see what difference this makes. Vent was full open then down to 3/4. I will close it to 1/4 and see how that affects the process. I have water in the pan. There is a lot of condensation on the vent. Since I smoked for 2-hours and the bricks are extinguished, I will try removing the water as well.
I have 9 sticks in each rack, laid out straight like in your other posts. Mine look nothing like yours do. No where near as nice.
Sometimes when there is too much liquid in the mix the sticks will get this discoloration and take longer to get the IT.
What was your meat mix recipe.
I used 25 lbs venison, 5 lbs hog jowl, 2 cups of water, 1 pint of jalapenos (blended with the water), 1 pack of Frisco Spices pepper stick with meat cure, and one pack of high temp Cheddar. Mixed it up good, let it sit overnight in the fridge. Then I stuffed the cases and did about half the batch, got discouraged and finished those in the oven, left the rest in the fridge. I decided to cut the rest down to fit the trays vice hanging on dowel rods. That is where I am now, finishing the last batch. Part of the batch has a nice reddish smoke color to it, the other looks like a hot dog.
Water seems about right, might cut back on the jowl, jalapenos have liquid which might have added extra to the mix. How many times did you grind the meat?
When you mixed the ingredients into the meat they should have been stuffed right away then into fridge. The salt makes the meat start to bind. The red comes from the cure and mix. Bradley wont smoke red (smoke ring) the meat. Post a pic if your able.
I made sure to drain the jalapenos. I only ground the meat once with a 4.5mm plate. Hog Jowl was purchased as a medium grind. I hand mixed the batch for a good 20-minutes to make sure it had an even consistency with the spices. I am a firm believer in keeping the door shut as much as possible. Outside temp is only 33*, but I don't think that is affecting it much. I'll see if I can get a pic and post it.
I do the same, mix by hand. I get a better mix that way.
My last sticks the outside temp was 17* in the morning at 11:30 and took just over 10 hours to do.
Okay, I am new to forums as well. How do I insert a pic?
Here's the info on how to do that.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11 (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11)
Thanks Kevin. Here's what my sticks look like as well as my Temp measuring device:
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC001161.jpg)
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC00118.jpg)
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC001171.jpg)
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC00119.jpg)
Note: I did reposition some racks and turned a few around once. Not sure if that helped at all or what I was trying to achieve...
Is this overloaded? I don't think it is, but as a person new to smoking, I'm not sure.
I'm hoping the temperature climbs a little faster soon. These have been in since before noon and it is now 10:20 p.m.
Rick,
Your sticks look awful close together to me. Are they actually touching ? There needs to be some space between them to allow the heat to rise up to the upper racks. Also when using the racks I hardly ever use the bottom rack unless it's inverted. It just gets to hot. Also I almost refuse to open the door unless absolutly necessary. Every time the door is opened you let all the heat out , and it takes the Bradly along time to recover.
There is anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 in separation between the sticks. I did know that I needed to keep them apart for a more even heating of the sticks. I hear you about temperature recovery.
The Bradley was not what I wanted, but is what I came home with. I actually wanted the Cabela's Smokehouse Pro 50 or 100, but all the sales reps were touting the Bradley and they never got the Smokehouse Pro in the La Vista, NE store for comparison. I got it on a good sale, so I cannot complain too bad about the price. Not sure I would have laid out a grand for the Smokehouse Pro 50.
Hey rick the first thing I notice is that you don't have your v-tray in. This helps to get the heat to distribute evenly. I can't say what NePaS does and if it is better while doing snack sticks he will correct me as he is the master of sausage and snack sticks and pepperoni. It does look like you have overloaded your racks also. I have not delved into this snack stick sausage world yet so I am just going by what I have picked up here. The bradley is really a good smoker, your just in the learning curve, but if you let these guys help you, you will fall in love with the smoker. You just keep asking the questions and they will get you dialed in for sure. If you have checked out some of the threads from the guys on this subject you will see how well it will do for you. Don't give up, just keep at it.
I would agree that it is over loaded. I had the same problem last batch I did.
Quarlow, I read several posts before I started asking questions. There is a good half inch between each stick in the trays. After 13+ hours in the smoker, I have pulled them to the oven. It is after 1 a.m. here and I can't leave the smoker on the front step all night, might not be there when I get up...
From what I've read on other posts is that the v-shield is just a drip tray and since we are drying the meat at low temps it doesn't need to be in there. Neither does the water pan after the smoke is over. Contemplating getting a brick and putting it in the bottom as well.... Before I moved them to the oven, I did notice a 30+ degree difference in the IT of the meat at the top versus the bottom. I would think they should be closer since the door stayed closed for most of the effort.
