Trying one last time

[Nick_atnite]

Bought Bradley 6 rack two years ago and ended up to frustrated to use it this past year.  Now we have a bunch of deer and wildfowl in the freezer PLUS I've gone back to school (at night) to get my Culinary Arts degree for fun and we are approaching the "smoking" unit in class.  It has me a bit more motivated again and I was looking for a source to answer some of my specific questions.  This looks like a good place.  I tried searching the forumns for my answers, but wasn't having much luck.  If someone could steer me in the right directions I'd appreciate it.  Here were some of my top questions:

1.  Is unit just incapable of hitting high temps when smoking outside in real cold weather (32f and below)?  If so, what are the temps it can handle outside to be able to obtain desired temperatures inside smoker?

2.  I had big problem with distribution of heat when smoking last time.  The back of the unit and the bottom of the unit cooked much faster.

3.  What do you do with "partial" briquettes (already burnt a little, but not much)?

4.  Best way to clean inside of smoker??  It's been sitting a year and needs a good cleaning.  Don't want to screw something up.

5.  Would like to start with some real quick recipes that will build my confidence and help with the learning curve.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for any help,

Jim

[GusRobin]

I'll try and answer some, others will probably be along shortly:

1.  Is unit just incapable of hitting high temps when smoking outside in real cold weather (32f and below)?  If so, what are the temps it can handle outside to be able to obtain desired temperatures inside smoker?

I can't answer this one. I have installed the second element plus I don't see that cold of temp. for long periods. Some things that helped others: pre-heat the cabinet; let the meat get to room temp before putting it in; put boiling water in the water bowl; put in preheated foil wrapped bricks  to act as a heat sink; don't open to  peek or to take meat  temp- use a remote or wired temp probe.  Also, although it seems contradictary, keep the vent at least 1/2 open, full if cooking poultry. Otherwise moisture is  trapped in the cabinet and keeps the temps done.[/size]

2.  I had big problem with distribution of heat when smoking last time.  The back of the unit and the bottom of the unit cooked much faster.

That is the nature of the unit. Rotate the racks periodically - back to front and top to bottom. Some add foil to the back half of the v tray. I think that is risky if done wrong.

3.  What do you do with "partial" briquettes (already burnt a little, but not much)?

Some buy "bubba pucks". These are aluminum pucks that you add on top of the pucks that you want to use. i.e 2 hours smoke would be 6 pucks plus 3 bubba pucks. YOu can buy at a number of places. I bought mine at www.Yardandpool.com.

4.  Best way to clean inside of smoker??  It's been sitting a year and needs a good cleaning.  Don't want to screw something up.

I would use a damp cloth and then season it at high temp. Others  may have better ideas.

5.  Would like to start with some real quick recipes that will build my confidence and help with the learning curve.  Any suggestions?

Chicken is cheap and easy; pork butt is forgiving but can often be a overnight cook. Ribs are relatively easyAlso you may find something that interests you in the recipe site:http://www.susanminor.org/forums/index.php.

[FLBentRider]

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

1. The six rack has a 500W element. That is 1706 BTU's. I would seriously consider the second element mod if I had to smoke in those temps. You also want to keep the unit out of the wind if at all possible.

2,3,4,5. Gus has you covered here.

[beefmann]

Nick,

yes  the bradley has a heat issue towards the back and above the element, Heat 101, heat rises straight up , the solution is to install a fan or blower in the back,

secondly add another 500 watt element or remove the first element and replace it  with a 900 watt element  with a blower.  

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.0
( heater mod )

then make a Timer / Pid Heat controller that  should element a lot of your  problems

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17304.0

then buy  bubba pucks

a quick wipe to remove excess oils  works

chicken, pork  butt or  shoulder and any kind of ribs  are always a good start

[Nick_atnite]

Gentleman,

Thank you for the quick responses!  I went ahead and ordered the bubba pucks as they seem to make a lot of sense.  I live in northern Wisconsin, so the temps are frequently in the teens or single digits, so I have to do something about the heat production.  The links were very thorough that you gave me to look at, but extemely scary for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics (and that's not saying much at all)  :)  Is there a way I can buy the hotter element and plug it in without having to change anything else?  Also, if I did want to try all the mods, where in the world do you find the parts and stuff?  Thanks again.

