ottawa foodies

OK, I could not find an existing thread for this so I'm starting one.

Monty, how many pucks do you go through in an hour? As I mentioned, this thing is really tempting me, but then again, I look at a pack of 60 pucks for $27 and get to re-thinking.

I'm such a cheap bastard :-)

EDIT : also, what are the different models? Crappy Tire lists "Bradley Smoker" and "Bradley Digital Smoker".

What's the difference?

1 puck/bisquette burns for 20 minutes. i buy my pucks (box of 48) at Le Baron, they're cheaper than the pucks at Canadian Tire and they have a wide variety in stock at all times. a box at Le Baron is just under $20. so for simplicity's sake each puck costs $0.41666 cents, or $1.25 per hour. plus the electricty required to run the thing (i have not used a KillAWatt or similar device yet, but i can't see this thing having a huge draw).

note that Bradley smoke is concentrated - you do NOT roll smoke for the entire cook! most meats require <= 2 hours of smoke. exception would be stuff like pork butt and brisket where i would do 3. anything more is overkill and will have your food tasting like an ashtray.

i'm starting to smoke a lot more often and have discovered you can buy pucks in bulk online to bring the cost down to ~$0.25/puck or so. Bradley has a surprisingly HUGE following - trust me when i say the pucks will not go obsolete.

as noted in the other thread - the Bradley Digital Smoker's temperature setting can be set digitally (ie like you would turn on an oven). buy the original, it works well. the digital is not worth the premium, IMO.

I'm putting my reply to you here instead of in the other thread, monty.

PID, eh? I wonder if I could rig up my brew kittle PID to do it. Here is a picture here :

bodensatz.com

The only thing is that it is 240V. But basically I plug my PID box into a stove outlet, and plug my brew kettle into it. There is also a thermocouple coming from the kettle that gets plugged into the PID box.

So in theory I'm all set to go as long as I could convert 240 down to 120. Which should not be difficult to do. I knew there would be one day be a benefit to designing it this way so that the controller is completely separate from the kettle. Hmmm, bet I could build my own box and use a cheap hotplate and ring in under $100 and get the same kind of functionality.

Sounds like a project for the summer!

yeah i forgot you're a huge techie/DIYer ;)

FYI you can buy the smoke generator itself for $200 CAD

www.bradleysmoker.com

a lot of guys use them to rig their own big smoking cabinets for sausages. username Da Butcher has one.

As someone who has been following the Bradley Smoker Topics all along, I find every bit of this info interesting (Thanks Monty for sharing).

Zym - Previous Bradley Smoker Topics can be found here on OF:

Cold Smoking In Winter = www.ottawafoodies.com

and

Monty's BBQ Editorial (v2) - The Bradley Smoker = www.ottawafoodies.com

This last one is from when Monty first purchased the Bradley, and it has great photos and details on how the Smoker works overall.

Do you think if there were enough of us interested we could get a deal somewhere? I've been also thinking about picking one up, but haven't taken the plunge yet. I'm wondering if we could get a bulk discount or something.

You can always get bulk discounts. Our local brewers clubs are doing stuff like this all the time and we get pretty serious discounts too - some in the range of half price.

Someone should contact Bradley directly, and ask them about it.

call Bradley and ask them (800)-665-4188

they're very helpful

Im selling my backup bradley smoker. Used once to season it. Im planning on selling it to buy a smokey mountain water smoker. Let me know if anyone wants it. $250 (I would sell it for cheaper but I drove to prescott and back to pick it up) Comes with some pucks as well. Da B

good deal. somebody buy this! with the pucks you're saving ~$100+ easily, and that's when the Bradley is on sale.

have heard good things about the WSMs. i was thinking about getting something cheap like a Brinkmann just to bust out the charcoal once in awhile.

I just bought mine last night!!!!

I got the digital but got a good enough deal.

Timing sometimes.

I like this one better!

smoked food is yummy ...but I don't think healthy ( I am not one to check out statistics but "smoke", I will do occasinally-what do others think?

Orleansfoodie - welcome to the club.

one of us...
one of us...

thank you, thank you.

smoked a chicken on it last night after seasoning it, praises all around!

I have to try those peanuts now.

Now you can make your own air fresheners for the car!

bitsandpieces.us

I got a sample of that in the house yesterday, I had to open the smoker while in full smoke and it wafted in the house.
My wife enjoyed it and wondered out loud if smoke scented candles would be a good idea? lol

My bradley is now sold. :( Looks like its going to good hands..

yeah I'm in the club now too - thanks DB - looking forward to some ribs tomorrow, pics to come.

awesome sourdough!

if it's too cold out to get above 200F, smoke them for 2-2 1/2 hours then finish in the oven.

