newbie

[smokeybear]

just got my bradley digital  did salmon 3 times...pretty good but i got a lot to learn...Any tips would be appreciated...thanks guys

[Saber 4]

Welcome from Texas, as for tips I don't do much fish but on all your smokes keep your vent open and have fun

[Gafala]

Welcome to the forum from Washington.  Remember to keep your vent open, keep your vent open, and post pictures.

[pz]

Welcome smokybear - every day is a new learning experience

[EZ Smoker]

There are lots o' good tips around this forum, but sure, I'll throw a couple at ya that I've picked up here.   Let's see.

1.  Pork butt.  It's very easy to make a great one in the Bradley, and that particular meat is pretty forgiving if you make a mistake with it, i.e., cook it to the wrong temp.  Once I intended to take a pork butt out at an internal temp of 190.  I was late getting home, and it cooked faster than I expected, and the temp was over 200.  Best pork butt I ever had.   Also, leftover pork butt can be stir-fried up with some veggies, rice, and sriracha sauce... oh man, that's good stuff.

2.  Chicken wings.  Talk about easy and delicious.  My wife slathers raw wings with olive oil then sprinkles on a generous bunch of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning (and absolutely nothing else).  Then we smoke them (I use apple) at as high a temp as the Bradley can smoke (with the vent wide open) for about 2 hours until the juices run clear.  After that, 3 or 4 minutes on a hot grill gets the skin crisp, and those wings are fantastic.   

3.  The value of FTCing.  We like to FTC a pork butt or brisket after it comes out of the smoker.  That is, we wrap it in foil, wrap that in a towel for extra insulation, then put it in a cooler chest for a couple of hours.  This keeps it hot enough to keep things melting inside the pork butt without the risk of overcooking or drying it out.    Also, it's amazing how hot it'll stay for a long time in that FTC chest... so that gives you freedom in timing your meal.  Once my pork butt came out at 2 pm, when I wasn't planning to eat until after 7 pm.  I FTC'd for 5 hours, and when I took it out of the foil, it was so hot I couldn't touch it.  And that was a good butt.

4.  In the Bradley, the heating element is at the bottom in the back, so the bottom racks and the rear side of any given rack might cook faster than the other areas in the smoker.  You can rotate and flip your racks on long smokes to even it out more.

5.  If you're the kind of person who can do this without it becoming a hassle, make some notes on every smoke so you can remember exactly what you liked or didn't like.  If something cooked a little too long, or too short, or too much smoke, or too little, or anything else that stands out to you...  I do this and it has helped me tremendously when I smoke something that I haven't smoked recently.    Write what you like and what you don't like, so you'll remember next time. 





     

[Yancey]

Welcome from Florida!

[Skishy]

Welcome from Eastern Washington! Congrats on your new purchase/hobby!