[GusRobin]

The Mod is not that difficult and there are plenty of people willing to walk you through it.
The mod was simple to do and there are very good instructions on the recipe site (link below).
As you read this you will see where one option is to add a turn off switch for the second element. I did. It is an easy addition and comes in handy if you want to keep lower temps some times (sausage?). You may also want to add the second fuse and temp sensor. The original element is hooked to a temp sensor that shuts it off when the oven temp reaches 300 or about there. Its relatively cheap and a good safety feature. I didn't do it because I was nervous doing the mod. If I knew it was so easy I probably would have done it.

Here is a link to the specific page that lists the mods.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?27-Bradley-Accessories-User-Modifications
Here is a link to another guy that did the mod.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=16299.15
Here are links to where I bought the parts:
http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=high+temp+connectors&osCsid=undefined&imageField.x=5&imageField.y=6
http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/777?osCsid=undefined%26imageField.x%3D5%26imageField.y%3D6&imageField.x=5&imageField.y=6
http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/776?osCsid=undefined%26imageField.x%3D5%26imageField.y%3D6&imageField.x=5&imageField.y=6

If you order them somewhere else make sure that they are high temp wire and connectors. The ones I saw at home depot were rated high temp but only good for 175F. Make sure it says for appliance and the temps are rated at least 300*.I would buy a few extra connectors and extra length of wire. It is cheap insurance if you make a mistake. I was glad I did.
I bought my second element at Yard and Pool online.www.yardandpool.com

If you have any other questions let me know. When you are ready to go, feel free to ask for advice. You can PM me, or make a post and you will get more help than you can imagine. At lot of knowledgeable and helpful people here.

[hal4uk]

for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics

Nick, we might come to your house and mod that smoker for you...
If you promise to explain women to us.
We've been waiting a lot of years for this!
Awrighten.

[Tenpoint5]

for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics (and that's not saying much at all)  :) 

Hal I have to give the Boy credit he does admit he doesnt know anymore than the rest of us!! You see his whole problem is he's one of them Cheddar Heads!!! He doesn't live in a state that starts with an I!!

[HawkeyeSmokes]

for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics (and that's not saying much at all)  :) 

Hal I have to give the Boy credit he does admit he doesnt know anymore than the rest of us!! You see his whole problem is he's one of them Cheddar Heads!!! He doesn't live in a state that starts with an I!!

Uh Chris, did you see the scores today? I see MN won and they really suck. By the way, they beat IOWA!  :D

And the Cheddar-heads won by a couple points.  ;D

[Tenpoint5]

for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics (and that's not saying much at all)  :) 

Hal I have to give the Boy credit he does admit he doesnt know anymore than the rest of us!! You see his whole problem is he's one of them Cheddar Heads!!! He doesn't live in a state that starts with an I!!

Uh Chris, did you see the scores today? I see MN won and they really suck. By the way, they beat IOWA!  :D

And the Cheddar-heads won by a couple points.  ;D

See poke a stick in the box and you never know what you'll get to squawking!! How you been Dale? Things finally settling down so you can get back to smoking again? BTW I never even turned on the 0 Tube today

[HawkeyeSmokes]

for a guy that knows more about women than mechanics (and that's not saying much at all)  :) 

Hal I have to give the Boy credit he does admit he doesnt know anymore than the rest of us!! You see his whole problem is he's one of them Cheddar Heads!!! He doesn't live in a state that starts with an I!!