Any opinions on the Centro? I think that is a Canadian Tire brand name isn't it?

It is on for half price now

tiny.cc/rP8LB

Hi,

I’m a Bradley owner (the non-digital model).

I haven’t used the Centro but after reading the specs I’ll offer the following thoughts.

Pro’s:
-The price.
-Electronic controls for temp and timer function.
-It uses cheaper wood chips (not the expensive pucks sold by Bradley).
-No automatic feeder (Bradleys pump a new puck in every 20 minutes, before the existing one is exhausted – they sell more pucks this way).
-Cdn Tire’s return policy.

Con’s
-Electronic controls can / will fail more readily than analog ones.
-No easy way to cold smoke (Bradley has a handy hole in the side for its puck feeder and relatively easy to use the feeder element as an external smoke generator).
-No automatic feeder (if you’re doing a looooong smoke, you’ll need to manually replenish the chips).

Given my smoking habits (personally), if I had to replace my Bradley today, I would give the Centro a shot before purchasing another Bradley. If you’re not looking to cold smoke or wanting to cut a port for cold smoking in the side of the Centro, the Centro would cost less to operate.

JMHO

Zym - not sure if you've already read the reviews on the CT website (if so, this tidbit might save some other people some time reading through the reviews), but a few of the people have commented that the element burns out over time and due to the way the box is constructed it makes replacing the element quite difficult...

wait for the Bradley to go on sale and spend the extra $140. read my other posts for glowing endorsements ;)

great smoking weekend coming up!

Pulling mine up from the basement and doing a rubbed pork shoulder for pulled pork on Sunday. Anyone know where I can get a good Boston butt roast?

Ken V,

I’ve purchased butts from a few places over the past five years.

Based on purchases ranging from a couple of certified organic locations through big box Costco, I’d have to say the butts I got last fall from the Metro on March Rd. Kanata were the best for pulled pork. A few experiences: Organic was too lean; Costco too fatty; Loblaws (Kanata) just not real pork?

I purchased two 10lb butts last fall at Metro. After trimming they clocked in around 9 – 9.25 lbs before cooking. They had, IMO, the perfect fat content for a 18-20 hour low and slow cook. You’ll need to order a few days in advance as they don’t normally stock 10lb buts in the display cases ;-)

Your results may vary. Shot below is some of pulled pork off the first butt.

farm5.static.flickr.com

Ken I buy my bone-in pork butts "on demand" from The Butchery - no advanced ordering or anything

Monty,

Agreed, it’s going to be a great weekend to smoke/cook outdoors!

Got myself a 5.75 lb organic chicken from Black’s Farm out of the freezer today. Planning on spatchcocking it Sunday and cooking it up on my BGE with some (ok, more than some) hickory smoke this Sunday.

Gonna be good eating!

Regarding butts, I wrote off the Buchery a few years ago for reasons I won't get into. Based on your recommendation, I'll give them another shot this spring I'm itching to do another butt.

HotFood - what happened? they aren't my regular butcher so my experiences are sporadic. i go there to source stuff quickly when i don't have time to order in advance from Brian's Butchery who is in my neighbourhood.

sometimes the kids who work the counters usually have no idea what i'm talking about when i say "bone-in pork butt" but they are always friendly and find one of the seniors to cut me what i'm looking for. there's a huge thread on Butchers on OF somewhere...

Monty,

I haven’t been to Brian’s but I did frequent the previous owners of that location many years ago (I think they’re in Stittsville now). I’ve heard nothing but great reviews about Brian’s. Gotta visit them soon.

Regarding the Butchery, I’m not going to publically slag them based on one bad experience that in hindsight was probably due to a bad hire. I should not have even commented in the first place, but since I did, I’d like to make it clear it was NOT a food safety or quality related issue. Let’s just say it had to do with weighty matters.

Like I said, I’ll source my next butt there to try it out.

I had the boys out to my farmer's place today (Saffire Farms) tapping maple trees and doing various other farm related tasks (several videos to come real soon now), and saw a pile of freshly cut cherry wood that farmer Gord let me pick through for my smoker! Check the end of the maple sapping video I'll be posting shortly. Going to get some sugar maple next time I'm out, and maybe some oak.

Thanks for the tip Monty. I was going to call Brian's but I'll give the butchery a try. I usually go to Nicastro's and he usually cuts me a butt. I really like it when the skin is left on, Nicastro doesn't do that. Hopefully the Butchery will.

I'm itching to do another butt.

