Hello from PA

[werwin]

Hi
I'm Tony been wanting to get into smoking for awhile. A friend wanted to sell his Bradley Smoker and here i am.
Just got it on Saturday didn't try anything yet just creeping around to see what to try and came here.
Looks like a friendly forum thought i'd sign up.
Like i said very new to smoking but i did learn i would like to get a stand for my smoker seems a bit low for me but that's minor.
If anyone has any thought or advice before i get started i welcome you input
Thanks
Tony

[bullsfury81]

Being new to smoking myself, a couple things I have done...
- For a stand I am just improvising with a 4' X 6' cutting board style  board that I place on a couple saw horses. Not ideal but easy to break down and place in garage and takes up minimal space and good work space for foiling and what not.
- For maximum amp(?) with least resistance try plugging directly into outlet or use a <10 ft extension cord that is <14 gauge wire.
       - ensure there isn't a lot of other electricity sources running off the same outlet from your circuit breaker. Some sources   say use an outlet that uses just the smoker coming off the breaker, but that might be overkill...if not unpractical if not "electricianly" inclined.
- ***Get a digital temp probe. The Maverick dual probe is ideal and a common go to in the forum.
- Patience. Learning your temps and smoker's ability takes some time to dial in your range.
- Don't use a lot of meat for first smoke. make temps a little frustrating to reach when learning the ins and outs of smoker.
- Top vent should, for the most part, always be open. Closing WILL NOT increase temps. Just traps moisture.
- Don't open door unless necessary. Staring at the meat doesn't change anything and only loses your pit's temperature.
- Unlike other smokers, only need to smoke pucs for no more than a few hours. Much less depending on what you are smoking. After smoking, the Bradley is pretty much a low temp oven. Some use bradley just for the smoking time and finish in oven.... but that's no fun!

That's a basic starter, in my opinion. Much more but those seem to be the core values to me. Everything you can find in this forum for info and many more tweaks you can do. Very informative!
Get the temp probe as a top priority! Smokers included probe is good for the preheat but innacurate past that.

[tskeeter]

Tony, welcome to the forum.

For some ideas, check out the recipes at www.susanminor.org.  These are recipes by some of the forum's most experienced smokers.  Since they are Bradley specific, they contain details that don't appear in most "how to smoke" type books.  I found them helpful and educational as I was getting started.

A few additions to Bullsfury's comments.  Use as close to boiling water as you can get in your puck bowl.  Why use the precious Btu's that your smoker generates to heat water rather than cook your food?  Many members keep a foil wrapped brick or two tucked in the bottom of their smoker, to act as heat sinks.  This helps with heat recovery after you open the door, etc.

[tailfeathers]

Hi there and welcome from South Dakota.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[werwin]

thank you all for the valuable information.
as i said i was creeping around some post that caught  my eye and looking into getting a igrill thermometer. i would like to use this year around and like the idea of checking temps from inside the house on cold winter nights.
yes starting out small for sure my #1 priority is learning to smoke cheeses. i love a good smoked cheese.
i did check out the FAQ"s and found a lot i assumed if i kept the top vent shut the more smokey flavor and heat i would have but now i know that's not true.
is it best to use the pucks through out the entire process? or is it a waste of money?
also could anyone point me in a direction on what to do to smoke cheese? seems to me you would want a low heat fore sure but is one better then the next?
thanks again
Tony

[tailfeathers]

werwin-
I can't speak to the igrille having never used one, but I can say with certainty that you cannot go wrong with a Maverick 733 remote thermometer. Has two probes so you can monitor smoker temp and food temp. Has high/low alarms that can be set to alert you if temps vary above or below set points and they are extremely accurate. As far as smoking cheese I would recommend no more than two hours of smoke to start out. If you like you can increase your smoke times from there, but I find 2 hours gives me plenty of smokiness. Be sure to keep your cabinet temps below a 90F max or you will have molten cheese dripping from your racks. You will need to devise a cold smoke setup, or use a pellet tube to create your smoke so you aren't generating any heat from your puck burner. I usually use a tube, and I put a couple of 1/2 gallon frozen jugs of ice in the v tray to keep temps down. Finally and most importantly, resist the temptation to eat the cheese when you take it out of the smoker. wrap it tightly or vac seal it and put it in the fridge for at least 4 weeks before you eat it. Straight from the smoker the flavor has been compared to licking an ash tray and I have found this to be the case. Some of my favorites to smoke are gouda, xsharp cheddar, horseradish and habenero. Good luck, happy smoking and show us pics. We love pics!

[Grouperman941]

All the above advice is spot on.

For cheese, I use the Bradley cold smoke attachment, and sometimes I still need to put some ice in the chamber to keep temps below 90 F. There are lots of ideas on the forum to make your own offset for the smoke generator.

If you are looking at the igrill, you might want to compare to the Tappecue, which I have and like a lot. It has four probes and uses wifi. (tappecue.com)

Ask questions and experiment. Bradleys are a lot of fun.