Uh Chris, did you see the scores today? I see MN won and they really suck. By the way, they beat IOWA!  :D

And the Cheddar-heads won by a couple points.  ;D

See poke a stick in the box and you never know what you'll get to squawking!! How you been Dale? Things finally settling down so you can get back to smoking again? BTW I never even turned on the 0 Tube today

Doing OK Chris,

Nothing is settled down at all. No smoking for me at all!

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Jim;

Welcome to the forum.

For better heat circulation, you may want to consider adding a Circulation Fan

[Nick_atnite]

Thanks again for all the help.  I visited the grocery store this evening and picked up 2 lbs catfish fillets, country style pork ribs, a whole organic chicken and 4 game hens.  I was thinking I'd get a bunch of stuff prepped this evening in order to smoke tomorrow, but it doesn't look like very many compatible smoke times/temperatures  :-\  Guess it will have to be several sessions then.  Thanks again.

[Carter]

Hi Nick_Atnite.

I'm a bit of a Mechaniphobe as well, so have not done any alterations to my Bradely.  I live in Canada so am familiar with your 32F temperatures.  We're getting some right now as a matter of fact.

Rather than fight with my Smoker to try to get it up to temperature, I often treat cooking as a two part procedure.  Here's what I do for the various foods that I do in the OBS.

1.  Chicken.  1.33 hours in the OBS (4 pucks+2 bubbas).  Remove chicken and move it to BBQ (summer) or oven (winter).  You don't want to oversmoke chicken.  It really sucks it up.
2.  Pork Shoulder.  If I ever did this in the winter (which I probably wouldn't bother), I would smoke it for four hours and then move it into the oven for the remainder of the cook time.  In the summer I try to do the whole thing in the Smoker, but have had to move the party indoors in the past due to rain and finish in the oven.  No big deal.  Your guests wont know.
3.  Ribs.  Again, I'd smoke for 4 hours and then drop the ribs into the crock pot with a splash of apple juice to finish.
4.  Fish:  This is where the magic happens.  http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0.  Brine Friday night.  Air dry all day and night Saturday.  Into the smoker for 8 hours following the tips along the way.  You can't miss.  I add maple syrup to my version.  It's the Canadian way eh?

Hope that helps a bit.  Good luck and don't forget to have fun.  That's what my wife tells me when I start getting frustrated with one of my projects.  I find having a barley sandwich handy quite helpful.

Carter

[jiggerjams]

Welcome,

I too being a Canadian have smoked in 32F temperatures. My experience was with making maple bacon which only required hitting a temperature of 38F for my preference. The Bradley did work through the cold temps but did take longer than expected, twelve hours for 10 slabs about 30 lbs. running the cabinet with a target of 170 -180F. Not bad in my opinion and I would say the Bradley was a star. I also did a 6.5 lb pulled pork in about 52F dropping down to 41F. This took about 12-13 hrs targeting 225F cabinet temperature.

So far I have found it does take setting a side a good amount of time no matter what I choose to smoke. I would give at least 12 hrs. Keep in mind that is based on my experience only. Others can getter done quicker than that.

Regarding poultry keep in mind the smoker will not crisp your skin this is why others move the bird to an alternate heat source to finish. Some move it once the smoke stage is complete, others choose to cook longer in the smoker then move for a shorter period of time at a higher temp to crisp the skin. Pachenga has a posting on this I believe.

I have used the technique of wrapping the back half of the V tray in foil and I support this lite duty mod. I find it does provide a more evenly distributed heat. You will still want to rotate your trays front to back and bottom to top through out your cook.

If you are going to cook poultry and meat items in the same cook remember to NOT put the poultry above the meat.

If I end up with a puck that is only burnt a little I will end my next cook with that puck.

I have not got to the element mods or fan mods yet. I am not the best with mechanical things but seeing the walk through posts on this site and the fantastic support you get from the community I would not hesitate giving it a whirl. Although at this point I would rather increase my liquid patience  :) and expect longer cooking times.

Ribs would be a safe start and forgiving. The picture tutorial posted by Tenpoint5 would be a great place to start.

All the best and good luck with your culinary degree. That is awesome!!