I live in an apartment in downtown Tokyo, and miss the taste of smoked BBQ from my childhood in Texas. Unfortunately, while there are many great restaurants in Tokyo, there is no "real" smoked BBQ. I want to buy a 4-rack Bradley Smoker on my next visit back to the US, and bring it with me to Tokyo. The electrical voltage is fine.
However, I'm concerned about whether the smoker will disturb the neighbors in my apartment building. I have a balcony of about 4x2 meters attached to my apartment that is covered. We are on the 4th floor of an 8-story building. There are many restaurants in the adjacent buildings, so the area is always full of the smells of cooked food. I am wondering about the smoke output when it is cooking for an extended period of time? Is the smoke rather heavy? Does anyone else have any experience using the smoker in an apartment building or an urban environment? Any advice would be appreciated.
W E L C O M E to the Forum Hooner!
The smoke is not heavy. However, here in the states many apartment buildings have bylaws regarding cooking on balconies.
I would think that as you could do it.
Welcome Hooner
I do not think the smoke will be a problem. As you said there are all type of smells anyways. I am sure your neighbors would appreciate a sample.
I agree with Flbentrider about checking the laws. The smoker is not that different then a toaster, in fact it draws less power. When you ask for permission, be creative in how you describe it.
Brad
Welcome to the fun Hooner
The Bradley puts out a very light amount of smoke compaired to an wood burning smoker and only needs to smoke for 3 to 4 hr the rest of the time the smoker in just an small oven and only cookin at a slow and low temp.
Check your by laws and let us know how things work out for you.
Welcome Hooner - I don't think it would be a huge issue either. I try to leave my arcadia door open when smoking so I can smell it - love the smell - but it rarely wafts into the house. I doubt there'd be enough for your neighbors to complain.
All the way from Tokyo? WOW Hooner, welcome aboard. Like the others, I don't think the smoke would be obtrusive to your neighbors, particularly with the many smells coming from the surrounding restaurants.
Get you a Bradley and join in the fun.
KyNola
Hey Hooner welcome to the forum. I also don't think you will have a problem. As OU said you don't smoke for long, in fact most smokes are only 1 to 2 hrs. 3 or 4 hrs is a long smoke used for butts and briskets or even salmon but most things like ribs and chicken or jerky for that matter only get 2hrs. Good luck.
Welcome to the forum Hooner :)
The smoke that comes out of the Bradley is pretty light.
I think it should blend right in with the other cooking smells
Carolyn
Konnichiwa!
Most of us don't live in an area with the population density of downtown Tokyo and have no idea of the restrictions you may face. I'd recommend you research any such restrictions and when planning your next trip to the US, find someone who has a Bradley and visit them for a demo. You'll probably also want to make a list of the "must have" accessories (including bisquettes) and add them to your shopping list. SWMBO's daughter lived in Osaka for a year and shipping costs from the US were a major factor in shopping and gift decisions.
Welcome Hooner! Good luck with getting/using a Bradley...
Not to suggest anything, but...
A Bradley ain't real big.. Maybe you could disguise it as a planter or something? ;D
Hooner...kool..Tokyo..wow...I agree with all of the above...but dang...how fascinating to have a soon to be smoker in Tokyo...the seafood...WOW!!! :)
Quote...the seafood...WOW!!!
Ah, smoked Unagi Donburi. Heaven in a bowl. Welcome Hooner.
Hi Hooner;
Welcome to the forum.
A few years back there was a member who lived in either Tokyo, or another metropolitan area. Unfortunately I can't recall who his or her forum name. That memeber had the same question, and I can't remember if there was any followup.
Welcome to the forum Hooner.
