Newbie- Need help smoking Brisket and Babybacks

[jimkelli]

Hello All-
I am a newbie...just got my Bradley smoker a week ago.  I am ambitiously going to try and smoke out a 6lb brisket flat and 2 slabs of baby-backs for the 4th of July.  I am good on my rubs, I know exactly how I want them seasoned, but I am still new to the way this electric smoker works.  I have hickory and maple bisquettes, but how long should I cook everything?

I am planning on cooking around 200F, but how many bisquettes should I use?  How long should I be smoking?  I traditionally smoke a similar sized brisket on my charcoal smoker and that usually takes me a good 10-12 hours.  This Bradley is totally different though.  Do I only need to smoke the brisket for about 4 hours and then just let it cook a remaining 4 hours or so?  I plan on keeping the ribs in only for about 4+ hours.  Any help and information that anyone could provide would be helpful.  THANKS@!
Jim

[kiyotei]

A six lb brisket will take a long time to cook.  Some of it depends on the temp you use.  Most people on here smoke it at around 200-235 degrees.  One of the pros I read about recommends about 235 degrees.  I did a 5.5 lb brisket 2 weeks ago and it took 11 hours (at a temp that ranged between 200-240).  I would have left it on for 12 hours but it started to rain.  The longer you cook it, the more tender it is.  Meat only absorbs smoke flavor till it hits 140 degress however, one key to great brisket is the outside coating which requires long smoke.  I'd smoke it for most to the time.  Of course you also gotta make sure you don't let it dry out.  You need to spritze it with apple juice, or some other liquid or apply a mop regularly.  Start it fat side up and then you might consider fliping it after 4-5 hours.  This will allow you to apply the mop or spritze to the fat free side of the meat to keep it moist.  Look in the other posts on here and click on the black smoker image to visit the recipe site.  If you have not used your smoker yet, I would recommend trying a test run on some thing quick and simple to get a good feel for how the smoker heats, smokes, etc, perhaps chicken breasts.

[jimkelli]

kiyotei-
Thank you for the advice.  I really appreciate it.  I really love this forum.  It is filled with such great advice and everyone seems to genuinely care about what everyone else is doing.   I was mistaken about the size of my brisket.  It is only a 4lb queen's cut.  Regardless, I have a new problem with my OBS... 

I am in Kansas.  It is 85F today.  I preheated the OBS for 1hr while letting my meat sit out to reach room temperature.  One problem- despite leaving my Bradley set all the way to High, it would not preheat any hotter than 200F.  This really concerns me b/c I want to cook my meat between 220-230F.  I finally put the meat in and loaded my Hickory bisquettes and started smoking.  Of course the temperature dropped and it still has not read past 200F.  I have a digital thermomter stuck in the inside and it reads 220F, but this seems very inefficient.  I have the Bradley set all the way to HIGH and it won't get any hotter than 200F... even on an 85F day (now 90F at noon).

This is the very first time I am smoking on my OBS, so the vents on the drip tray are not clogged.  I called Bradley and they had me widen the vents, which I did do, but this still has not helped me get my temperature any hotter.

Do you think my OBS is defective?  Even prior to putting in a 4lb brisket and 2 slabs of ribs, shouldn't I be able to preheat my OBS past 200F?  It seems like something is wrong, but is this normal?  Should I preheat this thing for 2 hours to make sure it gets plenty hot?   Has anyone else had similar issues?
Thanks and happy 4th Everyone@!
Jim

[Mr Walleye]

I don't have the OBS but others have indicated that the temp slider setting may have to be all the way to the right than back a little bit. There was several posts at some point in time about this. Maybe give that a shot and hopefully someone with an OBS will be along soon.

Mike

[manxman]

I have an OBS and with the slider all the way to the right it should go way above 200F, getting close to the 350F as per specification.

However there is a thermal cutout approaching 350F which means the temperature does drop considerable before the heater kicks in again. I have some duck tape on my slider control to remind me not to push it to the limit, however, constant preheat temps up to about 280 - 300F are still achievable.

