Years ago, I became enamored of smoked meats, such as butt, sausage,
brisket and ribs. I certainly am not of a competitive quality cook, but
do OK by my own standards and have noticed that friends and family don't
make excuses when I invite them over for supper. Over the years, I've
built or bought many different smokers, from the R2D2-type up through a
very heavy steel one I welded up myself. I've cooked over briquettes,
lump and gas and have smoked with as many woods as I could lay my hands
on. Now, however, I've gone from living out in the boondocks, where I
could stack wood, and toss ashes to my heart's content to living in the
city, on a tiny lot that's mostly pool, spa and palms. From a practical
standpoint, I'm out of the real smoking end of cooking and relegated to
a gas grill, dampened chips in foil or a tray, and some really serious
char/rare cooking on a separate grill I built.

When I used to have plenty of time to tend the smoker, nowadays I'm at
the mercy of schedules and have some responsibilities I've not had in
the past. Without further explanation, I simply cannot do a decent job
smoking ribs or a butt overnight or all day. It's sad, but life is full
of transitions and the smart person will adapt.

Now, here's my question for this group: What experiences have you had
with an electric fed and temperature regulated smoker, such as sold by
Bass Pro Shops? http://tinyurl.com/yepbba From what I've seen and
heard, it's a pretty decent compromise for a person in my position. Now
that we're older and the kids are gone, my smoking is primarily for the
wife and me, with occasional bigger batches for visitors. I want
something I can "charge up," and forget while I tend to the new, other,
things in my life. From what I've seen, the temperature inside the
smoker is regulated by a digital thermostat and there's a second heating
element that fires off the wood or charcoal to provide the smoke. On my
limited real estate, I'd place the smoker on a concrete pad beside my
gas grill/ infrared cooker, so it'd be right by a 120v GFCI outlet. The
released smoke would be minimal and probably would not irritate my
neighbors too much.

Looking back over the years, one thing I've not done personally is
sausage. I have a meat grinder on order and plan to play around making
some smoked sausage.

Please, remember that I appreciate the difference between a butt cooked
in a masonry smoker over pre-burned wood and what's produced on a gas
grill. I'm looking for something reliable that would produce an
acceptable smoked rack of ribs or butt, without a lot of intervention
and hassle. Any thoughts?
--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

I've never used a Bradley smoker, but I've had a good sampling of smoked
meats cooked by a friend who owns one. It'll do as good a job as any
other smoker, imo, and seems to be flexible for other uses like cold
smoking and drying.

The main drawback for some seems to be the cost of the pressed wood
discs, with the fact that it's an "appliance" vs. a "real" cooker tossed
in for good measure.

Unless you want to buy one locally, I would shop around on the web for a
dealer. They all seem to charge pretty close to the same price for the
basic unit, but some offer package deals, free shipping, discounts on
refill smoke discs, etc. I even saw one in a Williams-Sonoma catalog
recently, so you know they've "arrived".

Bob
==========================
In article ,
says...
Now, here's my question for this group: What experiences have you had
with an electric fed and temperature regulated smoker, such as sold by
Bass Pro Shops?

Nonnymus wrote:

Now, here's my question for this group: What experiences have you had
with an electric fed and temperature regulated smoker, such as sold by
Bass Pro Shops? http://tinyurl.com/yepbba From what I've seen and
heard, it's a pretty decent compromise for a person in my position. Now
that we're older and the kids are gone, my smoking is primarily for the
wife and me, with occasional bigger batches for visitors. I want
something I can "charge up," and forget while I tend to the new, other,
things in my life. From what I've seen, the temperature inside the
smoker is regulated by a digital thermostat and there's a second heating
element that fires off the wood or charcoal to provide the smoke. On my
limited real estate, I'd place the smoker on a concrete pad beside my
gas grill/ infrared cooker, so it'd be right by a 120v GFCI outlet. The
released smoke would be minimal and probably would not irritate my
neighbors too much.


Did you know that you have to buy the smoking wood from
Bradley? You can't use your own wood, and there's not
even a 2nd manufacturing source. If Bradley raises
the price, you have to pay it. If they go under and
stop making them, no more smoking with the Bradley.
It becomes a holding oven.

(Anticipating the question: "Can I make the proprietary
wood things myself?", the answer is, I'd bet a million
you couldn't)

Some math is in order.

The proprietary wood things you have to buy from them
cost $1 per hour of smoke time. 10 hours of smoking
per week = 10 bucks per week = $520 per year to run
it. That's more than the cost of the unit itself out
of pocket, every year, forever. I run my smoker(s)
at least 20 hours per week, so that's a conservative
estimate.

