Water Bowl

[jaticker]

I'm new and not an owner.
I was told by Bradley you must refill the water bowl every 3 hours. If so then it kill the smoke over night idea. Also, must loose alot of heat from the open door. Is this a problem. I don't need to only smoke over night.
Next question is do you have to use a digital thermometer?
Thanks

[GusRobin]

I personally have never applied the smoke for more than 4 hours. If I do an overnight smoke I start with 4 hrs of smoke, change the water and go to bed.
I have replaced the bowl it comes with and use a 9 X 13 aluminum pan (you can use a disposable if you prefer).
You don't have to use anything. Many use the maverick due to its remote capabilities. I set the alarms on the maverick so it goes off and wakes me up if the temp gets to high or low for whatever reason.

Hope this helps.

[KyNola]

Welcome to the Forum.  Do you currently own a smoker?  If so, what kind do you own?  A Bradley Smoker is vastly different than most smokers.  The pucks that provide the smoke produce a much purer, cleaner, concentrated smoke than a stick or pellet burner so you don't have to roll smoke the entire time.  The water bowl serves two purposes. 1.To extinguish the burnt pucks and 2. To hold the fat drippings in water to prevent a grease fire.

Hope this helps so.......tell us a little about yourself so we can help you make a good decision.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi jaticker,

Welcome to the forum.

With the Bradley, I generally will change and refill the water bowl after the smoke has been applied, which can be from 2 - 4 hours depending on how much smoke I will use. Then change/refill it ever 5 - 6 hours after that. Even if your water bowl looks full, change/refill it because most of what you are seeing may be fat drippings. No matter what time has past I will always change/refill the bowl just before I go to bed. The most sleep I have every had during an overnight smoke was about 5 hours, so when I get up I will change/refill the bowl again.

A digital thermometer probe is a good accessory to have. Most of us cook by internal meat temperature, with a digital probe you can monitor the meat temperature without opening the door. Also if you want a probe to monitor the cabinet temperature, that  will be more accurate than the door thermometer, since the probe can be place in an area to give you a more accurate reading. If you have a remote digital probe like the Maverick ET-732, you can monitor the cabinet and meat temperatures from up to 300' away, although 50' seem to be what I get, by the time the signal travels through several walls.

[beefmann]

Hi jaticker,

Welcome to the Forum,  typically most  smoke for 4 hours or  less, so you  would only  need water in the bowl during the smoking  process to extinguish the Pucks,  secondly the bowl catches the grease / drippings from the meat being cooked.

yes you  will loose some heat from opening the  door, which comes to the  next point, most people will not open the door  very often, like my self  I  preheat  the smoker and  smoke generator, for  40 minutes, then place the meat in , the water bowl full of  water ,, let the smoke roll , once the smoking  process is complete i remove the burnt bisquets and bowl replace with  a bowl of  orange soda or other flavored drink and continue cooking,,, at this point in time    I also insert a  remote thermometer into the  meat, yes it is digital and monitor the  temp of the  meat till i get it to the desired temp then pull...

other then the  two or three times i have opened the door above i keep it  closed,,, only  exception is when i do a  mop on a  piece of meat and that  is only done when it is almost done and over the  course of the last hour or so   

[TedEbear]

typically most  smoke for 4 hours or  less, so you  would only  need water in the bowl during the smoking  process to extinguish the Pucks,  secondly the bowl catches the grease / drippings from the meat being cooked.

Hmm...I don't know that I agree with that one.  I have water in the pan for the entire time something is cooking.  The first 3-4 hours or whatever is to extinguish the burning pucks.  After that I dump the spent pucks and add fresh water to provide additional moisture and to dilute any fat or grease that drips into the pan/bowl so there isn't just one big accumulation of grease in an otherwise dry bowl or pan that can overheat and catch on fire.

[GusRobin]

typically most  smoke for 4 hours or  less, so you  would only  need water in the bowl during the smoking  process to extinguish the Pucks,  secondly the bowl catches the grease / drippings from the meat being cooked.

Hmm...I don't know that I agree with that one.  I have water in the pan for the entire time something is cooking.  The first 3-4 hours or whatever is to extinguish the burning pucks.  After that I dump the spent pucks and add fresh water to provide additional moisture and to dilute any fat or grease that drips into the pan/bowl so there isn't just one big accumulation of grease in an otherwise dry bowl or pan that can overheat and catch on fire.

Have to agree with Ted. The water dilutes the grease and minimizes the chance of grease fire.

[Alanfromwis]

  In reading beefman's post, he said water in bowl while smoking, then in next paragraph after empting burnt pucks and water, then using orange soda or other flavored drink in bowl. That sounds good to me as there is still the bowl with liquid in smoker to catch grease.
    I tried using a 9" x 13" pan instead of the bowl, but went back to the bowl because it seemed to me that the extra surface for the water to evaporate from lengthened cook time due to heat spent evaporating water was not available for cooking. Just my opinion though.

[beefmann]

Ted, and Gus,

Read my full post,,, the bowl is never empty during the  smoke use water,,, after the smoking process i change from water to orange soda or other  flavored drink,

[TedEbear]

Oops...I somehow overlooked the part about refilling the bowl with a beverage. I might try that sometime and see if I notice any difference in the flavor.

[beefmann]

Oops...I somehow overlooked the part about refilling the bowl with a beverage. I might try that sometime and see if I notice any difference in the flavor.

i can taste the difference .. give it a  try , It does not have to be orange soda,,, your  favorite soft drink , juice or  beer even