All this is academic as you should be able to achieve temps of greater than 200F easily, it appears you have checked the temperature by another source and are not relying on the door thermometer?

Other things such as a windy day, door opened regularly etc can make a difference but not to be able to peheat beyond 200F with the slider all the way to the right is suggestive of a faulty heater element, slider control or faulty wiring IMHO, suggest you talk to Bradley again as I cannot see how their suggestion would improve matters that much.

Presumably it is still under warranty?

[Habanero Smoker]

Another thing you may want to check is the heating element. Make sure that it is working. You may only be heating the cabinet with the heating pad on the generator. On a warm day, just the generator alone will heat my cabinet up to and sometimes over 185°F. Check your connections, and make sure the screws that hold the element in place are snug. Do not over tighten those screws, or you will break the porcelain connectors.

[kiyotei]

You are seeing something very similar to what I had with mine.  First, note that the door thermometer loses some accuracy as it approaches 250 (seems to be off about 10 degrees on the cool side).  Ok that said, my slider board failed after a number of smokes.  It had to be replaced.  It showed similar problems like yours.  Mine would not heat up properly.  Then it just totally failed.  They sent me a new slider and it works much better.  I'm still having trouble with my internal temp sensor.  It is shutting the heat off when I hit about 260 and won't turn it back on till the temp drops down to about 200.  They sent me a new sensor and it also has problems.  I have yet another new sensor on the way.  My advice is call Bradley and ask for Brian.  He is there real hardware guy, not some phone tech.  I hope your brisket turned out ok.  I basically smoked it at about 200 degrees for a few hours and then transfered it to the oven.  Not ideal but I still got an ok smokey brisket.  I also added a cast iron bread pan to the bottom shelf of my smoker.  This acts as a heat sink and helps the smoker rebound quicker after you open the door.  With the new slider and the bread pan, I have no trouble heating the unit to 250.  I hope the new temp sensor will fix my heat cut off issue.

[West Coast Kansan]

jimkilli, HabS and Outlander have all he information on a OBS I could pass along.  I really suspect the cord to the back of the smoker needs a good push and wiggle. They have tricked many here on the first go.

Now then where in KS are you located? I have argued more than once the true center of the universe is Overland Park.

[jimkelli]

Thanks EVERYONE for such awesome advice@!

I suspect I have a problem with the heating element as well.  My brisket came out good.  I had in for about 4 hours...enough to get my smoke flavor added to it and then finished off in the oven.  Not as tender as other briskets, but definitely not a failure like some others that I have done.

I am going to play around with some chicken breasts Friday night and then a Pork Shoulder this Sunday for one last Litmus test.  If I can't get this Bradley to properly preheat, then I am taking back to Cabela's as this will be the second one I will have had to return.  The first one came from the factory with a large scrape on the front door.  Getting a little concerned about the quality of product??

Westcoastkansan- This should give you an idea of where I am located.  Overland Park is great, but I live in the NEW Mecca of Kansas. : )     ...minutes north of the Speedway, Cabela's, and the Legends shopping center, and the soon to be home of the newest Schlitterbahn waterpark.

Thank you all again for such great advice and information.  I sincerely appreciate everyone's help and feedback.
Jim

[Tiny Tim]

How far from the Convenience store that used to sit all by itself just North of the track on Paralell?  Was just down there the end of April for the Truck/IRL weekend.

[West Coast Kansan]

My son works at N.F.M. He is a purist smoker however and learning quickly.  Once he gets it together maybe thier is a BS in his future - along with some free time.  ;D

Others near by are Wicz, Olathe and Trentonator, Lenexa. 

[hillbillysmoker]

Good advice from all that responded.  Each of us do small things a little differently.  Some fat side up for moisture.  I usually do mine with the fat side down since I like good thick bark which normally forms best on the top and I usually get rid of the fat afterwards and that would eliminate the bark formed on it.