Newb from Nebraska

bigmikey · December 30, 2010, 10:44:06 PM

When I say newb, I really mean it. Never haved smoked anything in my life(tobacco not included)

After some research I decided on the Bradley Smoker. Picked it up last night, just got done seasoning it, meat is marinating for tomorrow.(7 lb brisket, 2 racks of ribs, and 40 wings)

Ive done some reading, but there is so much info to take in at once. Based on the recipes ive used, i will be cooking the brisket for 10.5 hours, the ribs for 4 and the wings for 1.5. Where should I place the brisket? Top? Middle? Bottom? Same with wings and ribs, when its time to put those in, which racks? Also, it said to oil racks, but I didnt find in the manual what kind of oil to use? Vegatable oil? Peanut oil? Pam spray? Does it matter?

Its cold here, 16 degrees, but smoker had no problem during seasoning of reaching and sustaining 225 degrees. Do I need to adjust cooking time because of weather temperature? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Im going to bed, but will check back in morning to see if there are any responses. Ill have pictures too

Thanks

Mike B

GusRobin · December 30, 2010, 11:13:58 PM

briskets can be funny. I would count on more than 10 hours. It will reach 160ish and stall for a few hours. You should cook it to about 180 -185 internal temp.
Chicken should be on the bottom rack. A lot of us avoid cooking poultry with other meats due to contamination potential.

I never put anything on my racks, if i did it would be something like PAM.

Wind is probably more of a problem then outside IT unless you open the door a lot. Also keep your vent partially open. I keep mine full open all the time.

SouthernSmoked · December 31, 2010, 02:41:34 AM

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

http://www.susanminor.org

Remember we like pic's!!

FLBentRider · December 31, 2010, 04:30:00 AM

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

That is quite an ambitious first smoke.

You will get better results smoking the brisket by internal temp, not time. You want 180-185F

If you are going to smoke all that at once I would but the brisket on top, the ribs in the middle and the wings on the bottom.

You might want to finish the wings on your grill to crisp the skin.

There is a post on "how to cook ribs in a Bradley" it is good reading.

TestRocket · December 31, 2010, 07:14:07 AM

Welcome bigmikey,

I see some good advice above so good luck! ;D

bigmikey · December 31, 2010, 07:24:55 AM

Thanks for the info guys! Brisket is smoking at a steady 220. Ill post some pics when I'm done.

watchdog56 · December 31, 2010, 07:29:07 AM

Welcome and good luck on all that meat. Wow. One thing to remember the ribs may take longer than 4 hours also with that much meat load. I am in Minnesota where it is cold as well and sometimes it takes about 6 hours for ribs. Just wait till the meat pulls back from the bone to tell if they are done. Also as weird as it sounds make sure your vent is wide open,the more closed it is the more moisture it retains resulting in cooler cabinet temps.

BuyLowSellHigh · January 02, 2011, 08:08:08 AM

Welcome to the forum bigmikey !

Brisket, eh ? We love that here in TX!

Remember we love pics, and lots of them.

DTAggie · January 02, 2011, 08:21:46 AM

Welcome Bigmikey, BLSH is right, we love brisket here in Texas

OU812 · January 02, 2011, 10:58:39 AM

Welcome from another Nebraskan.

All good advice but one more thing, dump your water bowel after the smoke and refill with HOT water then dump and refill every 4 or 5 hr.

You dont want the bowel fillin up with grease, bad things could happin.

Good luck.

bigmikey · January 02, 2011, 01:24:08 PM

Thanks for the welcomes. Things went pretty good for my first try. The ribs and wings tasted AWESOME, the brisket had great flavor but was very tough. You definitely could not cut with a fork. It seems to me that I left it in too long, (10 hours) but my meat thermometer sucks and I couldnt get an accurate IT, so I wanted to make sure it was done enough.

I know I must invest in a better thermometer, any suggestions? Ive got some pictures, but havent figured out how to upload them yet.

FLBentRider · January 02, 2011, 01:53:35 PM

Did the brisket have a fat cap?

DTAggie · January 02, 2011, 05:17:05 PM

Could be the brisket was not done enough, that is why it was tough. Have to take to an internal temp of about 185*

bigmikey · January 08, 2011, 09:20:26 AM

Heres a few pics when i was done

OU812 · January 08, 2011, 09:42:12 AM

Holly Crap!

That looks soooooooooooooo gooood!

In got a thang for wings and you just hit that thang. ;D