I am like several others, trying to decided which smoker to buy. I like the Stainless Bradley home unit. I have two questions. How does the wood burn in the BS does the arm it set on get hot or does it burn from the heating element in back of the smoker? Also, is there a problem of having to rotate your food because the burner or element is in the back of the unit? This is my first time to log on I have read this forum for several days now and it seem like everyone is very helpful. I won't push my luck with now with further questions. Thanks
Sheriff
Dear Mr. Lawman Sir,
The bisquettes don't truly burn, they smolder. Yes, technically, they are on fire, but not in the flaming kind of way. The arm has room for three bisquettes, two of which are "waiting" and the third is on a hotplate. Every 20 minutes a new bisquette will be pushed in, forcing the ashen third one into the water pan.
Rotating your food, in my experience, is not neccessary <b>IF</b> you're cooking for your family and a few guests. If you're going to cook say 2 chickens or 1 pork butt & put it in the middle of the rack in the middle of the smoker, no problem. The heat will pretty much convect evenly. The back may be a slight bit more cooked, but it's not charred versus half cooked.
If you're showin' off & plop 40-50 pounds of meat into the smoker, taking up every bit of rack space, then yes, I would suggest an occasional rotation, both front-to-back & top-to-bottom. What we do to avoid the top to bottom rotation is place the longer cooking items (roasts, butts, chickens) on the bottom racks and the faster cooking items (ribs, sausage, shrimp) on the top racks. I then only do a front-to-back rotation once, halfway through the cooking time of the fastest cooking item.
Now, could you reveal your jurisdiction so that one day, if I happen to be caught speeding, you might be able to re-pay the favor?[:D][:D]
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Kirk, Thanks for the reply.. You can go easy on that Mr. and Sir. I'm just the Sheriff in Collin County, Texas just on the North side of Dallas....Wanting to talk a little BBQ.. Now, if you put three Bisq. in the Bradley will the last one push off in the bowl, or do you need the Disk that you sell or someone sells to make that happen? Can you hang racks of ribs from the top or do you have to lay them on the racks? I have never seen anything in print from Bradley but from others they show pics and sell special rib hooks. Thanks..I hope you understand the first parts is in jest...Thanks
Terry
Sheriff
Terry,
If you put 3 bisquettes in the hopper, let's call them A, B & C: The first cycling will push A to position 1. In the 2nd cycling, B will push a to position 2. The third cylcling will have C pushing both A & B, with A landing on the burner plate. You will now get 20 minutes of smoke out of A.
The reason we came up with the advancing bisquettes is that at this point B & C will never get to the burner plate as there is nothing to push them along. A will never get pushed into the water pan either, resulting in it starting B to smolder & eventually, B will start C to smolder. This results in a big mess of ash piled on the feeder unit instead of in the water bowl where it should be.
Take this scenario: I want to cook a butt for 12 hours but only want to apply 4 hours of smoke. If I add 12 bisquettes, I'l get my 4 hours and the mess. If I add 2 more bisquettes to make up for the spacing issue, I'll get 40 more minutes of smoke & the mess. Hence the advancing biquettes.
I suppose if you really wanted to find a way to hang the ribs, you could devise a way to do so. The common way with the Bradley is to lay them on the racks. Since they are low-profile like sausages, jerky & chicken breasts a lot of people order an extra rack set. By inverting the second set over your original racks, you can double the capacity of the smoker.
Doing so will increase your cook time slightly & play into the aforementioned scenario of rotation, but you can feed a whole lot of people.
BTW, jest assumed, I assume you knew same. My best friend is a dick on the force here. I have fun saying that, but it's true! For his bachelor party, instead of a coat-check room, we had a gun-check room.[;)]
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Kirk, Thanks for the reply, that pretty well covers all that I have questions about. You have been very helpful. Tell the gang hello..FYI I am 15 miles from SomkinTex home office Plano, Texas, I email them a question approx. 6 days ago and have received no reply as of this time?? I will be purchasing a Bradley Shortly. Thanks..