Many thanks for your warm comments and advice. I will be returning briefly to the US in March, and am planning to return to Japan with a Bradley smoker. I expect that the bylaws for my apartment building include restrictions about cooking on the balcony, particularly to prevent fires, but since the Bradley smoker has no open flame, I think that it is should be safe. I would never want to use a regular grill on an apartment balcony. It may be difficult to make this distinction clear to the company that manages my building. I am planning to go ahead and use the smoker on my apartment balcony, and hope that it doesn't attract too much attention from the neighbors. Sometimes BBQ requires desperate measures. I will report back in April, once I get my smoker up and working.
Well if they come a knocking you will just have to show them how safe it is by feeding them a nice rack of smoked ribs. ;D
Good luck to you Hooner. I hope it works out. You may get a lot of company once you start smokin' ;D
Welcome Aboard Hooner!! I am quite sure that you will not have any problems or complaints with the neighbors if you bribe them some. Once you get to smoking neighbors tend to just show up usually with the required adult beverages to make things all right in there eyes. Have fun and enjoy.
I have my new Bradley Smoker in Tokyo! ;D
At first, I was planning to bring it back to Tokyo as luggage on a trip to the States in March. However, I found that since the box would be overweight and overlength as luggage, I would incur a $200 charge from the airlines. Instead, I had it shipped to Tokyo via FedEx Economy shipping. The cost of shipping was $196, so I suppose I saved $4 and some heavy lifting. FedEx delivered it direct to my door. Amazon, as well as other companies, would not ship the Bradley overseas, so I used a package forwarding company called Shipito.com
Last weekend, I tested it out by seasoning it for about two hours with the special blend bisquettes. Everything worked fine, which is a credit to the Bradley packaging and the shipping from FedEx. I was also curious to see how noticeable the smoke output would be. It was stronger than I expected. The apartment smelled of smoke for about 12 hours after it was done. I'm worried about the neighbors above and next to me, since they are bearing the brunt of the smoke.
Today, one week later, I am doing my first real smoke. I have spare ribs and Japanese sweet potatoes cooking now. As I write this post, watching the smoke out the window from the balcony, I keep expecting someone to come knocking on the door. It was supposed to rain in Tokyo today, and I thought that perhaps the rain would wash away the smell of the smoke. Unfortunately, the rain ended in the morning.
My wife is convinced that I'm crazy, but I'm sure her opinion will change once the ribs are done.
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2ykj47d.jpg)
Sounds like a plan. Let us know how the ribs turn out.
Perhaps you could set up some duct work and a small fan to push the smoke straight out the opening of your balcony, so it doesn't waft around and get into your apartment?
Don't know how friendly you are with your neighbors. But as hinted above. Invite them over for dinner and serve them some ribs.
Tw
Glad to hear you got your smoker and everything is well. I agree that a small fan might help to push the smoke outside and keep it, or most of it, out of your apartment.
Let us know how you make out with your first smoke - and your neighbors.
"You see, burning Mesquite, Oak and Hickory incense is an essential part of Kyu-do, or "Way of the Q", the official religion of my Texas homeland. The smoke returns the spirits of my ritual animal sacrifices to the Great Sky Cowboy, and oh by the way please try a bite of this tasty offering by way of apology for the inconvenience."
Hooner, your neighbors might develope a strong case of Smoker Envy.
Our neighbors around us have, anyways........
Mrs
The ribs turned out great! I marinated them overnight, and then smoked them for 2 hours with hickory at 200F, and then braised them for another 3 hours in aluminum foil at 220F before splashing on some BBQ sauce for the final 30 minutes. My son must have eaten about a dozen. I'm trying to ween him off the rice and fermented soybeans.
The spare ribs were already cut in pieces at the store instead of on the rack. I really wanted to make baby back ribs, but after calling around I learned that Japanese pork producers do not sell baby back rib cuts. The only way to get baby back ribs is imported from the US. I'll need to go to Costco, which is located on the outskirts of Tokyo.
For my next smoke, I'm thinking that I might try hooking up a fan to blow the smoke out and away from the balcony. That sounds like a great suggestion. I think a lot of the smoke made its way into the apartment through the various exhaust ducts (bathroom, kitchen, etc).