Not impressed yet

[Chez Bubba]

GNC,

Since you didn't do any of the newbie no-no's, I'm led to believe that your frustration lies within the timetable of the smoke. IMO, 8 hours for approximately 30 pounds of meat is too little. Plus, it's 30 pounds of <b> whole </b> meat.

If Kummok loads up his smoker with 30 pounds of salmon strips using 8 racks, the surface area available to absorb the heat is much higher than your experience. Think of it as this: If you dump an 8# bag of ice on your driveway and place an 8# block of ice beside it, which is going to melt first?

The Bradley is designed to cook "low & slow", but it has to meet a middle ground somewhere to suit everybody's needs. The power you required for your timetable could decimate Kummok's salmon in 15 minutes if he didn't keep constant watch.

I've re-read this a couple of times & please don't come away with the feeling that I'm "talking down" to you. That is certainly not my intent, it's just the best way I can figure to express my message.[:)]

We all like helping each other learn and after you've been here a while, you'll realize NONE of us qualify for the title of "expert".[8D]

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Grillin and Chillin]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">We all like helping each other learn and after you've been here a while, you'll realize NONE of us qualify for the title of "expert".<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

IMO there are a lot of experts here.

And no, I didn't take it as a talking down, and the ice analogy makes sense. With only two smokes under my belt, I now look back and seen that I went from a light smoke on my first one to a large one on my second, from one extreme to another.

I really appreciate all the positive feedback from everyone. I'll just have to learn as I go; which is good for me and my family as that is more opportunities to SMOKE.[:D]

Work is for people who don't hunt

[kflorian]

My source for poultry meat temperatures has been Alton Brown of Good Eats.  The poultry temperature I attribute to Mr. Brown, but he of course, must speak for himself.  The others are my own doing. I measure all cook temps with a Maverick thermometer.

My cook temps, for many years now are:

Beef:    135
Pork:    145
Poultry: 160

I'm happy to report hundreds of diners served: all are alive and well.



Ken Florian

[bsolomon]

I smoked some pork loin ribs this weekend.  For normal use (just me and my wife), just smoking a couple of sides, this is normally done in about 8-10 hours.  This weekend, with dinner for 6 planned for sunday evening, a need some leftovers, and a standing order from a co-worker for whenever I smoke to keep him in mind... well that added up to 29 lbs. of ribs plus one lb. bacon.  This all went in on 9:30 pm Saturday night and they were finished between 3:30 -4:30 pm Sunday, for a total of 18-19 hours.  I left the temperature a bit lower than I would have liked overnight (I didn't want any suprises come the morning water change-over), but I never had a problem obtaining and holding 200 degrees after that.

The moral of the story:  "low and slow" in a Bradley is really not a suggestion, it's pretty much mandatory.  Especially if you fill the cabinet to max capacity with meat.  Plan accordingly and don't be afraid to estimate that a full cabinet might take as much as twice as long as it would normally take for a typical meal you might plan for 2-4 people.

[JJC]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by kflorian</i>
<br />My source for poultry meat temperatures has been Alton Brown of Good Eats.  The poultry temperature I attribute to Mr. Brown, but he of course, must speak for himself.  The others are my own doing. I measure all cook temps with a Maverick thermometer.

My cook temps, for many years now are:

Beef:    135
Pork:    145
Poultry: 160

I'm happy to report hundreds of diners served: all are alive and well.



Ken Florian
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Shouldn't be any health issues with those temps, but you're right on the border of safe, especially with the pork temp.  As long as you use an accurate and calibrated thermometer you're fine.  If I wans't sure of my temp probe I might add on a few degrees just to make sure . . .

John
Newton MA

[Oldman]

That pork temp might work for some cuts, but I don't see it working on a pork steak. That cut is too dark.

Olds