i have had my smoker for awhile but i really never got into using it. is there a thread on here showing beginners the proper way to use the smoker? i know nothing about properly using the smoker but i want to learn.
can anyone help?
All you have to do is ask, and we'll walk you through whatever it is you feel like cooking through it. A lot of people start with chicken (cheap so if you mess up it won't be hard on your pocket book), or pulled pork (easy to do and comes out great).
ok im all ears...where do i start? temp? how long to smoke? brine? cure? im clueless
Basically everyone here has had help from someone to learn.
This forum is your best teacher.
Like Kevin said, start will something small get the
feel of your Smoker and work your way up.
Don't be shy about asking questions, that is the only way to learn.
First .... Welcome to the forum.
What would you like to cook?
well im a big fan of eating smoked food so im willing to try anything. but ill start with chicken like you guys said...cheap how long do i actually use smoke?
If you an impatient sort of person, get yourself a whole chicken.
Try this recipe - http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?35-Smoked-Chicken-From-mws&p=46#post46
If you have patience, get yourself a pork shoulder (boston butt).
Put some rub on it - I like this one:
* 1/4 cup Black Pepper, fresh cracked
* 1/4 cup Paprika
* 1 /4 cup Turbinado Sugar or Brown Sugar
* 2 Tbsp. Salt, Kosher
* 2 tsp. Mustard, dry
* 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper
(Makes enough for one 6 - 8 lb. Boston Butt)
after the rub wrap in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge overninight
Late the next day, take the butt out of the fridge, pre-heat the smoker for about 30 minutes.
Apply 4 hours of your favorite smoke (I like Hickory) @225F. (four hours is a general giudline - I would start there and add/subtract according to your tastes)
Empty / refill the water bowl at the four hour mark.
Continue to cook @225F until the IT (Internal temperature) of the butt is 195-200F.
FTC for at least 1 hour.
Pull and enjoy.
two hrs or so on chicken.
vent wide open for chicken
cabinet temp 230 to 250
smoke/cook till breast are 165* and thighs around 180*
Here's a link to a sweet sage chicken I did.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=14104.msg167384#msg167384
I showed the ingredients but didn't list the quantities.
2 Cups Orange Juice
4 tablespoons Oil
6 tablespoons Honey
4 tablespoons Sage
2 teaspoon Dried/Crushed Rosemary
2 teaspoon Ginger
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
6.4 oz. teaspoon salt
3/4 gallon water
3 oz. cure #1
You can also try checking out this link. It may provide some answers.
Bradley FAQ's (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s)
see i told you im new to this what does "FTC" mean?
Quote from: dAWGS on June 13, 2010, 08:47:57 AM
see i told you im new to this what does "FTC" mean?
It's about half way down the page....
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?488-Answers-To-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=766#post766
Mike
dAWGS, we were all new at this when we started too so don't worry about it. Ask as many of those questions you think are too dumb to ask. They're not dumb at all. I promise you we have already asked every one of them. The senior members on this forum helped me so much when I first started seriously smoking foods.
So...let's light 'em up and roll some smoke.
so i have been reading some recipes. for example...one says cook with alder wood....cook at 200 for 4 hours. it doesnt say how long to use smoke though. how do i determine how much smoke for any recipe? trial and error?
That's probably a good way of putting it, many people don't enjoy the same amount of smoke as others do. Some also enjoy different woods than others. So saying you absolutely must use this wood for this time will probably not be seen in any of the posts, they are more of a guideline.
is there a maximum amount of smoke to use? how about a minimum?
Quote from: dAWGS on June 13, 2010, 03:59:24 PM
is there a maximum amount of smoke to use? how about a minimum?
personal preference - most (not all) don't go over 4 hours. I like 1 to 2 hours on poultry, 3 to 4 hours on large things like pork butt & brisket
2 to 3 hr on chicken, shoulder roast.
4 to 5 hrs on Butts and Brisket
start off on the short end then adjust up the smoke to your liking
If you cook a chicken in your kitchen oven with a nice rub (and some sauce/whatever...)
It would come out fine-n-tasty -- right?
Take it easy on the smoke at first. If you get it too smokey - you can't "CLICK UNDO".
You can always add more smoke next time if you want to.