Habanero Smoker
07-12-2008, 03:34 PM
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Seasoning Your Bradley Smoker
From bsolomon
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After much eager anticipation, your Bradley Smoker arrives. You no doubt have your refrigerator stocked to the gills with different items you have been waiting to smoke. You've brined and rubbed and prepped, and are eager to being immediately. You're ready to go. Well, not quite.
The first thing you must do with your Bradley Smoker after getting it unpacked and placed in position is a short process call "seasoning the smoker." The purpose of this process is to prepare the smoker for your food items by removing all traces of odors that linger from the manufacturing process. You don't want your first smoked items to have the flavor of plastic, do you?
By seasoning the smoker, you remove all trace odors from the cabinet, and you also get a chance to practice using the temperature control and bisquette advance mechanism. You'll need to be patient for a little while longer. Don't worry, this won't take long.
To season you smoker, you will need to follow the directions included in your Owner's Manual. Basically, you will assemble the smoker as directed. You will generate smoke into the cabinet for 1-2 hours at a cabinet temperature of 150 degrees F.
A couple of tips to keep in mind:
Bradley's Owner's manual says to load up 3 to 6 bisquettes. Bear in mind that you will always have two bisquettes on the conveyor that will not advance to the burner, so 3 bisquettes will result in 20 minutes of smoking time, and 6 bisquettes will result in 1 hour and twenty minutes smoking time. To get the full 1 to 2 hours suggested, add two additional bisquettes to the stack, or purchase a pair of BubbaPucks, which are aluminum spacers used exactly for this reason.
With no food in the cabinet, many people find that it is difficult to keep the temperature down as low as 150 degrees. Don't worry, this is not an exact science, and a little extra heat won't hurt anything. Just keep moving the temperature slider to the left to lower the temperature if necessary.
What bisquettes should you use for seasoning? That is a matter of personal preference. Any bisquette "flavor" will work equally well for this. Some people immediately purchase large quantities of their favorite flavor, and this is fine for seasoning. Many first-time owners purchase a variety pack to get them started. If you have to use 6-8 bisquettes to get the smoker seasoned, you may not have enough left from the original package of 12 to smoke something and try out that flavor. Here are two suggestions. First, many people opt to use the Special Blend since it is a good neutral flavor and they often have specific flavors in mind for specific food types. Alternatively, you could use 1 or 2 bisquettes from each flavor in your variety pack. The seasoning will be fine and you will still have plenty of each type left over for your first real smoking experience.
Seasoning Your Bradley Smoker
From bsolomon
http://www.susanminor.org/images/smokers/sunsepa.gif
After much eager anticipation, your Bradley Smoker arrives. You no doubt have your refrigerator stocked to the gills with different items you have been waiting to smoke. You've brined and rubbed and prepped, and are eager to being immediately. You're ready to go. Well, not quite.
The first thing you must do with your Bradley Smoker after getting it unpacked and placed in position is a short process call "seasoning the smoker." The purpose of this process is to prepare the smoker for your food items by removing all traces of odors that linger from the manufacturing process. You don't want your first smoked items to have the flavor of plastic, do you?
By seasoning the smoker, you remove all trace odors from the cabinet, and you also get a chance to practice using the temperature control and bisquette advance mechanism. You'll need to be patient for a little while longer. Don't worry, this won't take long.
To season you smoker, you will need to follow the directions included in your Owner's Manual. Basically, you will assemble the smoker as directed. You will generate smoke into the cabinet for 1-2 hours at a cabinet temperature of 150 degrees F.
A couple of tips to keep in mind:
Bradley's Owner's manual says to load up 3 to 6 bisquettes. Bear in mind that you will always have two bisquettes on the conveyor that will not advance to the burner, so 3 bisquettes will result in 20 minutes of smoking time, and 6 bisquettes will result in 1 hour and twenty minutes smoking time. To get the full 1 to 2 hours suggested, add two additional bisquettes to the stack, or purchase a pair of BubbaPucks, which are aluminum spacers used exactly for this reason.
With no food in the cabinet, many people find that it is difficult to keep the temperature down as low as 150 degrees. Don't worry, this is not an exact science, and a little extra heat won't hurt anything. Just keep moving the temperature slider to the left to lower the temperature if necessary.
What bisquettes should you use for seasoning? That is a matter of personal preference. Any bisquette "flavor" will work equally well for this. Some people immediately purchase large quantities of their favorite flavor, and this is fine for seasoning. Many first-time owners purchase a variety pack to get them started. If you have to use 6-8 bisquettes to get the smoker seasoned, you may not have enough left from the original package of 12 to smoke something and try out that flavor. Here are two suggestions. First, many people opt to use the Special Blend since it is a good neutral flavor and they often have specific flavors in mind for specific food types. Alternatively, you could use 1 or 2 bisquettes from each flavor in your variety pack. The seasoning will be fine and you will still have plenty of each type left over for your first real smoking experience.