Haven't smoked in years

[3woodman]

Hi, I had the opportunity to eat a Thanksgiving Turkey that was smoked in a Bradley 4 rack. I couldn't believe the taste and texture. I used to smoke meat years ago with a brinkman water smoker then a brinkman Pit N Grill. I found my results OK, but not great. Tending the fire was always one of my biggest problems. I decided to buy the Bradley 4 rack and try a pork sirloin and a pork tenderloin as my first project. The first mistake I made was cooking at too low a temp. (205). It took almost 6 hours to get the meat to the target temp of 135 (let it rest to 145). When I cut into the sirloin I thought it was undercooked even though the temp was 145 at that point, the meat was pink and juicy. It actually was done perfectly and the flavor was out of this world. I was so impressed that I smoker a 12 pound bone in prime rib for Christmas, it was perfect and my family actually were totally quite at the table!. I have since smoker a beef roast to take to a New Years Eve poker party. One of the engineers at the party was so impressed now he is buying a Bradley 4 rack as well.

My next three projects are already in the freezer, a chicken, a duck and a rack of pork ribs. My question to you who have smoked a lot, how much food do you dare to put in the smoker at once? Does a full smoker slow the cooking time by a lot?

I will update from time to time with ideas and reports.
Woody

[mikecorn.1]

Loading the smoker up, especially with cold meat will make the Bradley work alot harder.


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[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Woody;

Welcome to the forum.

Reading your post, you may have not inserted the probe correctly while it was at rest. It is very unusual to get a 10 degree carryover when a cut of meat is cooked at such a low temperature.

[beefmann]

depends on whats being smoked / cooked, in my  4 rack i have had up to 43 lbs and had to rotate the racks every couple of hours, generally i try no to do over 30 lbs in a 4 rack allowing for circulation and good ventilation.

Also do not mix meat types, keep the type of  meat the  same... fowl with fowl, pork with pork beef  with beef... only concern is cross contamination