Sheriff
Which is exactly why you should order it from us.[:)] We actually use what we sell & are happy to talk about it.
We can ship it to you for about $35 and you won't have to pay sales tax. Plus, we include a 60-pack sampler and offer a 10% lifetime discount on bisquettes.
We stock all the woods, accessories & parts & will ship the same or next day of your order.
http://www.chezbubba.com
Dang....hadn't noticed this thread earlier[xx(] Don't know if you're still lurking out there Sheriff.....Kummok here, recently retired FF/PO. You just got some great BS smoking 101 from Chez....in fact, I'm gonna remember this thread and refer all the "what are the advancing chips for" questions from now on. I don't see any reason why SS "hanging hooks" couldn't be used from the top most rack, although if I was using the quartz tube for heat, I'd want to consider inverting meat at least once or twice during process. In fact now that I mention it, this might be a great way to make squaw candy!! Be sure to let us know here on the forum how your initial BS purchase/smoking experience comes out.........[8D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Sheriff: Order from Chez Bubba....his delivery time is a phenom!
Feel free to read and laugh at my post "Newbie" in the Original Bradley forum....I'm still waiting for delivery for a measley $10.
Good luck wherever you choose to purchase from....
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear and Kummok,
Test, Test I have replied to both of you twice, but it appears it will not show it posted.. Sorry I will try later..and they were very good..
Sheriff
Alrighty...we'll await the "reposting!"
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Kummok and Fuzzybear,
Sorry for delay had a little problem with home computer.. Kummok, Help this Texas boy out.. I don't understand the statement, "although if I were using the quartz blub for heat I'd would want to consider inverting the meat at least once or twice during the process", and for the life of me I cannot figure out what "squaw meat" might be.
Also, looking forward to retirement some day.. just been in this business 34 yrs. Sheriff since 1985 maybe in 8 or 9 yrs when I'm 62 I will give retirement a serious look. (Some say I am already there) Thanks.
Fuzzybear,
I am just like you, I have to check all the prices out to make sure I am getting the lowest price. Well, last Monday Westcoast Store had the lowest price I found of $488.99 for the BS SS, cover, 48 pack of wood and cookbook free shipping and no tax.. I ordered Monday, called Thursday to see about getting my UPS tracking number. The Mgr. advised they ship on Friday and I should get a email with the tracking number Friday. Well, it's Monday I hope to get the email today.. I read your Newbie posting ( maybe to late) I feel bad now because the Chez... has been so good to all of us about answering all our questions. You know, I may have learned what it means to get the Lowest and Best price. Well, I have to say Westcoast Store has been very good about talking to me on the phone and giving me a response. I feel better now that I have confessed some of my sins.. Thanks
Sheriff
Hey Sheriff...don't feel bad...I'm learning the hard way too!
I just called my supplier out in Kansas - had to leave a message...nobody picked up...I still don't have a tracking number and I'm up to 16 days - just got my credit card statement and they've had my money since 1/25...
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
Got my UPS tracking # today. Should be at my house 2-11-04. Mine is lookin better, can't wait..
Sheriff
Finally got a tracking number - now the official delivery is somewhere between: 2/13 and 2/17..
What's going in yours first Sheriff?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
No, talk to them today and UPS showes it will be here tomorrow afternoon. Maybe baby backs or a roll or two of breakfast sausage, or maybe some thick boneless country style ribs....
Sheriff
My tracking number has arrived - delivery set for 2/13 - Friday!!
Yeehaw!!
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
I got my BS SS today, just put it together. One question, the Bisq burner touches the water drip pot. Is this ok?
Sheriff
Well sir, I don't have mine yet so I'd be hard pressed to give you an answer...somewhere else in this forum, someone had a problem with the water bowl hitting the feeder....I think it needs to be just a tad below it so that the crispy puck plunks down into the water
I think Kirk can give you a better answer than I...
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Terry:
How'd the first smoke turn out?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
Have not had a chance yet.. will advise..have to many night functions to attend..
