I’m in a household of 2 and don’t usually do the big dinner party thing. In my case is the regular BGE big enough? I’ve checked them out but using one is a different animal.
Also what accessories are useful and is the BGE charcoal the way to go? This inquiring mind wants to know.
Thanks!
BGE charcoal is good. Also - COWBOY hardwood charcoal or Royal Oak Natural wood charcoal. I find all three at my local Ace hardware and the royal oak can be found at Walmart.
Looks like I’m going to pull the trigger on the Bradley - free shipping on Amazon.
forgot to add - I’ve had my BGE for 15 years - sits outside next to a salt water marsh and I have never had a problem with it. I’ve replaced the grates every 5 years. Accessories - medium ash tool to get ashes out of the fire box…dual function metal top to regulate heat…spring assisted band t- the top is heavy…
Beware Cowboy brand for anything low and slow. It’s pretty cheap wood, and typically burns fast and hot! It’s also sold under different brands, like Trader Joes. I really like Royal Oak, myself.
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain and a Traeger. I love them both but for different reasons. I love the convection of the Traeger for keeping things like boneless skinless chicken breast so moist and tender. I prefer my Weber bullet for pork shoulder and ribs. It also costs less to run. To me the only downside to the Traeger is that you do need an electrical outlet. The Weber takes about a half hour to fire up the charcoal. I was not familiar with the Bradley but it certainly looks interesting.
Love my Smokin’ Tex…
JD
Making a Wagyu brisket on the Bradley this weekend. Last month, I did a (non wagyu) one on the webber kettle that came out great, albeit a pain in the a$$, so I’m curious to see what the Bradley can do. I’ll post pics once done
Took delivery of an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain cooker last week and am now about 4 hours into smoking 4 racks of ribs – spare ribs not baby backs. about 14 pounds in all. I fired up the cooker using what the Virtual Weber Bullet people call the “Minion” method, which involves using a small number of lit briquettes on top of a supply of unlit ones, together with chunks of wood for smoking. The idea is that as the briquettes gradually ignite, you can keep the smoker going for 8-10 hours or more without having refill.
So far, the temps have been moving very little, between 240-270. I have only one of three bottom vents open, and that one open only 1/4. It is so hot out today, that I bet I’m getting 50 degrees just from the sun effect.
In any event, I expect the ribs will be done in a couple more hours. Have to check them soon and mop just a bit.
Couple of hours later. Just wrapped the ribs in foil and put them in a 160 degree oven to stay warm until guests come over. Will sauce them before serving. Pull apart tender. Great bark and just the right amount of smoke–not too much.
Kent,
I’ve got the same the same rig that you do and I love it!
After you get about 3-4 hours into a smoke the smell just permiates the neighborhood. That’s when everyone comes over wondering when the meat will be ready.
Have you done any modifications to yours? If your interested, I can give you a website that all they take about is using a Chargriller.
Shoot me the URL of the site that you’re talking about, but it’s most likely the same site that I frequent. The only mod that I’ve made is on the side-fire box. There is a stainless-steel “vegetable shaker” in the grilling section at Lowes, which fits perfectly in the side-fire box. I’ve got two of them with the handles removed, and I use it as my wood basket. I’ve considered extending the chimney down to the grill surface with metal piping, but just haven’t felt motivated enough yet.
It’s not shiny, and it’s not set-it-and-forget-it, but I can smoke the Hell out of some meat on it!!
Before you all smoke your ribs, how far in advance do you apply the rub?
The night before, and then wrap in plastic and back in the fridge.
may be a dumb questions, but wrap the racks themselves in plastic, or wrap the plate their on in plastic
I wrap the actual racks as tight as I can, and then put them on a baking sheet in the fridge. They will “leak” a bit overnight, so you want something to contain the liquid.
Forgot to take pics…but these turned out really well.
I started with 8 Mule Foot Pig massive pork chops, but you can use any thick cut pork chop.
I brined them in a solution with the following ratio: 1 gal water, 1 cup salt, 1/2 gallon apple juice, one lime thinly sliced, tablespoon of black pepper corns and three cloves of crushed garlic. For 24 hours in the refrigerator, submerged.
Dried them. Smoked them at 190-200 using apple wood and a cup of bourbon in the evaporator. Took them to 95% done which took a little over a couple of hours. Let them rest.
Finished them on the grill to mark them, caramelize the outside and bring them to temperature.
They were a big hit…
Nice +
Scott - how does the evaporator work on the Bradley? Did the chops have a little “bourbon-ey” taste to them?
it add a bit of caramel sweetness to the aroma and taste of the smoke. I have a smokin’ tex and it has a little SS reservoir that attaches to the rack with S hooks and you can fill will any combo of liquid and spices you want. I used used bourbon… but any oven proof container would work just fine.
So I went budget in relative terms and bought a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker for $199 at Lowes.
Did my first set of babyback ribs this weekend…Sat and Sun.
They turned out great! A lot easier adding wood only every hour or so and doing it through the side loader, versus adding to the wood box on the gas grill under the grate.
Excellent flavor - I used a mix of hickory and apple woods - just have to tweak a couple things…longer foiling etc.
I also did a small brisket. Pretty easy. Low and slow, foil at 170, take it to 190, then wrap in a towel and let rest in a cooler.
Anyway, I went with the Masterbuilt despite some negative reviews among lots of positives. I think every product will have their share of negatives. Even the Bradley had a bunch of negatives.
Now…my question is…what’s next?
Pork butt, shoulder?
How do I do this?
Recipes, tricks, tips, advice all appreciated…
Kent? Scott? Bill? ![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}
Cold-smoking salmon…
Pastrami…
By all means Pork Butt or Shoulder. I prefer bone-in.
Pork Butt - Smoke & Spice The Renowned Mr. Brown - The Virtual Weber Bullet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; will steer you in the right direction. The rub is very peppery.
Rich