Temps to Low! HELP!!!

[Akmoose]

Smoking my first whole chickens with the Bradley 6-rack smoker.

The outside temps are 52f

I'm trying to smoke two 5lb whole chickens

Cooking temp is set to 260f

They've been smoking an hour now and smoker temp is 220f and really slow to rising!

Should I be concerned??? At this rate I'm guessing 7 or 8 hours till finished!

Also, I set it for 3 hours of smoke "whiskey Barrel  Oak", I generally like a lot of smoke but have never tried this type of smoke before. Three hours enough???

Thanks in advance!

[Habanero Smoker]

Two 5lb. chickens is a lot for the Bradley to handle. As long as your cabinet temperature is 220°F you will be alright. Take note that there is a rule of thought out there that for solid muscle uncured meat; the internal temperature must reach 140°F within four hours. That is based on any possibility that the surface of the meat has been punctured to allow bacteria to enter the meat; or the possibility of injection needles carrying bacteria to the interior of the meat; and/or bones inside the meat breaking and tearing through the meat, which will allow a pathway for bacteria.

It shouldn't take 7 to 8 hours to cook at that temperature. Some thoughts that may be beneficial; preheat the cabinet much higher than you plan to cook at, allow the chickens to sit at room temperature for about an hour. Air dry the chickens uncovered in the refrigerator overnight. This will help pull moisture out of the skin, and help to crisp it. When smoking/roasting chicken with skin, leave the vent wide open, at least during the first part of the smoke to allow excess moisture to escape. Three hours of smoke should be enough. I've cut my smoke time for chicken done to 1:20 to 2:00 hours; depending on what type of bisquette I'm using.

[Akmoose]

Thank you much for the reply!
Took about 6-hours in the Bradley with 2-hrs of smoke and almost 20-min to finish it off in the oven at 350. Truly the best chickens I've ever eaten and also confirmed by almost a dozen friends and family. Unbelievably moist!!! The last 1.5-hrs I closed the vent about Halfway and the temps climbed rapidly with no condensation buildup in the box. I had a breeze going so figured that contributed to lower temps. Thanks again and I will take notes on your suggestions. I've heard of people placing a brick in the smoker to help bring temps back up more quickly. Is that recommended?

[Habanero Smoker]

Glad to hear the chickens turned out great. Placing a brick or two, does help in temperature recovery after the door is opened. The below link will take you to some tips and troubleshooting ideas.

Bradley FAQ's

[Akmoose]

Good deal and thanks again!

[trevordoraty]

If you're doing large poultry in the smoker and want to speed up the cook time without drying it out. Cut out the back bone with some kitchen shears, then open the bird and use a knife to cut down the breast bone.
By making 2 halves instead of a whole you increase the heat on surface and eliminate the empty void within the bird. That cavity can increase cook times by as much as 20%.

[brian ast]

I am having trouble just getting temp to 130 ish after 2 hours. I pre heated for over 30 minutes also. What's up with the smoker or do I have a faulty unit? Temp is around 60 degrees and under a shelter .

HELP

[michsmoker]

Unplug and replug every cord back in. Also are you on an extension cord? If so make sure it is a heavy duty one. Also check to see if the element is glowing red. If not switch the smoke generator cord and plug directly into the tower and check the element for glowing red!

[KyNola]

brian, it sounds like your heating element in the tower may not be working. See if it is glowing red.  If it is not there is your problem.  Let's see if we can fix the problem.  Unplug the power jumper cable that goes from the smoke generator to the tower at each end.  FIRMLY plug them in. Fire it up and see if your heating element starts glowing red.  If it does, problem solved.  If it doesn't there is another possible fix but we need to know what model of Bradley you have.  If you have the digital model or the Original Bradley Smoker you can turn the smoke generator upside down, remove the 8 screws from around the perimeter(leave the ones in the center alone) and open the smoke generator clamshell style.  Check every connection in there.  Put it back together and see if that solves the problem so the heating element starts glowing red.

Let us know how it goes.