First and Second attempts...

Swany777 · March 20, 2006, 12:07:48 PM

Hi everybody,

I fired up the Bradley both Saturday and Sunday...I think I had some good success, here are the details:

Saturday I did a Pork Shoulder (5.5 lbs), had it in there about 9.5 hours, smoking the whole time. Got the internal temp to 175, then did the FTC thing for 2 hours. I think it came out good, I give myself a "B". Portions of the pork shred easily, others didn't- I wonder if I overcooked? Also it was too spicey- I guess the rub I used was too much. I like spicey, but the wife wasn't happy. I followed the basic rub receipe from the "Smoke & Spice" book, then added some powdered mustard and celery- maybe that or the fact I used medium paprika put it over the edge.

Sunday I did the Bacon wrapped chicen rolls. These came out great. Smoked about 2 hours till done, then FTC, it was fairly easy. Made a heck of a mess out of the drip pan. I give myself an A-. The bacon could have been crispier- next time I think I will precook it a bit.

As for operating the Bradley- it was easy. The wind wasn't bad so I didn't notice too bad a temp. fluctuation. When I changed the water on Saturday the thing really lost heat for a good 20 minutes, which threw me off a bit. Even on Sunday when I did the chicken, opening the door to add the food caused me to loose a lot of temperature. I guess that all can't be avoided in the 35 degree CT weather.

Question: The instructions say clean the Bradley after each use? Do they mean just the drip pan or all interior surfaces? If the latter, what do you use- I wouldn't think any kinds of chemical or soap cleaners.

So there ya go...I promised to report back. I'm officially hooked.

Next? I want ribs, the wife wants a less-spicey pork shoulder. More to come.

Swany

bubbagump · March 20, 2006, 12:39:26 PM

Hi Swanny - You should get your pork shoulder internal to 185-190 for easy pulling. I do mine with the smoker set at 205 and figure approx. 2 hours a pound. Once I hit the internal noted I FTC for a minimum of 2 hours, but have FTCed as long as six hours. It just depends what I have going on and how hungry everyone is. [:)]

As far as cleaning goes, after each time I use smoker the I clean the racks, drip pan, water bowl, and bottom tray. I also clean out the smoke generator where the pucks advance to get rid of loose puck particles. This includes lightly scraping off the residue left behind by the burning pucks.

The drip pan can be the biggest pain to get clean. I usually spray it with "Pam" or a similar product before using. I always take the pan out to spray it to avoid the possibility of getting any of it on the heating element. When I'm finished with the smoker, before attempting to clean it I spray it with "OFF" oven cleaner and leave it set for 30 minutes. It seems to help.

You do not need to clean the inside of the box. It gets better with age.

Bubbagump

manxman · March 20, 2006, 12:56:41 PM

Hi Swany777

I agree with bubbagumps post, the only thing I would add it that there is not much to be gained smoking beyond around 4 hours other than burning more pucks hence £/$'s!

Yes, the drip pan is notoriously difficult to clean, there are many posts on this matter![}:)] I tend to soak mine for a while in hot soapy water then put it together with the racks, bowl and bottom tray in the dishwasher.

One important thing to do is wipe the door seal and corresponding bit on the smoker cabinet over with a damp cloth to help maintain the seal on subsequent smokes.

Manxman.

Swany777 · March 20, 2006, 01:52:18 PM

great...all good info as usual. Next time I'll cook to about 190 (and use a less spicey rub!)- thanks Bubbagump

Also I'll only use 4 hours of smoke, thanks manxman.

And thanks for the tips on cleaning.

icerat4 · March 20, 2006, 02:11:23 PM

If ribs are next on your meal ticket and you have a sams clubs by you get those baby back rib.I did those this weekend 3 cuts on 3 rack = 9 rib cuts 1 rack at the top with the good old bacon on the 2 hour.31/2 - 4 hours then a foil cooler deal very nice.[:D]

Oyènkwara · March 20, 2006, 02:29:32 PM

One other area that you should clean is the vent. I take it off (small phillips screw) after each use and clean. Build up can cause the vent to become sticky.

Tom

Habanero Smoker · March 20, 2006, 02:48:20 PM

Also lightly wipe off any grease build up on the walls that may have occured if you meat was touching the walls during cooking. I agree with cleaning the vent, but I wipe it down with alchol after each use (when the cabinet has cooled), and only take it apart to clean about every 10-15 smokes.

I only take my butts to 175 and they pull easy. The trade off is that you have to keep the cabinet temperature down to 190, and it can take up to 5 hours longer than usual.

JJC · March 21, 2006, 12:55:45 AM

Definitely keep your cabinet temps at/under 205F. Cleaning is overrated in general, but getting the gunk off the drip pan is good as is wiping off the door seal and "corresponding bit" on the cabinet, as Manx says. If you really like smoke flavor, go for 5 hour, or even 6 on big pieces of meat, but any more than that is likely to be a waste.

John
Newton MA

MallardWacker · March 21, 2006, 07:05:49 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by JJC
 ...Cleaning is overrated in general...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

WORD to the John man.... Clean your gasket, thermometer, racks, bowl and when you get to the drip pans just take a snap shot before you use it and look at it from time to time if you need to know what a shiny one looks like...I would not waste your time to bring the to drip pans back to new type stage...it's futile. Have fun, life is way too short to worry about drip pans.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

bubbagump · March 21, 2006, 08:35:33 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MallardWacker
Clean your gasket, thermometer, racks, bowl and when you get to the drip pans just take a snap shot before you use it and look at it from time to time if you need to know what a shiny one looks like...I would not waste your time to bring the to drip pans back to new type stage...it's futile. Have fun, life is way too short to worry about drip pans.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I wouldn't advise letting the drip pan accumulate too much residue. There are vent slots in it that need to be kept open to allow heat and smoke through.

Bubbagump

JJC · March 26, 2006, 10:35:01 PM

I keep the drip pan vents open, and I do clean the thermometer probe, gasket and corresponding part on the door . . . but I don't worry about the rest except for once in a while, and if I forget anything before I'm ready to start the next smoke, I go ahead and make sure I clean up the next time!

John
Newton MA

First and Second attempts...

icerat4