I'm planing on buying a OBS in the near future. I just have a few questions. I'v been reading several post where people are talking about smoking there meat for awhile and then finishing it in the oven. Why would you want to do that? And if i do use the OBS for the entire cook do i not want to smoke the whole time? or is that just depending on personal taste.
Thank you for any help, I'm sure i will be using the forum alot
rcj20d
You can finish entirely in the Bradley or use the oven after the smoke.
When thinking in terms of the Bradley:
For the first 4 hours or less, you are applying SMOKE and or heat (cold smoke or hot smoke).
After that, the Bradley is just an oven. Many have very good house ovens and at that along with being out of the elements, find it more convenient to use them.
The Bradley is not like any other unit out there in terms of how it applies smoke. The Treager is the closest, but I don't believe at that it is the same. NePaSMoker can answer that one better than I. After about 4 hours you will have enough smoke on most food for most people, which is unlike chunk and charcoal smokers where you are applying smoke the whole time. The Bradley smoke tends to be stronger and more pure.
Start out with only a few hours of smoke and work your way up to the strength you desire. It is easier to eat less than to eat more smoke than you need.
You will love the ease of the smoker and the folks here are pretty awesome as well.
Welcom to the forum RC, you are about to meet a lot of new friends here! Short and simple, I will do full cooks in the summer, meaning finish in the Bradley and in colder temps with wind - in the oven. The smoke is the magic, so the happy ending is not that critical. After the smoke the Bradley is just a low temp oven, but is affected by the elements.
W E L C O M E to the Forum rcj20d!
I have finished in the smoker, and in the oven. The advantage of the oven is that it frees up the smoker for another batch, and for me there is less mess in the smoker.
I put (a maximum of) four hours of smoke on most things.
RCJ,
Welcome to the forum.. Yes you can smoke and cook the meat in the bradley. A few items arise
1) you may have a lot of meat to cook
2) multi types of meat to cook I.E beef and pork
3) extreamly cold weather
all the above are factors.. if you have a lot of meat to cook at once ..over 20 lbs you can do it in the bradley though it will be at some 20 + hours
as for multiple types of meat .. pork, chicken, pork or any other variation you have cross contamination concern..
and finally extreamily cold weather.. cold weather, cold winds do work agenest cooking in the bradley. some put there bradley in the garage and use it in there and have it vented outsideto help prevent the winds and extream cold..
you can always smoke in the bradley and finish in th oven...I have done 15 lb. roasts with no problems ever all in the smoker .. smoked and cooked .. though it has taken up to 18 hours
Hi RCJ:
I am also new to the forum but have been smoking for a long tiime. Many books and experts on this forum state that 2 1/2 to 3 hours is about all the meat, poultry etc, can handle. After that you are actually cooking like in the oven. Last Wednesday i put a 13 # turkey (after curing), in smoker at 8 AM. Smokeed with hickory. 11 AM put in slab bacon & Pork Butt. Quit smoking 1 PM. Bacon out 2 PM. Butt out 4Pm. Turkey out 9 PM. You will notice How much smoke each item got. All came out excellent....
Tom