New smoker in BC

[Tripitaka]

Hi all,

Well, first of all I guess I should explain that I am a "blank canvas"; I've never smoked food, never owned a smoker and haven't even done much BBQ-ing. I guess that comes with being British but as I now live in Canada, I need to get with the program!

A friend of mine gave me some smoked sockeye done with a maple and garlic coating earlier this year and I was SOLD on smoking food. I intended getting a Big Chief but he cautioned against it, telling me that the Bradley smokers were a much better idea. Well, they recently came up on sale at Wholesale Sports so I figured I'd get one. I was going to get the digital but a quick online search to find a comparison between the digital and OBS brought me here. A little while later I could see the advantage of the OBS and an Auber so off I went and bought the OBS.

So, I haven't lurked, haven't even read very much here and that is probably why I messed up on my first smoke - 4 racks of chinook salmon done for 8 hours with the vent fully closed... LOL! Good job I learn from mistakes. I emptied the bowl after 2 hours then forgot about it so ended up with a pile of smouldering pucks etc. I guess I'm lucky that the fish is still edible and actually, quite tasty but with LOTS of room for improvement.

I love the idea of modding; would be great if Bradley decided to put up some 'sticky' posts showing how to do that stuff but I guess I can see why they wouldn't want that. I'll have to search to see what I can find. For now, I guess I just need to get used to using it. Any and ALL tips are most welcome as it is a very steep learning curve and in terms of "you don't know what you don't know" - I don't know any of it!  :D

Looking forward to getting involved and learning from you all without too many mistakes.

[classicrockgriller]

Well Bless you and Welcome to the Forum.

You can become your own sticky post.

You ask a question and you will get answers.

[ghost9mm]

Hello and welcome to a really great forum, we have some very knowledgeable people here that are more then willing to help you anyway they can.....here are a couple of links that may help you in the future...

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?488-Answers-To-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=766#post766

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=748#post748

[Keymaster]

Welcome , You'll be a master smoker in no time ;D

[StickyDan]

Welcome from a fellow BC'r. 
Where abouts in BC are you?

[KyNola]

Welcome.  You know this by now but open the vent 100% and leave it.  Better yet, remove it.  In reading your original post, did you roll 8 hours of smoke?  Many, including me will tell you that 8 hours of smoke is excessive but if you like it go for it. 

Hang in there.  We're all here to help if you need it.

[SiFumar]

Welcome!  We all have made mistakes...and they still taste good!

[northof60girl]

Welcome to the forum!  Good job on jumping right in!  There are lots of very helpful people on here and it's a great support forum  :)

[mikecorn.1]

Welcome to the forum


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Caneyscud]

Welcome to the forum Trip...
A great place to hang out.  You have only begun your journey down the road of smoking nirvana.  There may be bumps along the road, but if you get down on your knees and look at those bumps closely, you'll notice that those bumps are nothing but the bark forming on your smoking experience!  Cherish them.  Remember there are no mistakes in smoking just opportunities to experiment!  and maybe to buy more toyools!

Newly diagnosed Bradley Syndrome. 

CAUSE: -  buying a Bradley, seasoning, worrying about the first cook, eating the first cook - then the symptoms come on.


1st symptom               Buying all the meat you can

2nd symptom              Just going to the grocery or Sams, strolling the meat market, just to "see" - can't buy any because
                                   freezer is full

3rd symptom               Bleary, hypnotic eyes from watching thermometer dials

4th symptom               Black stuff underneath the fingernails

5th symptom               Sweat tastes smokey

6th symptom               This constant huge $$$t eating grin! 

After all six symptoms manifest - there is no hope - you are a SMOKER!   We think there is no cure - we don't really know, because nobody has ever looked for one - so who cares?