Bradley versus Coolshack

deadeye · November 20, 2004, 04:44:01 PM

Just wondering if some people can give me some insight on the 2. I am not worried about the money. I will spend the money to get the Stainless one for sure. Also if I want to cook a brisket on hte Bradley can I just smoek it for say 2hours or so and then just cook it normal after that. If so DO I smoke it at the beginning or the end ??

Thanks again

Derek

nsxbill · November 20, 2004, 05:08:59 PM

Bottom line is whether or not you want to hassle with charcoal or not. The key to good smoking is the allowance of enough time to smoke/cook slowly...on either of the smokers. I cook steaks on the 48" Stainless Grill with gas. I smoke brisket, fowl, ribs, hams, sausage, et al in the Bradley. I don't worry about doing something for 2 hours and then cooking it on the grill to finish. I finish in the Bradley.

Yesterday I had a couple of steaks left over from previous grilling. These were the two thickest steaks and I had cooked them very rare. A week later, they were still sitting in the refrigerator. I essentially smoked them at 185 pit temp to an internal 120 degree temp. I put them in at 11 a.m. and took them out at 4. They were deliciciously tender. Only smoked for one hour. The rest of the time they just warmed slowly.

Purists go for the charcoal...not on this list. The bottom line is to control the temp. I use a BBQ Guru to control the temp. They make one for the Bradley and one for most other charcoal grills. I set it, forget it and go on with my life while the food is cooking. You can see it here. //Thebbqguru.com. If money is no object, I would get a Bradley and a Primo Big Green Oval with the guru, Raptor electrical controller, and another fan controller for the Oval so you can use the Guru on either.

In the future I am going to get a Caldera knock-down smoker, and hope to travel with both the Bradley and the Caldera in the bay of motorhome to cook on the road.

If you are going to smoke meat. You need to forget the idea of rushing through the process and just allow time for the meat to cook "LOW AND SLOW." You have to prepare your rub and allow meat to sit and season. You have to apply a brine overnight or longer on some foods. Forget about quick grub. Smoking is for coaxing the best out of the meat, not throwing it in the microwave for rapid preparation.

Your patience will be rewarded with either unit.

Bill

deadeye · November 20, 2004, 05:14:55 PM

Thanks Bill for the info

Derek Canada

BigSmoker · November 20, 2004, 07:46:21 PM

deadeye,
A cookshack is a little different from a Bradley. The Bradley is much more mobile than a cookshack. The bradley uses pucks and a smoke generator which in my opinion is top notch. The cookshack uses small amounts of any cut hardwood but is also electric. The folks at the cookshack site will go on and on about the price of the pucks for the Bradley... I dont see it(less than 1 dollar an hour) but... With the Bradley you can easily mix different flavored woods(pucks) to your exact taste. As Bill mentioned with the addition of a Guru its practically set it and walk away. Bradleys customer service is also top notch. Should you decide on a Bradley I would suggest buying from //www.chezbubba.com If you purchase from there you will recieve 10% off future purchases of your pucks. The Bradley is by far one of the best home smokers on the market. Good luck with your decision and enjoy the forum.

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

nsxbill · November 20, 2004, 08:08:58 PM

You are so right Jeff, I had this one confused with Smokey Mountain. So many smokers....so little time[:D]

Thanks for alerting to errorr.

Bill

Oldman · November 20, 2004, 10:35:59 PM

deadeye,
IMO the Bradley is a refined smoker. If all you are after is pulled pork or BBQ then save the monies and purchase a webber.

Ian · November 20, 2004, 11:30:16 PM

DoW-Oldman, Geese I think your wrong, the Bradley is a outstanding refined smoker (LOL)! In all honesty though all things are not equal, so to speak such as, we all don't live in warmer climates and I know from past experince if I want to do just say 30lbs of briskets or butts in Febuary when it's minus 10 ( to be kind ) I'll fire up the bullet. Gotta love those vents!! I just can't see pushing my little 500 watt tubes (I would be using two B.S.'s ).[8D] Anyhow maybe I would fire one up just to keep the Weber company ( LOL), and do a wack of Provolone cheese, I mix it in with the Philly cream when making ABT's/Poppers.

Cheers,
Ian

MallardWacker · November 22, 2004, 02:09:09 PM

Deadeye,

Consider these points:

1:The vent, the smaller units DO NOT HAVE ONE. This will give you a big problem. If you search there web site, you find things like "rubbery chicken" and "black goo" droppings from the top of the smoker. The company's own recipe for chicken will tell you to "finish" the chicken in oven.

2:The clean up is going to be much more of a hassel. The thing about the BS is the v-shaped drip pan that flows all the drippings into a bowl, inside the smoker. Look at the pictures of the cookshack, you must have this HUGE drip pan on the bottom, out side the smoker. This goes to the vent thing again, that moisture has to go somewhere. You will see through there posts that people are trying to line with foil and so forth to help with clean up. There is no need with the Bradley.

3:The most important thing you must consider is the SMOKE. There IS NOT another smoker out there that will give you a more consistant smoke and flavor than the Bradley. The cookshack, you have to weigh your chunks of wood, the ability to use any old wood may sound like an advantage here but it is not. The thing we are after is flavor and a good end product, just throwing wood from any sorce will give you, sometimes weird results. Bottom line here, the BS is too easy and too consistant when it comes to producing smoke and it's flavor. Another thing is, the temp at which the smoke is produced, I beleive the smoke from the BS is lower. I know this sounds harsh here but the cookshack (to me) is nothing more than an electric charcoal starter. HTH.

If you do decide get a Bradley. Consider purchasing it from //www.chezbubba.com, you will be glad you did. What ever you do, do not use Americas Best Bar B Q, you have been warned.

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...

bsolomon · November 22, 2004, 07:01:58 PM

And for your technical questions: Yes, smoke control and heat control are completely independent, so you can smoke for any amount of time (up to 8 hours without reloading - although most foods take no more than 4 to 6 hours of smoke), and then just leave the food in the cabinet to complete as many hours of slow cooking as needed. Most discussions here will show you two time listings - the amount of smoking time, and then the total cooking time.

Just about all foods tend to call for the smoke being applied right at the beginning of the process, and the consensus is that meats stop absorbing smoke after they reach about 140 degrees because the pores are closed at that point. A few recipes for various bacons call for adding the meat to the cabinet and then applying smoke after an hour, but after that amount of time the bacon is still not close to 140 degrees, so there is no problem with that technique. Adding smoke at the end of cooking would result in a smoke flavor on, rather than in the meat. You probably would not be happy with the results.