Nasty visuals aside, I have the same itch. We'll probably ease into the season with some churrasco chicken this weekend but I can't wait until my first all-day low and slow pork smoking session!

The one time I tried to get pork butt from The Butchery last year, they were sold out. I will try my luck again this season and report back!

Bought a whole shoulder at Nicastro's for 99 cents a bound. He cut it in half so I could use the butt for pulled pork. $17 for the whole shoulder. Here it is rubbed about to be covered and cured in the fridge for 24 hours. It's a 8lb butt so I will start smoking at 10am. Guess I will make sausage with the other half.

I noticed that Canadian Tire has their Centro smoker on sale (half price) this week. Does anyone have any experience with this unit?

Ken that's a great deal. Nicastro's has been advertising whole shoulders for $0.89-$0.99/lb a lot lately. last time i bought one from The Butchery it was easily 2x-3x as much!

you guys need more kids underfoot - all I've had time for was peanuts. I did the fish sauce/chili pepper and added some honey, tabasco and Camamille Dejardins (excuse the spelling) calgary cowboy hot sauce. I'm pulling out of the smoker now, and into the bbq. Let us know how the pork turned out.

Monty I went to Brian's then The Butchery and they didn't have any shoulder. Nicastro's was my last stop before giving up till next weekend. Glad I did. Sourdough this may get the juices flowing. The pork was amazing. It was done an hour earlier than I expected so it was an early Sunday dinner. Now leftovers for a week yumm!

Leftovers. With some North Carolina vinegar sauce.

Anyone have issues with the heating element/reaching temperature? I've got 4 racks of ribs on - didn't have much time to preheat - 20 minutes or so, but after 1 1/2 hours I'm stuck at 160/170 degrees. Power light is on for the heating element. I was going to foil an finish in the oven anyway, I guess a call to bradley on monday will be in order.

It's pretty windy out there right now, and only 78F. That may be a factor. Also, did you take your ribs out of the fridge 2 hours before putting in?

In the wind, with 4 cold racks, it would not be inconceivable that the temperature would be at 170F.

170F should be fine - 160F not so much

sourdough...

the 500W element in the Bradley could use some beefing up. with a full load like that the recovery time to 200F+ can be awhile.

a few tips, some of which have been mentioned:

-pre heat for 45min-1hr with the smoke generator on (ie. a hot element)
-keep out of the wind
-open vent at least 3/4
-let your meat sit out and come up to temperature, rather than moving straight from the cold fridge into the smoker
-once you've loaded everything up, don't open the cabinet door
-measure your cabinet temperature with something other than the Bradley door gauge. because of the positioning of the gauge, with a full cabinet the reading can be WAY off.

simple mods can also solve/help the problem:

i) add a 2nd element - see instructions @ www.susanminor.org

ii) get a PID controller. a PID controller automatically adjusts power to the heating element in order to compensate for disturbances (contents in the smoker, ambient temperature, wind speed, ambient humidity, sunshine, etc). you can digitally program a temperature (ie. 215F) and the controller will adjust the power of the cabinet to hold your specified temperature within +/-1°.

re: the PID - i just bought a used one. will try to get some pics/reviews up once i have some time outside of work.

it's an incredibly useful tool (toy) because you can ramp up temperatures in smokes where it's crucial (sausages, fish, etc).

the one i bought uses a timing system, something like this:

120°F for 2 hours, then increase to
140° for 3 hours, then increase to
175° for 1 hour

they also make a more expensive one that can go by time AND internal temperature:

120°F for 2 hours, then increase to
140° for 3 hours, then increase to
175° until internal temperature reaches 160°

check em out at Auber Instruments...

Single Probe
www.auberins.com

Dual Probe
www.auberins.com

So after 2 1/2 hours it stayed steady at 175. The element was definitely on - took a quick peak. Certainly bringing the ribs up to room temp and longer pre-heating would help. Monty you mentioned opening up the vent to 3/4 - I'd left mine pretty much closed, opened it up a bit at the end, thinking the closed vent would help heat things up. I understand with charcoal why you'd open up the vent - but does it have an effect with electrical heating?

Looking forward to seeing some feedback on the PID. I was thinking about smoking some fish and from what I've read this would be very helpful.

My fish smoked just fine yesterday without a PID :-) But opening the vent was definitely required for the last 20 minutes to get the coals burning better and get it up to heat. Not sure what the vent would do on an electric system though - I guess it would still make those pucks burn hotter. Does the heat come from the element or from the burning pucks? Is the element just used for ignition?

The heat come primarily from a single element in the bottom/back of the box. The heater element for the smoke is separate and only adds a bit of heat compared to the main.