That said, I do own and use one. It's not the best for hot
smoking, pretty lousy actually, but it's unrivaled for
convenient cold smoking. There isn't a cheaper, more
reliable cold smoker available. Set it, forget it, and
come back in 8 hours to a finished product (with minor
mods you can get it up to 8 hours or even higher).

For a more versatile and durable smoker in this category,
which I would classify as "insulated electric oven type
smokers", check out cookshack. It's a much, much better
built product, and you can use any wood you want. I own
one of these also.

http://www.cookshack.com/index.php?pr=Home_Smokers

You really do want a well insulated unit, too. It's
worth the cost.

You're right about the fact that they put out minimal
amounts of smoke. I call em "stealth smokers" and
recommend them to people who need to smoke unobtrusively
because of neighbors, homeowners association rules, etc.

Looking back over the years, one thing I've not done personally is
sausage. I have a meat grinder on order and plan to play around making
some smoked sausage.

The insulated electric oven smokers have a downside
here. They tend to have lower total airflow, which equates
to a higher humidity in the chamber. When smoking sausage,
which I do a lot of, I solve this by leaving the door open
for part of the cook.

--
Reg

Reg wrote:

For a more versatile and durable smoker in this category,
which I would classify as "insulated electric oven type
smokers", check out cookshack. It's a much, much better
built product, and you can use any wood you want. I own
one of these also.

http://www.cookshack.com/index.php?pr=Home_Smokers

You really do want a well insulated unit, too. It's
worth the cost.

The only part you can burn yourself on a cookshack
is the top vent. The rest of it just feels "warmish"
and is actually hotter if it's sitting in the sun
than after 9 hours of smoking.

You're right about the fact that they put out minimal
amounts of smoke. I call em "stealth smokers" and
recommend them to people who need to smoke unobtrusively
because of neighbors, homeowners association rules, etc.

Or if you just don't have the safe space for a larger unit.

Even with a large load of wood my cookshack only produces
a stream of smoke that is quickly dissipated.

The insulated electric oven smokers have a downside
here. They tend to have lower total airflow, which equates
to a higher humidity in the chamber. When smoking sausage,
which I do a lot of, I solve this by leaving the door open
for part of the cook.

Didn't think of that. Then again I smoke mainly ribs.

I'll add one more thing. If you have arthritis or are
"getting older" latching and unlatching the cookshack can be
difficult. I'd probably weld a larger handle to it.

--
DougW

DougW wrote:

Reg wrote:

The insulated electric oven smokers have a downside
here. They tend to have lower total airflow, which equates
to a higher humidity in the chamber. When smoking sausage,
which I do a lot of, I solve this by leaving the door open
for part of the cook.


Didn't think of that. Then again I smoke mainly ribs.

With the Cookshack (and many similar units in this
class such as SmokinTex) this problem is complicated
by the fact that the airflow is also 100% fixed. No
adjustable vents. Not a showstopper of a problem but
prospective buyers should be aware of this.

I'll add one more thing. If you have arthritis or are
"getting older" latching and unlatching the cookshack can be
difficult. I'd probably weld a larger handle to it.


We're moving beyond "Lazy-q" into "Ultra-lazy-q" here,
I think

--
Reg

Reg wrote:

Nonnymus wrote:

Now, here's my question for this group: What experiences have you had
with an electric fed and temperature regulated smoker, such as sold by
Bass Pro Shops? http://tinyurl.com/yepbba From what I've seen and
heard, it's a pretty decent compromise for a person in my position. Now
that we're older and the kids are gone, my smoking is primarily for the
wife and me, with occasional bigger batches for visitors. I want
something I can "charge up," and forget while I tend to the new, other,
things in my life. From what I've seen, the temperature inside the
smoker is regulated by a digital thermostat and there's a second heating
element that fires off the wood or charcoal to provide the smoke. On my
limited real estate, I'd place the smoker on a concrete pad beside my
gas grill/ infrared cooker, so it'd be right by a 120v GFCI outlet. The
released smoke would be minimal and probably would not irritate my
neighbors too much.


Did you know that you have to buy the smoking wood from
Bradley? You can't use your own wood, and there's not
even a 2nd manufacturing source. If Bradley raises
the price, you have to pay it. If they go under and
stop making them, no more smoking with the Bradley.
It becomes a holding oven.

(Anticipating the question: "Can I make the proprietary
wood things myself?", the answer is, I'd bet a million
you couldn't)

Some math is in order.