Sheriff
Sheriff:
First...the hot plate/ramp should NOT touch the bowl. Check the mounting posts onm the smoke generator to ensure that they are properly seated and not cocked at an angle. After checking that, be certain that the drip pan (bottom) isn't bent or otherwise pusing up the bowl. If necessary, lightly bend the ramp upward (Or call Bradley for help/replacement if you don't mind the slight delay) In Alaska, we fold, spindle, and mutilate cause EVERYTHING takes longer to do/ship/etc. up here and we don't like to wait too long if we can destroy stuff ourselves [;)]
Second....I understand the retirement thang....35 years of emergency service/law enforcement was enough for me to retire early (BEFORE I was accused of already being retired[;)])
Third....I learned A LONG TIME AGO, when someone says, "Help the Texas (or country) Boy out"....Stay Alert!! Texans are waaaaay smarter than what they'd like us to think[;)] But to answer your question....the quartz tube is the heat source, it's on the bottom, inversion is just recommended for better heat/cooking distribution for hung items, since the bottom of the meat is closer to the heat source. "Squaw Candy" is, besides Winter King Bacon, my personal favorite processed salmon. It's prepared by mostly drying with VERY light smoke and some don't use any smoke......I've not actually made it, but eaten plenty that was prepared by Native Alaskans, who do it best! The King Salmon Bacon is a very close second and is made of King Salmon bellys HEAVY with fat, using heavy smoke and looooong cooking time, up to 36 hours.....VERY TASTY!
Come on up and go fishing when you get tired of the politics!....maybe Fuzzybear will have his BS by then.....ouch!, I'm gonna suffer for that! [;)]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Kummok,
Thanks for that info on the adjustment, I will give her a good look. Yea, got a big laugh about Fuzzybear... I was going to wait till after Easter, and if he had'nt got it by then, I was gona cook him something real nice and send it his way... My wife and I made that 7 day Ak. cruise about 4 yrs ago after the Natl. Sheriff's COnf. in Portland. Went with about 30 other Sheriff's, we had the best time of our life... Maybe someday I'll take you up on that..thanks
Sheriff
Hey!
It's a great story!
Sheriff: There ain't enough of you guys out there as far as I'm concerned...in any State! I wish things were more equitable for the law enforcement profession - you guys put it out there every day you turn the key in the ignition...
Although born in New York (pops was in the service) Texas (Fisher County) runs deep in our blood! At least 150 years...I know, cause I've been to the Dairy Queen in Rotan, got directions to my uncles house and then visited the cemetary there. That family is all gone now, relatives are in Dallas now.
Don't mess with Texas!!
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Terry,
This might help. http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=73
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Fuzzybear,
Thanks for those good words.. We just had to have a little fun with you on your delivery problems.. Hey,I am real close to your folks, I'm Collin County we boarder Dallas on the north.. Once again Kirk came thru on the info I was hunting..The go to people Chez Bubba. Thanks guys..
Sheriff
Kirk,
I emailed Bradley and they advised it did not matter if the drip pot touched the the bisq. burner, just make sure the bisq can drop in the pot.. That was from Meghan Rough, Bradley Technologies Canada Inc. Just FYI
Sheriff
I don't mind a good ribbin' Sheriff - it's best when I can laugh at myself!
And if I don't mind saying, real life stories often make the best ones to laugh about.
Today is Friday the 13th...my fingers are crossed that FedEx will deliver on time and in a perfect condition package.....[:D]
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
FuzzyBear-You will get your BS in time for Easter and I might get mine in time for July 4th.[:(][:(]
SMOKIN & SPOKEN
*****UPDATE******
Per the FedEx website, my parcel is about 10 miles from home at their local distribution point.......[8D]
I'll be smokin by Saturday...hang in there Chef - I'm really hoping you don't have to wait that long.
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
this Texas boy got his fingers crossed for you!!!Good luck..
Sheriff
Sheriff/ChefJeff...it is 6:30pm pst and I have no smoker...I think Fedex doesn't work this late...I'm afraid that since Monday is a Holiday I won't be seeing BS until Tuesday...I am bummed to say the least...
