Joined the ranks..... little help needed!

[chief]

I joined your ranks this weekend....the wife got me the Original BS that I've been drooling over for my birthday and I fired it up on some whole chickens.....they were awesome! ; ;D  I do have a couple of questions for you seasoned veterans:
1)  Do you always preheat your smoker and then load your meat?
2)  Should any of the wood chip "pucks" not burn completely into ashes?  My bowl had several that were'nt burned up.
3)  Is it O.K. for a "puck" to burn on the feeding tray before it gets to the heating element?

I'm wanting to make sure that I'm doing this right! :-\

[MallardWacker]

WELCOME Chief!

Lets go over this one by one.

1)  Do you always preheat your smoker and then load your meat?

This is not written in stone BUT it is a great idea to...you don't have to get technical about it just start the BS before you start preparing the meat...turn it up a just about all the way, close the vent and get it about 225-250 or so or even a bit less...just warm it up for a while...it will help with the initial heat loss and will lessen your cooking time.

2)  Should any of the wood chip "pucks" not burn completely into ashes?  My bowl had several that weren't burned up.

No...they do not burn all the way up to ashes, but however they are chard-ed all the way through, this is one of the things that will consistently give the best and same smoke flavor time after time...unless you are seeing unburned pucks it seems like it's working fine.

3)  Is it O.K. for a "puck" to burn on the feeding tray before it gets to the heating element?

What you will fine is that the next puck will at times start smoldering before it gets to the element, mine does it and to me anyway that is normal...

All in all it sounds that your BS is working correctly.

Just a side note, especially when you are doing chicken, make sure you have the vent open about one third, there is a lot of moisture in chicken that needs to be vented.

Hope this helps and don't make yourself a stranger....

[icerat4]

Nice duckman.Very nice looking

[MallardWacker]

Thats one part of my "Bradley Sunday Tri-Fecta"...I usually do for my in-laws and our family.

1.) Smoked Chicken Thighs...injected cooked for 2+hrs then finished on the grill

2.) OLDS Candied smoked/baked beans

3.) OLDS Grandma's Raw Apple Cake

It's a freek'n slammer.

[winemakers]

looks good duck master.  I am a big fan of thighs (rumble of Chez riding up in the background).  Lots of flavor, inexpensive, and my kids like meat with bones as finger food.

mld

[chief]

Thanks Mallard..... seems like we got two things in common..... I also like "smoke" them Greenheads up in Arkansas! ;D  I've been trying to do some reading on this forum, and it seems pretty common that guys aren't getting their door thermometers to read very high....mine never crested 235 on my inaugural 4-hour smoke.  Do I need to be concerned?  Should I keep the vent closed until reaching temp?

Anyway, my wife is happy with eating the benefits of my newfound obsession!

[MallardWacker]

Chief....

To tell you the truth, rarely and if at all do I go over 225.  This is not like your typical Bandarera, Big Green Egg, Offset, or Condom Cooker.  This really only has one speed and it is sloooooow...I know there are some that will disagree with me here but basically I cook everything at 225 EXCEPT when I smoke my BACON, at that temp I have had no problem with the big four; Chicken, Ribs, Butts, and Briskets.

NOW about Duck Hunting: Went out this past Saturday to check out a few of our holes and we did spot some Blue Wing...Teal season open this coming Friday for the 15 days...we'd be dare...what say you.

winemakers...

I am the same with thighs, if you can't keep a thigh moist you can keep anything moist...They inject well and hold it, they finish very well on the grill and they just plain hard to mess up.

[chief]

Mallard, I hear ya on the slow and low.... just wondering why she wouldn't heat up any more. ???  Anyway, I am just about as far south as you can go in Alabama... grew up hunting teal and big ducks way down here.  In the late 70's and early 80's, it was awesome....excellent mallard hunting in the riverswamps.  They don't get down here no mo >:(....started hunting over in the delta region in Mississippi....even that area has become real spotty.  Now I just go to Arkansas a couple of times a year.  Right now, it's tough to chase a very few teal when the fishing is soooo good!

[bubbagump]

Mallard, I hear ya on the slow and low.... just wondering why she wouldn't heat up any more. ???

Congratulations on your new smoker, Chief!

Compare you door thermometer to a know working thermometer. The door thermometers are sometime very inaccurate. Many are using the Maverick ET-73 wireless digital thermometer. Most inexpensive digital thermometers will do a good job for you as well.

You should easily be able to get the smoker above the 235 mark. But like MW stated you rarely, if ever, have to cook that high. I normally never go above 205 box temp.

Bubbagump

[iceman]

Yep! What MW and Bubba says is right on. Welcome chief.
Watch out for MW though. He always waits until I'm at work and then posts those wonderful food pictures.
I'm on my fifth desk plotter that got ruined with drool because of him. :D ;D
These boys know how to blow smoke around here that's for sure. (That's a good thing). ;)

[Gizmo]

Hey, quit talking about them hunts.  I haven't been out in several years but do miss going and bringing the kids out on occasion (when my partner was gone). :(   Good experience for the kids (1 boy and 1 girl) to learn about nature, preservation, and good sportsmen's ship.  On the blue bird days, good patience was key.  Souther Cal. just doesn't have the convienince and the duck club sold out to the DFG.  Hadn't been there for a few years anyway as the weather out here has been too nice and without bad weather in the north, it never pushed the birds down to us.  Last few years I hunted we were lucky to pick up a dozen a season. 
Back to the BS.
Welcome Cheif.  I too am a newbie with my first smoke under the belt (just finished this noon).  Had to utilize some previous knowledge to finish off the butts but all was well in the end (no pun intended).

[chief]

Thanks Mallard,Gump, Ice, and Giz for the welcome....I can tell this is going to be a pretty cool place to hang and get good info on cooking the "smokey" way!  I can tell that I'm a long way from being properly "accesorized"...so I'll have to prepare to make some additional purchases.  Looks like a good brisket or flank may be my next attempt.....any suggestions for recipes?

[Gizmo]

Check Old's board for some great recipes.

My concoctions, otherwise know as recipes, are usually based on these time tested ingrediants, followed by my own variations.  Sometimes from desire, sometimes because I don't have the particular ingredient.  Are you looking for a Chili powder based or non-chili based recipe?  Chili power is sort of my way of dividing the categories.

Here is a link to Old's board.
http://susan.rminor.com/forums/

If you see one of his posts on the board, he has a BS picture that is an actual hyperlink.   

[Oldman]

.... just wondering why she wouldn't heat up any more

I've given thought to this as my unit will hit 330 F in 30 - 40 minutes. It is just a guess but my heating element is the older glass style where as the newer units are metal. I was so concerned that should my glass element die that I would be stuck with a metal one that I got the last glass one from Chez--- it came out of his unit~~! LOL!!

Olds

[Wildcat]

Chief,

I am new to BS, this forum, and smoking in general, but I do have some limited experience with cooking.  Based on what I have learned and experienced so far, I would not be overly concerned with an exact cooking temperature, so long as the the meat reaches the appropriate internal temperature by the end of the cooking cycle.  You probably should invest in a good probe.

Wildcat