The proprietary wood things you have to buy from them
cost $1 per hour of smoke time. 10 hours of smoking
per week = 10 bucks per week = $520 per year to run
it. That's more than the cost of the unit itself out
of pocket, every year, forever. I run my smoker(s)
at least 20 hours per week, so that's a conservative
estimate.

That said, I do own and use one. It's not the best for hot
smoking, pretty lousy actually, but it's unrivaled for
convenient cold smoking. There isn't a cheaper, more
reliable cold smoker available. Set it, forget it, and
come back in 8 hours to a finished product (with minor
mods you can get it up to 8 hours or even higher).

For a more versatile and durable smoker in this category,
which I would classify as "insulated electric oven type
smokers", check out cookshack. It's a much, much better
built product, and you can use any wood you want. I own
one of these also.

http://www.cookshack.com/index.php?pr=Home_Smokers

You really do want a well insulated unit, too. It's
worth the cost.

You're right about the fact that they put out minimal
amounts of smoke. I call em "stealth smokers" and
recommend them to people who need to smoke unobtrusively
because of neighbors, homeowners association rules, etc.

Looking back over the years, one thing I've not done personally is
sausage. I have a meat grinder on order and plan to play around making
some smoked sausage.

The insulated electric oven smokers have a downside
here. They tend to have lower total airflow, which equates
to a higher humidity in the chamber. When smoking sausage,
which I do a lot of, I solve this by leaving the door open
for part of the cook.

--
Reg

While I'm pretty sure I could make my own wood pucks for the Bradly
smoker (I've got a well equipped shop and a 20 ton press), the Cookshack
smokers do an excellent job. My favorite Jamaican restaurant had a large
commercial sized Cookshack and turned out fantastic jerk pork. I was
just about drooling every time I walked in the door it smelled so good.

Pete C.

Pete,

Any notes on how they did the jerk? I'm a huge fan of jerk foods and wonder
if they do a standard smoke or something different with ribs/butts.

Evan

"Pete C." wrote in message
...
Reg wrote:

Nonnymus wrote:

Now, here's my question for this group: What experiences have you had
with an electric fed and temperature regulated smoker, such as sold by
Bass Pro Shops? http://tinyurl.com/yepbba From what I've seen and
heard, it's a pretty decent compromise for a person in my position.
Now
that we're older and the kids are gone, my smoking is primarily for the
wife and me, with occasional bigger batches for visitors. I want
something I can "charge up," and forget while I tend to the new, other,
things in my life. From what I've seen, the temperature inside the
smoker is regulated by a digital thermostat and there's a second
heating
element that fires off the wood or charcoal to provide the smoke. On
my
limited real estate, I'd place the smoker on a concrete pad beside my
gas grill/ infrared cooker, so it'd be right by a 120v GFCI outlet.
The
released smoke would be minimal and probably would not irritate my
neighbors too much.


Did you know that you have to buy the smoking wood from
Bradley? You can't use your own wood, and there's not
even a 2nd manufacturing source. If Bradley raises
the price, you have to pay it. If they go under and
stop making them, no more smoking with the Bradley.
It becomes a holding oven.

(Anticipating the question: "Can I make the proprietary
wood things myself?", the answer is, I'd bet a million
you couldn't)

Some math is in order.

The proprietary wood things you have to buy from them
cost $1 per hour of smoke time. 10 hours of smoking
per week = 10 bucks per week = $520 per year to run
it. That's more than the cost of the unit itself out
of pocket, every year, forever. I run my smoker(s)
at least 20 hours per week, so that's a conservative
estimate.

That said, I do own and use one. It's not the best for hot
smoking, pretty lousy actually, but it's unrivaled for
convenient cold smoking. There isn't a cheaper, more
reliable cold smoker available. Set it, forget it, and
come back in 8 hours to a finished product (with minor
mods you can get it up to 8 hours or even higher).

For a more versatile and durable smoker in this category,
which I would classify as "insulated electric oven type
smokers", check out cookshack. It's a much, much better
built product, and you can use any wood you want. I own
one of these also.

http://www.cookshack.com/index.php?pr=Home_Smokers

You really do want a well insulated unit, too. It's
worth the cost.

You're right about the fact that they put out minimal
amounts of smoke. I call em "stealth smokers" and
recommend them to people who need to smoke unobtrusively
because of neighbors, homeowners association rules, etc.

Looking back over the years, one thing I've not done personally is
sausage. I have a meat grinder on order and plan to play around making
some smoked sausage.

The insulated electric oven smokers have a downside
here. They tend to have lower total airflow, which equates
to a higher humidity in the chamber. When smoking sausage,
which I do a lot of, I solve this by leaving the door open
for part of the cook.