After reading the comments I'm going to plug in tonight for a while just to see what the temp will come up to on they empty box. If its still stuck at 175 I'll know I have a problem.

the vent serves to control the humidity. with that much meat in the cabinet you need to open it up to allow some of the excess moisture to escape. keeping it closed can cause two problems - i) moisture backs up into the smoke generator and can cause it to fail, ii) it can inhibit temperature recovery (don't ask me the science behind this, but it seems to hold true).

a Bradley Forum FAQ says that after the moisture is expelled you may be able to use a smaller vent opening, which should increase the heat:

www.susanminor.org

i keep mine at least 1/2 open all the time, and fully open when doing poultry. i also keep the vent fully open when doing anything where i want to dry out, like nuts.

zymurgist - re: the PID - i'm a low and slow guy, especially for smoked fish. with the PID i can accurately maintain a low temperature (120F-140F) for a long session. this keeps the fish very moist and flaky.

I'm low-and-slow as well - easy to maintain that temp in my bullet smoker without much in the line of intervention. Bullets get a bad rep for being too hot. Check my smoked fish video - 2nd part - where I go from low to high temp with the hair dryer :-) I still do not have my new thermometer installed but will have to get around to it.

Ok so I think the venting may have been the issue. I cranked up my empty bradley past 275 this evening - so at least I know it can generate the heat. Thanks for the tips Monty.

I'm late to the show, but I crank mine up to the max when pre-heating, seems to come up to temp faster.

some folks will also place small bricks in the smoker during the pre-heat to help in the heat retention too, I've never tried it but in theory in makes sense to me.

Hey gang,

Borrowed my neighbors Bradley and really like it! The lazy factor appeals to me at times. I would just get the smoke generater and pipe it into a 45G drum. Anyone find good pricing on the generator itself?

Also plan to go to the BORG and get a cutting wheel to try and make the biscuits out of some hardwood here at home.

Have some pasture raised pigs going in tomorrow if anyone is in need of some pork!

Krusty,

Anyone ever use their Bradley in -20C?

I'm thinking of smoking some salmon today. I guess worst case is that it will definitely get smoked but might not get cooked?

Yes Zym; we use ours in all kinds of weather without an issue; you'll have to keep an eye on it & it will take a little longer...

Terry

Thank Terry! Merry Christmas! I guess I'm a couple days late to wish you a happy Tibb's :-)

SO I've got a big salmon fillet and have never done salmon before.

Skin up or down?

How much smoke would you recommend? How many hours?

So far after 45 minutes or so it has only gotten up to about 20C so I'm guessing it will not fully cook in there, or I may have to do 3-4 hours of smoke and then leave it in longer without smoke.

Any thoughts? Tips? Advice?

Merry Christmas Zym, honestly I'd only be guessing but I would think skin side down & just keep an eye on it but you may have to finish it in the oven...

We actually used ours last week a couple of times (Smoking veggies for our house vinaigrette)& it worked fine...

Terry

Hot smoked salmon I take it? If so, skin down with 1/3 of your cooking time smoking with alder or some light fruit wood. My Bradley always struggles with temperature and I often have to finish the cook indoors. You are truly dedicated to bbq today! Cold smoked salmon is an option in this weather. Good luck!

It's about 37C in there right now ... climbing slowly but surely

Wow, it's picking right up ... 47C now.

Just seems to have had an extremely long pre-heat time.

Will be curious to see how high it is able to go

Just shy of 60C and does not seem to want to climb any higher ...

i have used smokerguys without issue in the cold. threw a brisket into the redneck bradley at 6 am today and it hit 190f without too much problem but will finish it in the oven. ribs are in there now.

i call it a texkranian xmas with a good helping of perogies to go with it.

It never did crack 60C. I just put it on a tray and covered with foil wrap and slammed it into a 210F oven. Will check it in an hour.

Internal temp was 125F going in. It has been 6 hours now.

What internal temp should I aim for given it has been that long?

Found this document - seems pretty useful

www.uaf.edu

My Bradley does not like the cold - but I've never tried this cold, just around freezing. Eventually does heat up but very slow. Never open the door. Sounds like your salmon will be just fine.

Nice work Krusty - sounds like a great Christmas banquet. Prime Rib for me tomorrow, in the oven.

Based on that document above I cranked the oven to 275F after 20 minutes, and now after 1 hour in the oven (covered with foil) the internal temp is 175F

It's done!

Six hours of smoke in the Bradley and finished in the oven for a hour given that the Bradley could not get up to temp in -20C

Yum!