Newbie

[jdkswhite]

Hi I am both new to smoking and this forum Please bare with me through my growing pains of a new member. I Love grilling out doors and do so at least 4 times a week. I love smoked meat and wish I could find some kind of guide to smoking length of times for all cuts of meat chicken, pork, and beef. Thank you for any help

[TedEbear]

Welcome aboard.  Here is a guide, copied from the archives of the old Bradley user recipe site on how much smoke to apply. Everyone has their own preference on how powerful they want the smoke flavor to be and different flavors are stronger than others. I just smoked a brisket yesterday with hickory and did it with 4 hours of smoke.  It turned out very well.

Q. Do I need to apply smoke the full time the food is cooking?

A. Generally no, but that can depend on your particular taste, what you are smoking and how long it takes for a specific food to cook. As you become more experienced you will develop your own guideline.

To get you started, here is a general guideline, based on what most owners use:
0:40 – 2:00 Hrs. - cold smoked steaks, chops or roasts; nuts, vegetables
1:00 – 3:00 Hrs. – chicken, fish, jerky, ribs, sausage
2:00 – 4:00 Hrs. – brisket, butts, hams
2:00 – 5:00 Hrs. – cheese


One of the more exciting aspects of smoking is learning how to match different "flavors" of smoke to different types of foods. While other smokers use different wood chunks and chips, Bradley uses a proprietary technology to manufacture "bisquettes." Each bisquette advances through the Bradley Smoke Generator and burns for 20 minutes before being extinguished. This system yields a tremendous amount of flexibility and allows for both consistency and the ability to experiment.

Bradley Flavor Bisquettes are available in 9 different flavors, or types of wood. While there is no one right type of wood for any particular type of food, here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Lighter, sweeter smoke flavor:
Cherry
Apple
Alder

The above flavors lend themselves to delicately flavored foods. They work well with fish and poultry and can also be used with wild game meat. Alder is best known for its use with smoked salmon.


Mid-range, moderate smoke flavor:
Maple
Pecan
Oak
Special Blend

The above flavors seem to be good all-purpose flavors, working equally well for poultry, pork, and beef. Many people seem to favor maple and pecan and will use them for just about everything they smoke because of the slightly sweeter flavor than hickory. Some people are equally passionate about oak. Special blend is sometimes called "hotdog wood" in that it is made up of all of the other types of wood (except mesquite). Some people seem to like special blend for its overall neutral character that works well with everything, and other people think it is too non-descript, and therefore prefer a specific flavor for a specific food.


Stronger, heavier smoke flavor:
Hickory
Mesquite

The above flavors lend themselves to more strongly flavored foods, especially pork and beef. Hickory is a favorite of many people and statistically one of the best sellers. Some people claim good results with mesquite, but use caution with this flavor – the Bradley makes a very concentrated smoke which seems to get even more pronounced when using mesquite, so apply this flavor carefully if you elect to use it. One thing to keep in mind about mesquite is that many people think it is synonymous with BBQ, but the reality is most of its popularity comes from grilling because it burns very hot. Since heat is not the main objective of a bisquette, you may find the mesquite flavor overpowering and better left for the grill.

Tips and tricks:
1) Still can't decide what to order? Bradley produces a variety pack that contains 12 each of Alder, Cherry, Hickory, Maple, and Special Blend. Chez Bubba makes their own variety pack that contains 12 each of the remaining flavors of Apple, Mesquite, Oak, Pecan. Variety packs let you sample without having to commit to a larger order until you find your favorites. Bisquettes are available in 48-packs, which will cost you around $1.50 per hour of smoking, and they are also available in 120-packs, which bring the price closer to $1.10 per hour. So if you do find your favorites, you are definitely better off buying in bulk.

2) Still can't quite get the flavor the way you want it? One of the best things about the use of bisquettes in the smoke generator is that you are not required to use the same flavor throughout the cooking process. Some people begin with a couple of hours of one flavor, and then finish with something different, such at 3 hours of hickory for a deeper, fuller flavor, and then 1 hour of apple, to give the surface a sweeter finish. Another idea is to alternate the bisquettes in the stack, for example one maple bisquette followed by one pecan, and so on, or two apple followed by one cherry. The possibilities here are endless.

3) What about wood flavors that Bradley doesn't offer, such as pear or plum? Some people have inquired about making their own bisquettes. In theory, this is possible. Bisquettes are wood chips in a small amount of collagen binder, compacted under pressure, but the exact mechanisms of this process are unknown outside of Bradley. A few forum users have had some limited success making bisquettes themselves, but the consensus has been that it takes just too much time and effort to be viable.

[cherrybergher]

Hi, and welcome to the forum, Generally speaking each cut of meat you do will have a different cooking "time" based on a number of factors, like the weather, and don't under estimate the wind, it can suck the heat out of your smoker faster than you can blink.

Most often times when I'm smoking, I'll let the internal temperature of the meat tell me when it's done.  I use the igrill2 thermometer, and that works pretty well for me.