Getting up to Temperature

[mattoshag]

HELP!!!  I'm sure I'm doing something wrong...but I've done Pork Tenderloin and Baby Back Ribs in my Smoker now...  I'm curious, what's the best way to get my smoker up to the right temperature.  This past weekend I had six racks of baby back ribs in there, 1 and 1/2 racks per shelf...  With the top fully opened, I could never seem to get the thermometor past 175... 

What am I doing wrong? 

[Caneyscud]

Probably not doing anything wrong.  A little more info will help - OBS or DBS!  With what are you measuring the temperature?  And where?

What may be happening, with an OBS, you might be blocking the heat from reaching the door thermometer.  The temp below the lowest rack is probably hotter than the 175.  And up the back would be hotter also.  That's why rotating vertically and horizontally is recommended - especially with a big load as 6 racks of ribs. 

Always preheat the smoker (including the water bowl) to at least 260 before putting in the meat, then reset the temp to your desired cooking temp.  - I use 230 in my DBS.

Other tricks to hold heat

1.  Add foil covered bricks for more heat mass
2.  Don't add the food directly out of the fridge.  Let it warm up a bit. 
3.  Use boiling water in the water pan if you have to add more during the cook.
4.  If I have many racks of ribs, I'd recommend using some sort of rib rack to hold them vertically - so heat can circulate better. 
5.  Most important - keep the peeking to a minimum.  Each time you peek in, the heat floats up into outer space - and the smoker has to heat up more air instead of cooking.  The Bradley is much like a convection oven without the fan, but with a smoke generator.  It mainly cooks with hot air - not so much by radiation heat from the element. 

[mattoshag]

Thanks for the reply...I'm going to definately show how naive I am though...  What's OBS and DBS?  I have a feeling I was doing too much at once and airflow was definately a problem.  I also have another feeling that I was opening and closing too much in order to apply a decent mop to the ribs.  Finally, I doubt I let it warm up all the way...on average, how long does it take a Bradley smoker to get up to say 250...  I know, I'm a complete rookie here...lot of heart and just want to learn how to do this right vs half-***ed...  :D

[GusRobin]

OBS= Original Bradley Smoker - 4 rack with no digital electronic controller.
DBS= Digital Bradley Smoker- 4 or 6 rack with digital electronic contoller.

[mattoshag]

And...see...that makes so much more sense now!  So, I'm a OBS guy...if that helps!  :)

and the only thermometer I was going by was the one on the front, hence the airflow issue as well... 

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi mattoshag;

Welcome to the forum.

Here is a list of some acronyms:
Acronyms

Some other useful information:
FAQ's
Recipes

[Caneyscud]

Thanks for the reply...I'm going to definately show how naive I am though...  What's OBS and DBS?  I have a feeling I was doing too much at once and airflow was definately a problem.  I also have another feeling that I was opening and closing too much in order to apply a decent mop to the ribs.  Finally, I doubt I let it warm up all the way...on average, how long does it take a Bradley smoker to get up to say 250...  I know, I'm a complete rookie here...lot of heart and just want to learn how to do this right vs half-***ed...  :D

I've never timed it, but maybe 15 to 30 minutes with both the element and the puck burner (no pucks) going and with warm/hot water in the pan.  I'm a dedicated mopper.  However, in the Bradley, I don't do it until later in the cook - when the meat is up in temp, the rub has set and the big temp swings have subsided.  

BTW - Welcome to the forum mattoshag.  This is a good place to hang.  Sorry about the acronyms!  Just get to typing and I forget that others may not know.

[DTAggie]

Welcome Matt,

I have had my OBS since December.  I preheat with the smoke generator on always.  It gets up to around 260*.  Once meat is in, it depends on how much meat you have in there as to how long it takes to heat back up.  I had 17 lbs of butt in on Friday and it took about an hour to get back up to 210* to 220*.

Definitely do not open the door unless changing water.  If spritzing ribs or moping it will slow you down.  I put boiling water in my pan when I start the preheat then replenish with boiling water after the smoke period.

Always leave the vent at least 3/4 open if not full.

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum mattoshag!

[TestRocket]

Welcome mattoshag,

I see some useful help given above and can only add a "good luck" and that help is only a question away. Happy smoking!

[RAF128]

Cold meat in the smoker will keep the temp down.   As the meat warms the smoker will get hot.   As mentioned before pre heat before you put you meat in.