Greetings,
My husband presented me with my new smoker yesterday. I seasoned it yesterday afternoon and was at the grocery store early this morning to pick up my Cook's ham (butt portion) and some chickens. I can feel the addiction already, with both the smoker and the forum. There are so many ideas whirling around in my head right now, after reading all of the recipes and ideas that you guys have posted. I'm starting out very slowly. The ham has been on for about 4 hours now (unseasonfed and using apple bisquettes). Tomorrow, I will smoke the chickens. I bought two kinds of rub at the store and will use one on each chicken. I have not decided which flavor of smoke I will use tomorrow. Any suggestions? I have mesquite, hickory, apple and alder. What is alder?
I'm looking forward to learning all about smoking from you all. Love your pictures, Pachanga!
I'm not from Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!
W E L C O M E to the Forum mbm!
To my knowledge, there is no intervention or 12-step program for smoked food.
There is a cure, but we put it on bacon and in sausage. ;D
Alder is a wood from the Pacific Northwest - traditionally used on Salmon and other fish.
The good thing about this "hobby" is there are not very many rules. Use whatever wood you like.
There is a guide to the different woods here - http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=36#post36
I'm just flying by the seat of my pants here.
Any suggestions on how long to smoke a 7.39 lb. ham? It has been cured and 'ready to cook' (according to the package label) but at what temp should I be cooking it? I have it on 210 deg. Is that correct?
Welcome to the forum and Merry Christmas.
Alder is very mild in smoke flavor and goes well with fishes or anything you want a light smoke taste.
I would probably go with apple for chicken the first time and if you want a stronger smoke then the next time go with hickory.
You will find that the Bradley does not need nearly as much smoke time wise as conventional smokers.
Most items only need 2-4 hours of smoke and the rest is cooking.
One tip is to keep the top vent open, it should never be closed the whole way. I normally keep mine 3/4 to full open at all times.
As for your ham, I think a couple hours of smoke at 220-250 should be fine. As for how long to keep it cooking. I could not say, its precooked so it just needs to get heated through. Maybe someone with more ham knowledge will pop in with some more information.
Welcome MBM!
I am a newbie myself to this Bradley toy.
I'm learning alot from this bunch and you will also!
Sorry I can't help with the ham (haven't done one yet)....but it is on my list to do.
Some good people will be along and will give you a bunch of advice. ;) Just hang tight.
Mike.
Quote from: mbm on December 24, 2009, 12:48:53 PM
I'm just flying by the seat of my pants here.
Any suggestions on how long to smoke a 7.39 lb. ham? It has been cured and 'ready to cook' (according to the package label) but at what temp should I be cooking it? I have it on 210 deg. Is that correct?
I think you just want to get to an internal temperature on the ham of around 152F.
I would look at the cooking instructions. It may already be cooked and all you need to do is apply smoke and get it to a serving temperature.
I would suggest that if the ham IS NOT a spiral ham to smoke heat it to about 145* internal Temp. Then if your not ready to eat just yet you can FTC the ham until your ready. FTC= foil wrap, wrap in a towel, place in a small cooler. Or if your in a pinch and your not using it you can also place in a microwave until your ready to slice and serve.
The directions on the package read as follows (for oven baking):
Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove all packaging materials and place ham face down directly into baking dish or roasting pan. Cover tightly with lid or foil and cook for approximately 25 minutes per pound until product center reaches 160°F.
Welcome mbm,
Your husband is rather smart in giving you the smoker. You do the work and he eats the results. Good luck with it and have a great time playing with it.
brad
Hi mbm;
Welcome to the forum.
It appears you did not get a precooked ham, or the instructions would have stated to cook to an internal temperature of 140°F. Is this a fresh ham or cured?
You don't have to go to 160°F, 152°F is a safe temperature to take it to. If it is cured when you reheat it tomorrow and add the glaze, you only need to reheat it to 140°F; if it is not cured you will want to bring it up to 160°F, some will say 165°F.
It is a cured ham. I took it off the smoker at 5:30 (I had put it in at 10:30AM, but did not preheat the smoker first). The ham was very tender and juicy; the outside was too strong (flavored) and tough to eat. The outside part would be great added to beans, gumbo or jambalaya, as a seasoning. Is there a way to 'save' the outside of the ham (or any meat) so that it is edible? or, is the outside always going to be something that you either throw away or use as a seasoning in other dishes?
How many bisquettes did you use ?
It sounds like you might have had the smoke going the whole time.