Well just from this and that I beleive the tray does help to distribute the heat evenly. Just looking at your pics it does seem as though you are getting uneven heat. The water bowl can be used the help maintain a humidity level for certain things. I am not well versed on it but I have read were it was used so as not to dry somethings out to fast. Definitely get a brick or 2 in there. I noticed a big difference when I stuck them in. I put one in the bottom beside the water dish and if I have room I will put one on the first rack or if what I am smoking doesn't drip lots I will set it on the drip tray. Another fella got a square cast iron frying pan and cut the handle of and uses it for his water pan. He says it works great as a heat mass too. Hope it works out, I am going to try my hand at sticks too in the new year.
Quote from: RickWL63 on December 12, 2009, 09:13:59 PM
There is anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 in separation between the sticks. I did know that I needed to keep them apart for a more even heating of the sticks. I hear you about temperature recovery.
The Bradley was not what I wanted, but is what I came home with. I actually wanted the Cabela's Smokehouse Pro 50 or 100, but all the sales reps were touting the Bradley and they never got the Smokehouse Pro in the La Vista, NE store for comparison. I got it on a good sale, so I cannot complain too bad about the price. Not sure I would have laid out a grand for the Smokehouse Pro 50.
Rick
I worked at Cabelas in the camping dept and the processing/smoking section was mine. I sold more Bradleys than i did any other smokers. Only got 2 back in 2 years. The Pro smoker are a knockoff of the Cookshack. I had a cookshack too (hated it)
It looks like you have a heating problem with the way the sticks are not done on one side. I have had my sticks on racks also with them almost touching and never had this problem. Also did you pre heat your smoker?
nepas
Quarlow, Actually, I only removed the drip tray and the water about an hour before taking the pictures, which was about 8 to 9 hours into the process.
Nepas, thanks for the info on the smokehouse pro. I was wondering about it because they say it has a dual stage 1200-watt heating element (or something to that fact). Yes, I did preheat the smoker and dried for about an hour and a half, but the recipe I was following said to start at 125*. For my next batch, I will follow your lead and start at 140*. I really don't want to give up on this smoker. That said, how much product should I be able to put in this smoker on average? I tried summer sausage as my first batch and had 12 of them hanging in there (approx 1.5" x 24" casings) which was about 25 lbs. Ended up finishing them in the oven as well. I know the smoker they used at a sausage making class I attended was complete in less than 8-hours and it was hanging 25 lbs (resembled the smokehouse pro but was a model the butcher supply store was selling for around $1,450).
BTW, finishing the sticks in the oven was complete around 7 a.m. They look much better than the prior batch. Cut one up to have with breakfast and everyone liked it. Flavor was good, I did give it a 2-hour smoke with hickory. Getting ready for church, so I will see if I can get a pic posted later today.
Here are pics of my finished product:
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC00121.jpg)
(http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/yy132/RickWL63/DSC00120.jpg)
I allowed these to go a lot longer than the last batch. They look much better even though I still had to finish these in the oven. Next time I move the smoker behind the house vice my front step (better security).
I go with the theory that if it tastes good who cares what it looks like. Although them look pretty tasty to me
They are delicious. Just munched down on a piece of one. :)
Look pretty darn appetizing to me! Good job for such a big load.
I agree they do look good. Nice job.
Wanna send some to me :D
nepas
End result looks good.
Thanks to all for the advice, encouragement, and helping me get through this learning experience. I will not let this beat me. I will make better sticks (although these are darn good), summer sausage, and whatever else I decide needs to "hit the smoker." Even with the pepper spices and jalapenos, my 20-month old son just devoured a sizeable piece and wanted more.... :)
You will probably be seeing more of me on here. I love to cook, BBQ, and will hopefully love to smoke foods as well (so far, so good). ;D I will be attempting a large rack of pork ribs soon.
Rick
Hello everyone,
Could a person finish anything in the oven? Not just snack sticks or summer sausage.....say any kind of sausage?
In a pinch yes you can but that would take all the fun out of it!!
Some food for thought about finishing things inside. Years ago I made some jerky and smoked it in an electic smoker I had (cheap one). It didn't get hot enough and couldn't finish it. So know it all me brought the jerky into the house, put it into the dehydrator and started it up. Left the house for a while and when my wife and I came in later the smoke smell in the house was too much. Dehydrating jerky is now only allowed in the garage ;).
So far, all who tried them said they were outstanding. "Confidence Booster!" :)