smokers Anybody have a Bradley smoker

POTAWIE

POTAWIE

I've been eyeing one of these for many years and the basic 4 rack version is on sale this week for $100 off, so now I'm even more tempted. From what I've seen and read, these are great smokers and you can smoke for up to 8 hours unattended with seperate units for heating and smoke generating. The big downfall I see with the Bradley is that you have to buy the special harwood pellets, and since I live in a forest I generally like to use free wood.
I'm thinking that if I buy one, it will likely be used mostly for overnight smoking and for final cooking of cold-smoked sausages, and maybe even for cold-smoking smaller batches of sausage.
I think it will eventually work great in combination with my other 3 smokers, but any comments or tips would be appreciated

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/bradley-original-smoker.asp
 
i have heard good things about them. like ease of use but the only bad thing i heard about them is that they dont impart as much smoke flavor as do other smokers
 
A friend of mine got one because he wanted a smoker instead of a grill and he liked it until he tasted the ribs out of my smoker. Bottom line is those are rich man smokers. They are easy to use and you never get your hands dirty because they have a heating element and wood puks that drop down from the side. Although you don't have to tend much unlike an offset smoker you also loose the flexibility of selecting specific woods that actually flavor the meat. The key in smoking anything is the wood. I can burn any kind of wood depending on what I'm cooking and what flavor profile I'm going for. Plus because my fire box is pretty large I don't have to add wood often. Maybe once every other hour if that. Not sure if they have multi-flavored hockey pucks or what ever they are made out of, but when I looked at one it seemed like they are artificially flavored saw dust pucks that have been compressed to allow slow burning.

If you don't mind getting your hands dirty and stoking a fire every hour or so get an offset smoker that will give you good old fashion smoked meats the way it's suppose to be done. Plus I enjoy sitting on the patio when I'm running the smoker with a good cigar and stiff drink.
 
POTAWIE said:
I've been eyeing one of these for many years and the basic 4 rack version is on sale this week for $100 off, so now I'm even more tempted. From what I've seen and read, these are great smokers and you can smoke for up to 8 hours unattended with seperate units for heating and smoke generating. The big downfall I see with the Bradley is that you have to buy the special harwood pellets, and since I live in a forest I generally like to use free wood.
I'm thinking that if I buy one, it will likely be used mostly for overnight smoking and for final cooking of cold-smoked sausages, and maybe even for cold-smoking smaller batches of sausage.
I think it will eventually work great in combination with my other 3 smokers, but any comments or tips would be appreciated

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/bradley-original-smoker.asp
Click to expand...

I saw that ad at Crappy Tire and was thinking of getting one too.

-"Jake"
 
I thought of getting one a few years ago, but didn't like the idea that they want you to use their wood only. Plus it was a little bit to pricey
for me at the time. Ended getting a " bullet " type from Weber.
 
I think I've decided that I'm going to buy one tomorrow. I already have three smokers that will do most of the work, but I'm hoping the bradley can take care of the night shift after I get too hammered and/or tired/irresponsible. I often find myself drunk in the dark trying to keep fires going and keep temps perfect and I'm hoping this unit will make things easier, especially for certain sausage which require long smoking times
 
Looks good but how low will it cook?Cold smoking requires some pretty low temps.Didn't see that spec. on the site.Needs to be at like 185?I can't get my gasser that low for cold smoked sausage unfortunately.
 
LOVE my Bad Bradley

Some photos of mine in action:

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20071013_0004.jpg


BrisketinBradleyB.jpg
 
After searching every nearby Canadian tire store, I finally bought a bradley but returned it right away after finding the temp dial was broken off and missing:( I now have a raincheck for one but it'll be a few weeks
 
POTAWIE said:
After searching every nearby Canadian tire store, I finally bought a bradley but returned it right away after finding the temp dial was broken off and missing:( I now have a raincheck for one but it'll be a few weeks
Click to expand...

Wait a sec, you can buy a smoker from a tire store??!?
 
LOL, yes at a tire store

Potawie,

I picked up a Bradley Smoker a couple of years ago at CDN Tire. Same deal, $100 off.

I already had a large and a small Big Green Egg but needed more smoker area when I started producing alot of Chipotle powder.

You’ll find the convenience the best feature. Load the amount of biscuits you want; set the temp and walk away. I did seven bushels of Jalapeno peppers last year.

You will find four drawbacks that you should be aware of though.
One; you need to fork out the cash for Bradley biscuits. CDN Tire does have the best price though in the area… $10 less than the BBQ shops.
Two; Bradley only has a limited selection of wood biscuit varieties.
Three; the biscuit element heats the internal temp too much for cold smoking so you need to buy an extension or rig something up.
Four; internal temps can be easily effected by external ones. It can be a pain in the spring and fall.

I’ve also smoked chicken, a couple of pork butts and a beef butt in it aside from the Chipotles. Overall I’m happy with my purchase. It does the job as advertised.

Bill
 
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