Bradley performance

[Sam Cade]

Would like to say that I am quite pleased with the overall performance of my new smoker.  I am not new to smoking...have used a water smoker in the past.  Just a few general comments:

(1)  Bradley support with a few issues I had with smoker where handled in a very professional and expeditious manner.  Had a bad door seal and was missing a plastic knob on my temp.  control.  Had replacement parts in just a few days.  Customer service with any product is what makes or breaks you.  Their doing a great job...

(2) I have read several horror stories on here with new users and the difficulty in producing a quality smoke.  Personally, I have now done ribs and a leg of lamb.  Could not of been better.  What I see as a general mistake with most novices is (1) they get in a hurry...if you don't have the time to wait...maybe you should return to the grill.  (2) Cooking at high temperatures i.e.in excess of 225F.  My rule of thumb has been to smoke at a temperature within 15 to 20f of the internal meat temperature that I want to achieve...again  "low and slow is my motto.  (3) It's nice to have some of the nice toys I see that people have to check and monitor temp, etc...  Not really all that necessary..I have a digital TI that I use when cooking large items...and I can monitor while stuff is cooking.  Between this TI and the one on the door I am fine....real common sense and patience required when you cook anything.  (4) I tend to wrap everything in saran, foil, and towels when I pull it off the smoker and then let it sit for at least 2 hours....I do my basting at that time...works well every time...so far. (5) The bradley is like anything new you have...the more you use it the better you get...

Quite satisfied and look forward to many years of fun...oh by the way my friends love the smoker too...lets say...never a problem inviting anyone over to eat.

Forum is such a great tool....Have spent lots of time reading threads and between your insight and my previous experience....it has been a great experience for me.

Best regards to all,
Sam

[nsxbill]

Hello Sam,

Welcome aboard, and ditto on the time management geared to keeping that temp down!  I just love toys, and my BBQ Guru Procomm4 is overkill for this smoker, but it clearly reflects, as does the Maverick Remote thermometer that you shouldn't trust the thermometer on the door.  The Bradley quickly becomes your new special friend when you have success adding to that the wait  to get a great result.

You will find that when using multiple racks you need to rotate, and fight the drop in temp when you have to open the door to empty the water, but despite these shortcomings, all easily overcome, that the BS is a good choice for the home smoker notwithstanding the skill or experience with the smoking of food.

I want to cut some firebrick up to line the bottom of my BS to help with the heat recovery time.  Dispite it's small size the cathode tube does a pretty good job of keeping the temp balanced for this size cabinet.  I wish there was a convection type fan that would make the temps more even, but again this is just a little home smoker and quite efficient.

I am going to move up to a knock down charcoal smoker for production but planning on making room in the bay of my to-be-purchased bus conversion for the Bradley to travel along with us.  

I plan on setting up my Bradley with a hanging rack assembly and stop using the shelves when I can.  You will no doubt tweak yours a bit as you get accustomed to it.

My regards, and welcome to this group of friendly, sometimes silly group of meat and food smoking die-hards!

Bill

[BigRed]

Hey Bill!!

I was thinking about the same thing when it comes to fire brick. When you have completed the lining of the bottom of your BS would you PLEASE post it to let us know how many brick you used and any difficulties we can avoid. Many advance Thanks!

BigRED

[MallardWacker]

I'm with Big R,

KEEP us informed.  Do you plan on lining the bottom?  or using the bottom rack.  I was just thinking of the water bowl hieght.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[nsxbill]

I was going to take the pan and the bowl down to a tile place and just ask them to cut heavy unglazed pavers to fit inside the aluminum pan with perfect hole in the middle for the water pan.  Don't care if it has to be two stone high.  They will be lighter and easier to remove and put in the dishwasher.  

Bill

[Thevenin]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nsxbill</i>
<br />I was going to take the pan and the bowl down to a tile place and just ask them to cut heavy unglazed pavers to fit inside the aluminum pan with perfect hole in the middle for the water pan.  Don't care if it has to be two stone high.  They will be lighter and easier to remove and put in the dishwasher.  

Bill
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I smell a new product to be offered on Chezbubba in the next month.

Thev.

[Chez Bubba]

You make it & we will come!

Just ask Kummok and soon-to-be Rob.

Valid products, great suggestions, all from people who actually USE the machines.

Good God this a great smoker!

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?