This is not good.
Not only does ABBQ get no referrals from me, but FedEx can take a hike too...I will not place an order with any company from now on that delivers via FedEx...at least to California...maybe in other states they do better but our here, they suck...pardon my lack of etiquette on the internet but I'm not a happy camper.
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear & Kummok
We had 4 to 6 inches of Snow..That is a lot for us North Texas folks, that was Sat. Sunday, I loaded my smoker up with two rolls of breakfast sausage, several pounds of Country style ribs, slab of
Baby back ribs and some chicken. (had to cook some for the neighbors) Everything when great it took longer that I thought it would, but I had it pretty full. Had some condensation run out the bottom?? drip pot was not overflowing. Also, when I was cleaning it up I noticed on the hot plate the Bisq. was ash and the one behind it was totally black, is this normal and do I need some (how many) of the Chez... metal bisq's. I was thinking, I just had the vent opened about 1/8 inche, that might have caused the moisture to run out the bottom, or I'm cookin to much food at one time. Thanks, hope to hear good news from Fuzzybear today..or tomorrow..
Sheriff
Hey Sheriff!
I had the same problem with my pucks...I think I shut off the generator 1 puck to soon.
My chicken turned out great and so did the jerky - I'm just a small batch man as everyone wants to eat the stuff but not supply the meat...whaddya gonna do?
If I could figure out how to add a pic other than from one posted on the internet, it would be in there!
Maybe I should put it in pics in AOL, then get it from there? I'll have to experiement with it....
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear,
I never turn off by bisq. feeder, I put six bisq.s in the tube and push the botton 3 tmes to get one on the hot plate and forget it. Should I turn off the bisq feeder after so long? This has happened when I was seasoning it also. Opened the door the one on the burner was real small and ashes, the one inline totally black but still full size.
Sheriff
Sheriff:
I always turn my generator off after the last puck goes thru - I use two spacers (bubba pucks) and that seems to get the last one on the plate itself. Mine only left one half burned and one ash when I shut down the generator a tad earlier than I should have. Otherwise, I wind up with one pile of ash on the heat plate which I think is normal - no more pucks to push the pile of ash off and, I don't think it would be a good idea to have a piece of metal on the plate.
I just turn off the generator assuming that if I don't, it will run every twenty minutes pushing air thru and just keeping the plate hot.
I guess it would be ok for an additional heat source but I just don't see any point in wearing out the equipment before it's time.
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Hey Sheriff...check this out!!
(http://www.socalsinker.com/forum/uploads/FUZZYBEAR/P1010010.JPG)
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybear.,
Look n goood.. (The chicken) I assume this is out of you new smoker? I never thought about the bisq. advance working all the time, very good ideal, I will be turning mine off from now on, thanks.. I understand now where you get your handle Fuzzy Bear....
Sheriff
Yeah Sheriff, that was the first project and my wife is an expert on how she likes her chicken so she's always my tester - if she likes it, then I know I did good - she was very happy with it!
You can thank the wife for my nickname - she's always called my a bear from darn near the first day I met her. Once we were married, she started calling me "Fuzzy", then "Fuzzybear" during the cold of winter - seems I throw off a lot of body heat and when she gets cold, zap! Straight for the bear to warm up[:D]
So, Fuzzybear it shall remain and I'm so used to it now, I couldn't think of anything else to replace it with!
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Sheriff,
The more stuff you put in, the more moisture needs to get out. You didn't say whether you marinated the meat or not, but this will add to the moisture content. When we cook for the masses & put 40-50# per smoker, we close the top vent for the first hour to help the heat build up, then open it all the way to let to moisture out.
You also have to take care to arrange the meat on the racks so the heat can convect up through & around. Was the liquid coming out the bottom fat or water? If you pack too much on a rack & the meat is touching the sides, the fat will not drip down & collect in the bowl, but run down the sides of the smoker.
