Introducing...me

[tbyrd2000]

Hi, I'm David, new to smoking and to this forum. I was bought a six rack digital BS for reaching the grand old age of 50 without keeling over at the back end of last year.
My main interests are meat curing and smoking food.
Have tried a couple of things in it, (a pork butt for pulling and beef ribs - using the 3-2-1 method for the ribs), neither of which went well - not cooked properly and had to be finished off in a conventional oven to be able to use them.
I have a digital thermometer with dual probes for cabinet and food which seems to show a huge difference in what the smoker's digital display reads. Also it doesn't hold temperature well. I need advice on which measure of cabinet temperature is probably correct.
Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Johnny]

Hi David,
First off welcome to the forum. Most people who own bradleys run a PID to control the heating element .
You can do somethings to help retain heat such as Hot water in the bowl, a brick covered in foil etc.. also refrain from opening the door often while cooking because this will take some time to build the temperature back up.
Hope this little bit of imfo helps.
Johnny.

[cherrybergher]

Hi David

Welcome to the forum, in addition to the great points that Johnny mentioned, preheating the smoker is vital,  I let mine preheat for two hours yesterday, I was testing a new heating element and I wanted to make sure it was proper and good to go.  When putting meat in the smoker it is a good idea to take the meat out of the fridge and let it come up to room temp.  As for how long to take it out in advance I usually do about an hour advance for chops, sausage, and ribs and 2 hrs for butts etc.

The reasoning behind this is that when you put the meat in the smoker, the cold meat causes a "heat sink" drawing the heat away from the cabinet, resulting in slower temperature recovery times.  Proper preheating helps with temperature recovery and overall cooking, and as Johnny said try to refrain from opening the door, a ton of heat is lost that way and can be very frustrating for newer users.

For example, when I do a pork butt, I only open the door twice during the cooking process, at around the 3-4 hour mark I will empty the spent pucks bowl and replace it with boiling water, I will not open it again till the internal temp of the meat dictates I do so

This forum is a great resource for advice and ideas.  Best wishes on the new smoker 

[tbyrd2000]

Thank you both for the responses.
We had a good weather day yesterday, (22 degrees C and sunny) so I moved the smoker to plug directly into a socket (usually run via an extension lead) and hot smoked two pieces of bacon. It was also in direct sun most of the time and there was no wind. The temperatures in the cabinet seemed to hold far more consistently and the difference between my digital thermometer and the BS displays was at most around 11 degrees and more often than not within 1 or 2 degrees. I let the BS heat up for an hour before using it as well. Even with that it took an hour longer to get to my target internal temperature than I expected.
I can understand the point of not opening the door often though I have seen quite a bit about 'mopping' meat during the smoking and cooking process from other forum users which seems to contradict that.
If these favourable conditions meant a better smoking it is a pity the unit is so susceptible to inclement weather and other elements. I am thinking of having an insulated cabinet built to house the smoker and control - do you have any thoughts/comments on that?
I've also read of modifications made by other users, (extra or higher wattage elements, fans etc.) but as a technical dunce with two left hands these are not really an option.
David

[Smoker John]

Welcome, also just to add to what Johnny said blocking the wind really helps with heat retention.

[tskeeter]

Tbyrd, a lot of Bradley owners use some type of structure to shelter their smoker and to keep it ready to use.  I use a plastic snap together three foot by seven foot storage shed as my smoker shed and some storage space.  I built a shelf unit that my smoker sits on at waist level for ease of use, and put the shelf unit in the shed.  While the primary reason for the shed was to avoid moving and setting up the smoker each time I use it, the shed protects the smoker from our frequent strong winds.  My shed is uninsulated, but just having an enclosure means that the shed heats up quite a bit while the smoker is running.

[Salmonsmoker]

Hi David

  When putting meat in the smoker it is a good idea to take the meat out of the fridge and let it come up to room temp.  As for how long to take it out in advance I usually do about an hour advance for chops, sausage, and ribs and 2 hrs for butts etc.

cherryburgher, here is the article I mentioned in an earlier post re: letting the meat come up to room temperature. It changed my prep. process.


http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_letting_meat_come_to_room_temp.html

[cherrybergher]

Thanks Salmonsmoker, great read

[Salmonsmoker]

Thanks Salmonsmoker, great read

:) :)