Smoked tonight first time: bone in turkey breast

[SmokerDudeinFL]

Hey everyone. I have a new Bradley and smoked a successful bone in turkey breast. So moist I was shooting juices out my temperature poke!

I'm in Oviedo, FL just outside Orlando.

First I brined for 4 hours using BBQ Pit Boys brine of apple and orange juice, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, cajun spice, salt, brown sugar, pepper, onion.

Then injected with cajun butter sauce by Tony Chachere

Then rubbed with a poultry rub from some random company.

Turned out pretty good.

I did have major discrepancies between oven temp readout and settings. Either I have a bum gauge or I'm doing something wrong. It was about 100 degrees difference.  I have a dual temperature probe on the way so I can get a better idea. Also, my turkey may not have been completely defrosted which could have pulled heat. I never got over 240 degrees with it set to 320.

We shall see.

[tskeeter]

First of all, I doubt that your smoker will ever get to 320 degrees.  Since a Bradley is a smoker, not an oven, most units top out around 270 degrees.  I do my smoking between 225 and 250.  For poultry, I use 250.

Since Bradley's have a 500 watt heating element, many of us keep a foil wrapped brick or two in the bottom of the smoker.  These act as a heat sink.  They warm up when you preheat your smoker.  Then, the heat transfers to the meat you put into the smoker.

In addition to using a heat sink, most folks put the meat they are going to smoke out on the counter for an hour or two before they put it in the smoker.  This allows the meat to warm up a bit, so the smoker doesn't have to heat the meat from refrigerator temps.

Bradley's are subject to temp swings.  About 30 degrees above and below your temp set point is common until the meat starts to warm up.

Placement of temperature probes is important to accurate temp readings.  Moisture being released from the meat causes low temperature readings.  Your temp probe should be  at least an inch from the meat, below the meat or along side the meat.    Probes placed above the meat will read  low.