First Bradley Use

[Bad Flynch]

Last winter in February, I bought a Bradley smoker. It, I thought, represented all that I had been missing in smokers over the years: the ability to cold smoke, temperature control reliability, smoke-cooking without having to buy sacks and sacks of charcoal, and cut my own hickory trees down for smoking wood.

Then I broke my ankle; it was a comminuted fracture and took surgery with a steel plate and 10 screws to put back together. Worst part of it was that I spent three months in a chair.

Today, I set up the Bradley and plopped in it a pork loin roast. I like my loin roasts with the bone on, but with the chine bone cut off. It leaves one with a loin chop with a baby back rib still attached, once cooked and cut. It tastes grand. I got on to this cut of meat when a local barbeque shop served it for several years. After that, the owner spent a couple of years in the iron bar hotel and my source dried up. That made up my mind to try it at home, as I had plenty of smoke-cooking experience of my own.

The Bradley, so far, has been a little touchy to stabilize at 225 degrees F. I finally settled for 230 degrees per an after market digital thermometer and probe. That necessitated a visit to the BBQ Guru and a purchase.

Can't wait until fall in order to do summer sausage and bacon.

Have fun.

B.F.

[bsolomon]

Each Bradley's slider seems a little different and some seem to be a bit less stable than others.  That said, +/- 5 degrees of your target temperature is pretty good.  In fact, I would venture to say that most people's home ovens are not that precise or reliable. But since they do run thermostically, most people never give it a second though.

[Bad Flynch]

I am going to stick my neck out and make some assumptions, but this is what seems to be with regard to the Bradley. Most ovens are a cycle on/cycle off min/max type setup and function on an average temperature. It is the same with refrigeration and why refrigerator temperatures should be measured in a glass of water or glycerin so that you get the true running average.

The Bradley, however, seems to be a constant input that has the level of input raised or lowered by a rheostat (the temp control). That means that once you find the balance that maintains a constant temperature by balancing the input with the external temperature, a change in the external temperature or a breeze will cause a change in the temperature within.

Having deduced that, if it is correct, I ordered a temp control. The external temp control should convert it to an on/off--min/max system. That, hopefully, with the ability to correlate it with the internal temperature of the meat.

At any rate, the pork tenderloin is now heat soaking. By tonight, it will be history. [:D]

B.F.

[nsxbill]

The BBQ Guru is not necessary to control the temp, but it sure does make life easier.  I have two Stainless BS Smokers now, and relieved to find out that if the load in both of them is about the same, the Raptor will control them both.  I know the Procom4 will only control one cabinet temp, but I can monitor the internal temp and the meat temp with the extra/aux probes, and can make adjustments with the slider to keep it close.  Big payoff is able to monitor remotely!

Bill



<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>

[nsxbill]

The BBQ Guru is not necessary to control the temp, but it sure does make life easier.  I have two Stainless BS Smokers now, and relieved to find out that if the load in both of them is about the same, the Raptor will control them both.  I know the Procom4 will only control one cabinet temp, but I can monitor the internal temp and the meat temp with the extra/aux probes, and can make adjustments with the slider to keep it close.  Big payoff is able to monitor remotely!

Bill



<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>