brand new and smokin' now I have Pictures !!!!

[Rad Rich]

Hey guys.
What a great site I have learned so much.  Been smoking for a year.  About 15 times.  Mostly salmon, ribs, and chicken.  Have a Mecco Electric smoker.  Worked well but a massive battle keeping temp up and stable and if any wind at all forget about it.  Just got the obs for Christmas.  Seasoned and smoked a small rack of lamb today.  Yum Yum.  Used my favorite rub and smokes for an hour and a half, cooked for another hour and a half. So good.  Am doing my first Brisket tomorrow.  Only question is I have always heard fat side down on chicken, but read fat side up on Brisket.  Is this correct?  Also Wood pucks only half way on the burning plate. is this normal?  Excited about the brisket in the morning.  I am making a enclosure out of the Suncast Plastic Utility Cabinet.  Any testimonies of this method?  Thanks guys,
Ok I have gone back into this post and put these pictures up.  Thanks for all the replys and advice.  I'll gove the brisket a 7 out of 10.  It was great just a little dry.  It hit 195 and i let it still smoke for another 45 mins.  I was watching the stupid Bears lose to the Packers.  Thats ok, going to the playoffs.  I built the enclosure after the game.  It was the same cabinet that is listed down this post.  A suncast utility cabinet.  Same one as Home Depot has online but different color top.  I bought it at Kmart for $49.99.  Last picture is the back, I had to cut holes for the cords to enter  and exit.  Should work great.  The little chimney is directly above the vent on the obs.  Ribs or wings next weekend.

Rich.

Go easy on me this is my first post.
Happy New Year!

[GusRobin]

welcome. fat side up usually ends up a personal preference. you will get answers recommending both,
the pucks should be burnt on the outside, you may get an unburnt center if you break them open. they will nt burn yo ash. if you areusing an extension cord makesure it is heavy gauge.you may to try without an extension cord and see what you get.

they may not be easy on you, but will be helpful.

[SouthernSmoked]

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

http://www.susanminor.org

Remember we like pic's!!

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum Rad Rich!

I do fat side down on brisket.

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum and congrats on a bradley

[Rad Rich]

Hey thanks for the fast responses.  One says fat side up, one says fat side down.  I'll flip a coin............ Fat side up.  When I said that the pucks were half burnt I meant only half of the actual puck is on the burning plate.  Is this fine?  Also my smoker came with no instructions or any papers of any kind.  I want to register my smoker but don't know what numbers to enter on the registration page.  Called Cust service and left a message.  Holiday week, probably get a call back on Mon or Tues.  Will Try to post pics.  Kind of computer dumb.  I really would love some feedback on making an enclosure out of the suncast plastic utility cabinet.  I saw a picture of it on the second page of the enclosure post.  Looks cool and easy.  Dont want the thing to melt all around the smoker though.  Any body heard of any results with making a plastic cabinet into an enclosure?

[DTAggie]

Welcome RR, lots of people use the suncast type structure for an enclosure.  You should be able to find several posts on them.  I have never had the problem of the puck not getting entirely on the burner plate.  One of the smarter members will probably have an answer for you shortly.

As for fat up or down, I have done both.  I prefer up.  I like to give my brisket 6 to 8 hours of smoke, but I suggest you start with 4 to see how you like it.  Cook until internal temp hits 185* then FTC for a few hours.  Let us know how it turns out.

[Rad Rich]

pucks are loading perfectly.  Must have had a few to many beverages last night when I looked at the pucks.  Brisket has been going for about an hour and a half.  Want to look but wont.  Temp nice and steady at about 210.  Its about 23 degrees outside.  Chicagoland.  Go Bears Beat the Packers!!!!!!!

[squirtthecat]

Welcome Rich!   I'm a few hours south of you, near Springfield.

I have a Suncast tall storage shed, and my OBS fits in there nicely on an old kitchen cabinet.  I got mine at Menards, but Lowes and Home Depot sell the same thing.   Just measure it at the store first to make sure you have enough clearance.

[ArnieM]

Hi Rich and welcome to the forum.

I always go fat side up - for no particular reason.

Squirt, you should post up a pic of your cabinet.

[DTAggie]

Glad to hear your OBS is holding temp in that cool weather.  NO PEAKING only increases cook time.  After the smoke time, empty and refill the water pan.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Welcome Rad Rich!  Sounds like you are well on the road to addiction. Consider this forum your support group.  You'll love it here.

Did you say BRISKET ?  We love that stuff down here in TX.

Fat side up or down is a source of great debate.  I prefer fat side towards the heat.  On a Bradley that means down; in an open pan in an oven that means up; in a closed pan it doesn't matter.

Remember we love pics, so we are all looking forward to seeing shots of that finished brisket.

[squirtthecat]

Rich, here is my current setup:



I can get you the model # of the cabinet if you like.  They make 2 that are similar, but this one is a bit deeper.

[Rad Rich]

Thanks for the pic squirt.  I bought the cabinet yesterday.  The one I bought is 30 w x 20 deep x 36 high.  Should be perfect.  Do you have a vent in your cabinet any problem with moisture?  I am going to install a little chimney in the top of my cabinet but I don't want to attach it to the Bradley.  I am afraid of the chimney drawing the heat out of the smoker.  About 4 hours in to my first brisket and I have not looked.  Heat has been very steady at 200.  Was wrong earlier when I said 220.  5 pound brisket might be keeping the heat a little low.  Brisket is up to 178.  Can't wait to eat it.

Rad Rich is a hungry boy!

will try to post pics later, not really sure how but I'll figure it out.

[Blackhawk]

This is the one that I ended up ordering from Amazon.  It's going to be a little tight but it should work out fine. It gets here tomorrow. 

http://www.amazon.com/Suncast-C3600G-Utility-Storage-Cabinet/dp/B000E9DPDQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1294002759&sr=8-4