If not, a wrap in plastic wrap and a rest in the refrigerator will mellow the smoke a little - it will distribute more evenly thoughout the roast.
Most of us apply 2 to four hours of smoke.
mbm Think I said welcome in another post, if not Welcome to the Forum.
So you got some toasties on your Ham, not the end of the world.
You can cut off the part that is going to another cause (beans,gumbo,jambalaya)
and vac seal and freeze. Then enjoy the rest.
If you can, tell us what temp you had your smoker set at and then we can help you
so that your next smoke is A+.
I'm a native Texan and love the great state of Texas.
Cured hams can come in at least three different forms; fully cooked (reheat to 140°), partially cooked to 137°; or uncooked. The later two need to be cooked to 152°F, or as most manufacturer will note to cook until 160°F.
The outer layer will pretty much will remain like that, but can be fixed so you don't have to cut that off. The outside will improve if you glaze it. Doing so the outer layer will become crisp, or if you don't want to glaze just tightly foil it and reheat it slowly until it reaches 140°F and it will soften up; adding a 1/2 of apple juice or pineapple juice in the roasting pan also will help. And as FBL mentioned, the smoke will mellow. I like to "age" mine for at least two day prior to glazing.
See this recipe. In the smoking directions in step #4 I mention the tough outer skin.
Smoked Cured Ham (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=465)
FLBR,
That's exactly what I did wrong. After I asked this questions last night, my husband and I were talking and we decided that I had it smoking the entire time and that is not the thing to do. I've never smoked anything in my entire life, so not only is the Bradley something I have to learn, but I have the basic smoking techniques to learn also.
Today, I'm experimenting on a chicken. I think I will use smoke on it for about an hour, unless you tell me otherwise, and see if that turns out better.
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Hi
temp was at 210.
My husband is from Texas. He is a very proud Texan also.
Merry Christmas
Quote from: mbm on December 25, 2009, 05:03:17 AM
FLBR,
That's exactly what I did wrong.
I did the same thing on my first smoke... I think I put 10 or 11 hours of smoke on a pork butt.
It is a common first-timer error. Especially since with other smokers you do run the smoke the whole time.
The smoke with the Bradley is a little more concentrated that a traditional smoker as well.
With poultry make sure your vent is wide open. Most new folks think that closing the vent will keep more smoke in and get more flavor. NOT true you hold in the moisture and it lowers the temp inside the cabinet. Not to mention the condensed smoke that drips back on your product leaving black nasty tasting marks on your meat.
I will make sure the vent is wide open. With the ham I smoked yesterday, it was about 3/4 open.
thanks.
Can you guys give me hints for pre-heating?
Do you set the smoker and oven for time and temp BEFORE putting the meat in? and if so, how long should it pre-heat before you put the meat in? According to the recipe booklet that came with it, I'm getting the impression that I preheat to 220 and THEN put the chicken in. Also, it says to smoke for 4-5 hours. Should I really smoke a chicken for that length of time? I was thinking I would smoke for 1 - 1/2 hours. I want a subtle smoke flavor.
Your idea for the time to smoke the chicken is correct. Poultry is a smoke sponge and the time you estimated will give you the results you're looking for. Also, make sure your vent is 100% open as poultry has a lot of moisture and you want it to escape your smoker.
When I preheat I take it up to 250-260 because when you open the door to put your cold chicken in there, the temp in the tower is going to drop like a rock and take some time to recover.
KyNola
Okay. I just turned it on. we will see what today brings (besides presents! :D )
Go Saints!
mbm, sorry you did not read my initial reply to your post. I suggested only smoking the ham for two hours and think it would have been plenty.
As for preheating. I turn the main heater on and set it for around 260-280 F. I also turn on the puck burner at the same time and let it go till its near the set temp. Then I load the meat into the smoker and lower the temperature setting to my desired setting, say I'm doing a pork butt, I'll lower the temp to 210-220 F. You will hear of people, including myself putting a sidewalk brick or two in the bottom of the smokers. One should fit beside the water bowl at the very bottom. This gets hot during the preheat and helps the smoker heat back up after you load it with meat. One thing you will notice, if you put a big load in it will take quite a while to heat back up. Its a small heater and meant to do low and slow smoking/cooking.
