alternate racks?

[gman888]

I am the new and proud owner of the OBS. I'm very excited to start a batch of pork side ribs and prime beef ribs. My question:
1) With all the ribs, it looks like all 4 racks will be used.  Do I need to alternate the racks every few hours to ensure even cooking? I've read that the bottom rack, being closest to the heating element cooks the fastest. Should I alternate them?
2) I read somewhere in some recipes, instead of using water in the 'water bowl' they use apple juice, is this safe to use inside? Isn't the apple juice acidic?
3) Any good tips in how to clean the OBS when I'm done cooking? I assume the racks and drip tray would be most dirty.


Thanks. Will post some pics tomorrow. Keep my fingers crossed for good weather and good results!

[classicrockgriller]

First, Welcome to the Forum.

If you want to avoid the bottom rack you can take a rack and turn

it upside down on top of another rack and lay your ribs up there.

But yes you will need to rotate them.

Top to bottom

Back side to front side.

Apple juice is fine. the most it will do is give off a small amount of steam.

Run HOT water in sink and let them soak and them scrub them or put them in dishwasher.

I spray mine with grill mate non stick, it helps in the clean up.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi gman888;

Welcome to the forum.

Must members cook their ribs in the Bradley by using the following method:
How To Make Ribs in a Bradley

Keep in mind with that size of a load, your recovery time will be much longer. Recovery time is how long it takes the smoker to get back up to your ideal cabinet temperature. Longer recovery times, increase the length of time it will take to cook the ribs. Make sure you leave the ribs out of the counter for 1 - 1.5 hours, prior to cooking. Also preheat the Bradley to 250°F, this will help with the recovery.

Here is a few recovery tips:
Temperature recovery

General tips:
Bradley FAQ's

[watchdog56]

don't worry about cleaning the inside of the smoker. Just the racks,water bowl, and v-tray and also wipe down the door gasket and vent on top.

[TestRocket]

With all that said...about all I can add is welcome gman888. Happy smoking!