just got my bradley and i want to do a fresh ham 9lb. Had the ham in for 6hrs and it wasn't done. I tried a little piece and it seems like it is to smokey,just wondering what I'm doing wrong. I had to finish the ham in the oven. Please help this newbie!
Welcome to the forum bugs!
First off, how many hours did you actually burn pucks for?
What was your ham IT when you removed it?
What temp was the Bradley set at?
Once we know this, we can help.
Lumpy
Did you smoke it for the whole 6 hours. If so that is alot of smoke. I will put 5 hours to a 8 lb Pork Butt. A fresh ham should handle that much smoke but you may not be use to that much smoke.
The bradley gives off very concentrated smoke that if you were use to a little chief or another smoker you would find it gives more than those. A 9 lb fresh ham would not be cooked in 6 hrs in the Bradley but I would think 4 hrs of smoke would have been enough. Fresh meat will take more smoke in than a cooked precooked meat. Like if you wanted to put some smoke to a cooked ham or some cooked sausage.That said I have never done a fresh ham but someone who knows more will be along soon. Are you going to eat this right away cause if you wrap it and leave it in the fridge for a couple of days it will absorb the smoke and not be so strong.
If you applied six hours, that is a little more then I use to smoke hams. I use only 4 hours of pecan. If you only tried a little piece, that will not give you a good indication of the overall smoke flavor when you eat a full slice. Often if the smoke flavor is too strong, tightly wrap it with plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for a couple of days, that will mellow out the flavor. You may want to wrap it with aluminum foil around the plastic wrap, to cut down on some of the smoke smell in the refrigerator.
Also one other question: what type of bisquette where you using to smoke with? Some bisquettes are much stronger then others.
Here is a guide to bisquettes (Bradley Bisquettes are indicated by the green highlight):
Bisquettes (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?26-Bisquettes)
thanks for all your responses, I used maple and my temp. was between 200-250. I think after I smoke the meat i'll let it stay wrapped for a day.
W E L C O M E to the Forum bugs!
Welcome Bugs!
Hi bugs and welcome to the forum.
just want to thank everyone,glad to have found this forum
Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the forum...Enjoy!
welcome to the forum bugs and i think 6 hours of smoke on a ham is a bit much .. my max is 3 hours on most anything, depending on the type of wood