Your correct on the smoke for the chicken, 1 to 1-1/2 hr should be plenty. You can always smoke the next one longer if you felt there was not enough smoke this time. You may also want to only smoke the chicken in the Bradley then move it to a hot oven in the house to finish cooking. If you do the whole cook in the Bradley theres a good chance the skin will come out like rubber and not be able to eat it. The skin needs hotter temperatures to crisp up. Now if you do not eat the skin that is not a problem. A lot of people smoke poultry then finish it on a grill or in a oven.
This may have been the best meal I've ever cooked in my life. (or heck, maybe ever eaten in my life). I cooked 2 whole chickens today. One seasoned with Famous Dave's Rib Rub and the other with Grill Mates Sweet and Smoky rub. I smoked for 1 1/2 hours, then left the chicken in for 1 1/2 hours after that. Covered with foil and put in 325 deg. regular oven until meat themometer showed almost 180, then put in warming drawer until we were ready to eat. We all decided that the chicken with the Sweet and Smoky Grill Mates rub was the tastiest. Even the white breast meat was very tender and juicy. Side dishes included Green Rice, Green Bean Bundles, Broccoli Salad and Wheat Dinner Rolls. YUMMY!! Even without the other presents, this has to be the best Christmas yet! :)
Thanks to all who contributed to this meal. ;)
Congrats and sounds delicious. Soon you will off to bigger and better things.
What's this Green Rice?
Congrats again.
long grain white rice
green pepper
green onions
(green) parsley (these 3 make it green)
butter
worchestershire
curry
garlic
water
bouillon cubes
wonderful with any kind of grilled or smoked meat.
let me know if you want measurements. very easy.
i should have taken pics of my chickens, but i had no idea it would turn out so delicious.
question: when i take out of the Bradley and put into my regular oven, do I keep it under foil OR should i remove foil so the skin will crisp??? (i did not brine it)
Quote from: mbm on December 25, 2009, 04:27:41 PM
question: when i take out of the Bradley and put into my regular oven, do I keep it under foil OR should i remove foil so the skin will crisp??? (i did not brine it)
I would do it uncovered.
Quote from: mbm on December 25, 2009, 04:27:41 PM
long grain white rice
green pepper
green onions
(green) parsley (these 3 make it green)
butter
worchestershire
curry
garlic
water
bouillon cubes
wonderful with any kind of grilled or smoked meat.
let me know if you want measurements. very easy.
Heck, yeah! Sound good to me... MrsSTC has a problem with green onions, but I can see fixing it for a party or to take to a potluck.. Thanks!
you can omit the green onions.
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
1/3 cup bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 stick butter (you can use less, if you want)
1 tablespoon worcestershire (lea and perrins - i can't spell worcestershire)
1/4 teaspoon curry
garlic (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 cups hot water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
Melt bouillon cubes in hot water, then mix all ingredients together in an oven proof baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cayenne pepper would also be good in this.
Thanks! Will have to give this a try...
I can't spell 'w******' either, and I buy nothing but L&P!
Worcestershire is spelled correctly and the recipe sounds good.
And easy. thanks and congrats on Christmas present again.
Okay. NO smoking today. Today is cleaning day. Any hints on cleaning? besides warm, soapy water, as the web site suggests?? I soaked the Drip Tray overnight in warm water with automatic dishwashing detergent drizzled over the tray. The cooked-on 'globs' loosened very nicely. I will browse the forum to see if I find cleaning suggestions.
and . . . don't tell me that your wife cleans it because I am the wife in this duo. ;) ::)
I clean the racks, water bowl and v-tray after each smoke. Also wipe down the door seal.
The bottom tray every few smokes, and every 6 months or so I take apart the vent and clean it. (that would be today for me)
I use a crumpled up ball of aluminum foil to scrape the interior of the vent and the "ceiling" - in my smoker that is where the black stuff tends to flake off.
If you get the black smoke coating flaking off anywhere else, get rid of that too. If it gets on your food it tastes nasty.
I do about the same as FLBR does. Racks every smoke, V tray water bowl every couple smokes. I wipe the seal and sealing surface every smoke. I clean the vent but do not disassemble every few smokes. Knock off any loose baked on bit every so often.
mbm;
Have you seen the Bradley Smoker FAQ's (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=481) there is a lot of helpful information there.
mbm,
Clean the racks and the drip tray. Wipe the door seal and where it touches the tower with rubbing alcohol but don't clean the interior of the tower. You want it as black as you can get it. If it begins to flake, lightly brush the flakes off. Black in the tower means great smoke flavor for future smokes.
Congrats mbm. My wife does all the hard work and I get all the credit.
KyNola