Decisions, decisions .. 4 or 6 rack

[epauls]

Looking into buying one of these, is there much difference between the 2 units
since I am only cooking for 2 most of the time. Cleaning time I assume would be
more for the bigger size? Any other pro's?
The price in Canada at http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_sp07/outdoor/bradley.pdf
seems very reasonable.
Thanks
Paul

[KyNola]

Welcome to the forum.  There are guys on here who have been at it for years and are a wealth of information.  As for the 4 or 6 debate, I too cook mostly for two.  I find the 4 rack plenty and always have room if I'm cooking for a crowd.  The clean up is pretty simple.  Clean the racks, the v-tray and the water bowl.  That's pretty much it unless the smoker unit has excess particles, etc  in it.  Wipe it out, don't wash it down.  You'll take all of the seasoning out of it.  Today I am smoking bacon wrapped chicken breasts, shrimp, a block of cheddar cheese and of all things, green olives.  Yes olives.  If you haven't tried them, give it a shot.  smoke them and then roll in chili powder.  Neat little appetizer.

Either one you choose, you'll love it.  Have a great time!!

KyNola

[Gizmo]

epuals,
I have the 6 rack and have filled it on quite a few occasions but as KyNola stated, most of the time the 4R will be plenty.  You can save quite a bit of cash on the 4 Rack Original as compared to the 6 Rack Digital.

KyNola,
Thanks for the tip on green olives.  I love green olives but never thought of smoking them.  Duh.  I'll have to give that a shot soon.  Don't have room right now.  Cold smoking some hanging bacon, with a basket full of pistachios and a small pork loin that will be used for pancit.

[projump]

I have the 4 rack and its plenty big. ;D

[KyNola]

Gizmo,
I used the large green olives, applewood smoke for 2 hours with no heat other than the puck burner.  Once they cool, dust them with chili powder.  Pretty tasty but OMG the smoked shrimp were out of sight.  Brined them first for 20 minutes, air dryed for 30-45 minutes then brushed with melted butter spiced up with hot sauce and Tony Chacere's cajun spice mix.  One hour of apple smoke at 175-200 degrees.  Off the chart and the color was beautiful.  Here I am bragging about what I smoked and you're doing bacon!  Just bought Morton's Tender Quick today.  Any suggestions on using Tender Quick for bacon or pastrami?

KyNola ???

[Junk Yard Dog]

I have the 6 rack, but have yet to use more than 4.  I just made jerky with 4 lbs. of meat.  It barely fit in 4 racks.  When I saw the shrinkage, I wished I had made more.  So, I am smoking another 4 lbs.  I could have easily filled my 6 rack if I had known the shrink factor of jerky.

BUT , normally, I don't need more than 4 racks.

[Wildcat]

I have 4 rack original and it is plenty for me.  When doing jerky, you can double the capacity by inverting 4 more racks (8 total).  Will need to buy the extra racks.  When cleaning, do not forget to wipe down the door seal or it will eventually give you problems.

[KyNola]

Good call Wildcat, I failed to mention cleaning the door seal.  Gotta go, my wife just brought me a platter of smoked shrimp.

I think I'll keep her. :D

Ky Nola

[Consiglieri]

With the BS, cleaning time is pretty much the same: empty the bowl, clean the racks and v-pan, wipe down seal and exterior.  For me, I opted for the larger for options when entertaining.   I figured it was better to have too much than too little.  And, actually, I've filled the darn thing up with ribs.

[rscearcy]

Mine hasn't come in yet, so I can give you no experience.  However, I was struggling with the same question.  Based on posts in this forum, I came to the feeling that it's OK to have unused capacity most of the time, but it's a little disconcerting when you could use more capacity if you have it when you need it on certain occasions. 

I'm sure most of the time, we'll only use one or two of our six racks.  But, there will be times when we'll want to load up all 6 racks on ribs or use all 6 on a combination of ribs, butt and who knows what else? 

The cost difference isn't great, so I figured "Why buy a car that only has an engine big enough to go the speed limit, when you may want to go faster every now and then?" 

I had a dream last night that a box showed up on my front door step sometime in the next few days.  Actually, several boxes.  Guess what?  It turned out to be my new smoker, bisquettes, Bubba Pucks and, yes, my new Bradley baseball cap.  Then, later, I dreamed that my portfolio increased by 5% when the market opens tomorrow.  So, now, I'm wondering if I just had what are referred to as "pipe dreams."  I guess I'll know by the end of the week.

Anyway, based on everything I've read here, no matter which way you go, you're going to be happy with your new smoker.  Make sure you check in here every now and then for new tips, tricks and great discussion of all things smoking.

Good luck.

[epauls]

Thanks to the wonderfull response. I ordered a 4 shelf unit, now have to wait till it comes :(

Thanks again
paul

[rscearcy]

Good job, Paul.  You're going to be like me.  I ordered my 6-rack a week ago today and I'm still waiting.  But, my pucks and ET-73 thermometer are in.  I've been playing with them, like a kid playing with toy soldiers in the dirt, and planning what I'm going to smoke first.

Nobody warned you about this, but you're going to pace the floor late at night, rush home from work just to find your front steps without packages waiting for you.  It's almost more than a grown smoker can bear.  But, then, it's only been a week. 

Take a few deep breaths, tell yourself that you're willing to wait and that you won't start getting anxious about your new cooking appliance (toy) for at least the first three days.  Then, you can start screaming inside because you don't want to wait any more.

[NePaSmoKer]

I have an OBS, BPS, DBS 4 rack, DBS 6 rack and smoke vault (non Bradley)

My 6 rack is what i use for sausage. When i hang the sausage its further from the heat.

Enjoy


nepas