Needing lots of help!

[keeper U.K.]

HI, Just one or two words to introduce myself as this is the first time on this or any forum. I'm the wrong side of 50 years old (wrong side of 55) and from the U.K.(Northumberland next to the scottish border).
I am a complete smoking food virgin and have very little experience in BBQ (so you all have your hands full with me). It seems the more I read on smoking food the more confused I am so I thought I would throw myself to the mercy of you all with the experience(those who love a challenge). May I add at this point some of the terms and words you ladies and gentlemen use are like a different language this complete novice on this side of the big pond.
I bought my Bradley digital 4 rack smoker in April this year ( It's now the end of October) and I am afraid to start it up. I bought the Bradley as I love smoked chicken so I would like to start with this.
Some of the questions I would like to ask are:
Brine or not to brine? ( That is the question)
Can I make my own brine or not and how do I apply it?
Temperature: Is the meat cooking temperature the same as the oven temperature?
Digital Smoker: Can I set it and leave it or not?
Smoking: How long and which flavour?
These are just a few of the questions I have in my head at the moment as I would hate to poison myself or anyone else.
Thanks to you who bother reading all this driville and thank you in advance to you who reply.

   

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum and to smoking. Take a deep breath and relax. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Go to this link http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?180-Our-Time-Tested-and-Proven-Recipes and look for a recipe. It is one that we all have contributed to and it should make things easy for you.

For Chicken, season, then open the vent wide open, cook as high as your unit will allow (probably 240 to 250 F.), and apply smoke. You may want to start off with 6 bisquetts to start off with. Before they get totally done, finish on a hot grill or in the oven at high heat to crisp up the skin. The Bradley will make the skin rubbery due to the low temperatures.

[beefmann]

welcome aboard, first things first, set up the smoker,  clean it to remove any  excess oils, season it and then go for your chicken, i would use a rub on my  first chicken at a box temp of  225 or  so, and an it ( internal temp ) of 180, should come out quite good,

Beef

[ArnieM]

Hi keeper and welcome to the forum.  I'm on the wrong side of 60.

There are a lot of ways to chicken so all you're gonna get here is my opinion.

I always cut the chicken in half, cutting out the breast and back bones.  It takes less time to cook and there's a little more surface area for smoke.  Skin up.

You can brine or not.  I believe brining gives a little more leeway for moistness if a bit over cooked.  If you do brine, rinse and pat dry before cooking. 

A simple brine is one gallon of water, one cup of Kosher salt and one half cup of sugar, white or brown.  Heat up a quart of water, add the salt and sugar along with any other herbs you might like (sage and a bay leaf come to mind).  Dissolve the salt and sugar and let it come to room temp, then refrigerate.  Don't put the chicken in until the brine is cold.  You'rre not making chicken soup.  :D

Sometimes I take the shortcut.  I use pickling salt (cut the quantity down some) and molasses.  Everything will mix in cold water so there's no cool down time.

Wildcat gave you good advice.  Smoked chicken is good but doesn't really lend itself well to low and slow.  I'll usually pull the chicken at about 145-150 and transfer it to the grill or a fairly hot indoor oven.  Make a note:  Get a decent meat probe.

Wood:  I like apple.  Two hours tops of smoke.

Digital:  I don't have one.  I use the original with a PID.

Finally, keep notes of what you did and how you did it. 

[RossP]

Welcome to the forum Keeper, the boys seem to have you covered
so I will leave it in their court. Have fun and don't worry about
using your smoker it's easy.

Ross

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum keeper U.K.!

[Quarlow]

Welcome to the Forum keeper U.K. And don't be shy here, we all have gone through it as you will.
The Bradley is the easiest smoker around so dive right in. For your first smokes you will want to keep an eye on it till you get comfortable with how it works. That said "if you are looking your not cooking" so try not to open it up to often. They say that for everytime you open it it adds a half an hour to the time, plus if you let all the smoke out you are not smoking the meat.
With poultry you always want to keep the top vent open wide or atleast 3/4's because you need to get the moisture out of the smoker. Moist air is harder to heat than drier air so the quicker you get the moisture out the better.
We love to help so ask anything and remember someone has already ask that question so their are no dumb questions here. Otherwise we would all look like dumbies.
Good luck with the chicken. Q.

[SouthernSmoked]

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the forum...Enjoy!

http://www.susanminor.org

Remember we like pic's!!

[KevinG]

Welcome to the forum keeper! Is there a wrong side of 50  ;D

[RossP]

Welcome to the forum keeper! Is there a wrong side of 50  ;D

The wrong side of 50 is those that have not reach it yet ;D

[VI_Smoker]

Welcome to the forrum!!!  Dive in and before you know it you'll be smoking all kinds of delectable things and you will be very popular with the friends and family!!  ;)

[keeper U.K.]

Hi,
Thanks to all of you who replied to my posting, (still coming in). May try the chicken for the first time this weekend if I have time.
Two questions:  #1,  I have a Bradley digital thermometer and when I set it to the meat setting for chicken it shows a temp-set of 180F should I let it get as high as this,(as our friend BEEFMANN kindly suggests) or does it depend on wether I finish it in the oven or-not? As some recipes state a lower I.T. (getting the hang of this jargon  :)  ).
#2,  how long will the smoked chicken last in the refrigerator if vac-packed.

        Thanks for your time and help.    
 Keeper UK.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I look for 165 °F in the thick part or the breast.  Typically at that point the thigh will be reading ~ 180.

Left over chicken - for me, if has been well cooked and properly refrigerated I'll hang onto it for up to 5 days.  For longer storage it's the freezer.