Fuzzy,
Beautiful bird! If it tasted half as good as it looks, you had a fine meal.
That's an interesting tree you've got there![:D]
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Kirk:
The bird was fantastic!
The tree is a fruitless mulberry that had great big ol' knobbies on the ends that were not good for it - had to hack them off by hand - had no chain saw...tore one branch as you can see
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Kirk
I think you a exactly right. I had only water coming out of the bottom. To much meat and I keep the top vent closed down to about 1/8 of an inch. What you tell me about the moisture is right, it has to come out some where. Only marinated one item a slab of baby backs. I will be calling today to order some Bubba Pucks. thanks
Sheriff
Sheriff:
Yup! the piles of ashes in the "waiting room" are normal.....simple conductive heat transfer kills the last two in waiting. Glad to see you ordering the Bubba Pucks from Kirk.... they will prevent ash piles for YOU and gets me that much closer to a new lever drag trolling reel! [:D][;)]
Fuzzy Bear:
Per Sheriff, my first reaction AFTER drooling over the chicken, was the validation of your handle! If I knew how to post pics, I'd post my grizzled mug to let you know you're in good facial hair company!.....actually I wouldn't because this is a family friendly forum and I wouldn't want to scare women and children[:D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Well, get it there man!! It took a while for some of us to figure it out...was surprised that the forum moderator didn't jump in with some help...oh well, looking forward to the pic post!
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
I putzed around with it this morning and gave up......as you know, I have some pics at the earthlink site, but couldn't get them to show up on the forum posts?!?!?[xx(] HOWEVER.....Sun's turning the glaciers a light orange/yellow as it struggles to rise, the wind is non-existent on the Bay this morning....looks like a good day for fish to die!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Here's how I did it...posted a photo to an internet site - don't think it matters....as long as http:// is part of the address, then clicked on add image and got "(//) as a result. went to the picture, right clicked on it to get the "properties" copied the address and placed it right between (//and%20%5B/img)%20so%20it%20looked%20something%20like%20this:%5Bimg%5D%20http://www.xxxxxxxx)
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Kummok,
I know I am asking the wrong person (Ha Ha) how many of your pucks do I need , 2?
Sheriff
Sheriff,
Kummok's on AK time and he's probably still out fishing, so I'll take the liberty to answer. Yes, we sell them in pairs which will advance your last bisquette onto the burner plate.
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?
Kirk,
thanks again, I will give ya'll a call tomorrow..
Sheriff
Sheriff:
It's a dang good thing that Chez answered before me.....as you hinted, my answer would have been more like 674 pucks were absolutely necessary to make a smoker's life just barely tolerable (and to better ensure my summer purchase of the 32' twin screw diesel SeaSport!) Also, to my fellow law enforcement friends, I'd have offered the extra special low low price of $100 above retail [;)][:D][8D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Kummok:
Hmmmmm 674 pucks divided by two (two for $15) equates to 337 pairs x's $15 - you only need $5,055 more for that boat? Or is that for that trolling gear you want?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Kummok,
You know me, I a search for the lowest and best price... I was thinking about two Mason jar lids full of sand might work????
Sheriff
FuzzyB:
Never was that good at figuring out money[V] The dang boat is in the $150,000 range......sooooo maybe the titanium models should retail for $1000 each and then I'd only need to sell 75. Dang, this retail stuff is too EASY [:D]
Sheriff:
You ain't retired yet!....I wouldn't be carrying around ANYTHING Mason jarish in my marked unit's trunk near a "southern" state, less'n it was wearing an evidence tag[;)][;)][:D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Kummok:
That makes more sense! BUt, so does 5K in trolling gear! When do you accept delivery?[8D]
A Sheriff with mason jars in the trunk....hadn't thought about that![;)]
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzybar and Kummok,
OK, I'll give more thought next time about my use of words...
Sheriff
I don't understand what the big deal is. It's only "emergency fuel" in case he runs out of gas.[;)][:D][:)]
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?
Kirk,
I heard that, made order today and your better half was great..
Sheriff