Smokin in the "Original"

[Smokey the Bear.]

Bought a 'Original smoker" from Canadian tire and am going to give it a whirl this weekend. I awas going to smoke a pork shoulder,one rack of beef ribs,one rack of pork ribs, some sausage and 2 whole chickens along with anything else that will fit on those racks. Is it possible to do all of this food at one time or am i going to have a much longer cooking time due to the amount of meat.

I was thinking about letting the unit preheat and bring the meat up to temperature in the oven first before transferring it to the smoker.I would think that this might help the smoker retain the temperature much easier.

Idea's and comments are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Smokey the Bear;

Welcome to the forum.

Can it be done? Yes! But it would be more of a headache for me. That is an large load with a variety of smoking/cooking times. For your first time with the Bradley you may want to do smaller loads.

I would do the beef and pork together. Then I would smoke/cook the chickens separately. Chickens with skin create a lot of moisture that will keep your cabinet temperature down.

After you have been using it for a while and get a feel of how your smoker handles, then mix loads will become easier.

Are you smoke/cooking commercial sausage, or is it homemade sausage that you are smoking. If it is the later, that requires a totally different cooking method.

[Smokey the Bear.]

I was going to start off with the pork shoulder and the ribs, then after a few hours add the chicken and sausages. I used to smoke on the barby but this seems like a much better rig. :)

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum Smokey the Bear!

"Bear" in mind that the smoke that the Bradley produces is cleaner and stronger than on your barby so you don't need as much. I use 4 hours of Hickory on a pork shoulder.

[Smokey the Bear.]

Thanks for the info on the amount of smoke. I guess that it will be trial and taste that will tell at the end of the day.I usually use dry rubs for smoking to seal in the juices. Will this effect the amount of moisture that the smoker maintains?

I also read to keep the vent open fully to keep the humidity down when the weather is cool. I am kind of eager to start smokin and see how this compares to the barby method.

[Habanero Smoker]

You may want to play with your vent settings. During cold weather I rarely need to leave my vent open more then 50%. But then from reading many post, it seems I often use smaller vent openings then most.  What I find during cold weather is that condensation often builds up on top of the smoker around the vent and will drip back in, causing black spot on the food. So I will place a few paper towels near the vent to absorb the moisture build up.

Vent opening can also depend on what you are smoking. Such as chicken with skin, or picnic shoulder with skin. They will give off a lot of moisture so you should use a wider vent opening. But again you may find a particular cut of brisket or butt that will produce as much moisture then chicken.

I'm not a believer in theory that dry rubs seal in moisture, so I can't answer that one.

[Father Tom]

Welcome to the Forum Smokey the Bear. 

You will get a lot of information on Smoking here.  I would lower the quantity you are smoking for the first time like some of the members have suggested.

Good Luck

Tom

[Smokey the Bear.]

I have looked at the weather for the weekend and it looks like it will not be much more than 50 deg, so i think the smoker will not be up to the task of a large quantity in this cold weather. It will be ribs and pork shoulder on Saturday, and chicken and sausage on Sunday.

[Father Tom]

Bear Smart Move.  You will be a lot happier this way.

Tom

[La Quinta]

Uh...yeah...what they said!!!  ;D Don't know a whole lot about the cold temps...but Welcome Mr. Bear...if it ever gets too hot to smoke...I'm your gal...  :D