--
Reg

While I'm pretty sure I could make my own wood pucks for the Bradly
smoker (I've got a well equipped shop and a 20 ton press), the Cookshack
smokers do an excellent job. My favorite Jamaican restaurant had a large
commercial sized Cookshack and turned out fantastic jerk pork. I was
just about drooling every time I walked in the door it smelled so good.

Pete C.

evan wrote:

Pete,

Any notes on how they did the jerk? I'm a huge fan of jerk foods and wonder
if they do a standard smoke or something different with ribs/butts.


I couldn't tell you exactly what they did, but they sure did it right.
The "real" jerk should be smoked with pimento (allspice) wood, but that
seems to be impossible to get in the US. Perhaps they smuggled it or
perhaps they used a blend of woods to approximate it.

Pete C.

Pete C. wrote:

While I'm pretty sure I could make my own wood pucks for the Bradly
smoker (I've got a well equipped shop and a 20 ton press),

I've seen some of your more detailed posts and I'm quite
sure you have skills in this area that I could only wish
for. You might be able to do it. However, I can say from
experience that there are nuances to the biscuit design
and fabrication that makes duplicating them a challenge.
Parameters a

- Dimensions
- Weight
- Burning characteristics, effected by type of wood, particle
size, degree of compression

The first two are critical because the feeder mechanism
is extremely intolerant of any variance. It jams easily,
especially when a higher number of wood biscuits are
stacked up in the hopper. And, using many biscuits at once
is an important part of the entire package. More biscuits
means longer unattended smoking time.

The last one is important because, among other things, the
heating element is surprisingly low power. The wood is
comprised of compressed particles designed to smoke at
just about 500 F at a very a small point of contact.
Even the way the ashes form up will eventually effect the
feeder. On the other side of the spectrum, they can't
heat too much or they'll catch fire.

I used to have two of the smoke generators but one
eventually failed. If it was still working I'd send
it to you in the hopes that you could figure out
how to pull this off. Success would definitely make
you popular in the Bradley world!

the Cookshack
smokers do an excellent job. My favorite Jamaican restaurant had a large
commercial sized Cookshack and turned out fantastic jerk pork. I was
just about drooling every time I walked in the door it smelled so good.

Indeed. They're extremely popular with restaurants
and caterers. Many a roadside joint has one running
out back.

--
Reg

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:44:40 -0800, Nonnymus
wrote:

Years ago, I became enamored of smoked meats, such as butt, sausage,
brisket and ribs.
Please, remember that I appreciate the difference between a butt cooked
in a masonry smoker over pre-burned wood and what's produced on a gas
grill. I'm looking for something reliable that would produce an
acceptable smoked rack of ribs or butt, without a lot of intervention
and hassle. Any thoughts?
A friend of mine who lives in a Seattle townhouse with a pretty small
are in the back of it. got a Bradley smoker, and just loves it.
Harry

Harry, and all who replied: Today, I ordered the powder coated digital
4 shelf. It should arrive in a week or so. I literally hit 7 places in
'Vegas' looking for the digital 4-shelf and struck out. My plan is to
add casters to it and keep it out back, covered, and wheel it near the
house when needed. I'll report on the grand experiment as things
progress. Thanks to all.

Nonny

Harry Demidavicius wrote:
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:44:40 -0800, Nonnymus
wrote:

Years ago, I became enamored of smoked meats, such as butt, sausage,
brisket and ribs.
Please, remember that I appreciate the difference between a butt cooked
in a masonry smoker over pre-burned wood and what's produced on a gas
grill. I'm looking for something reliable that would produce an
acceptable smoked rack of ribs or butt, without a lot of intervention
and hassle. Any thoughts?
A friend of mine who lives in a Seattle townhouse with a pretty small
are in the back of it. got a Bradley smoker, and just loves it.
Harry

--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
Harry, and all who replied: Today, I ordered the powder coated digital 4
shelf. It should arrive in a week or so. I literally hit 7 places in
'Vegas' looking for the digital 4-shelf and struck out. My plan is to add
casters to it and keep it out back, covered, and wheel it near the house
when needed. I'll report on the grand experiment as things progress.
Thanks to all.

Sorry I didn't get to reply sooner... I'd have told you to go to Walmart,
pick up the Great Outdoors Smokey Mountain gas smoker for usually $99. It
doesn't have a thermostat but if you want that, I have the instructions(or
can get them) for mods you can make to it to have it thermostatically
controlled. Involves a little bit of work, but with what you did with the
IR, I'm sure you'd do great with it. Even without the thermo control
though, it's basically a set it and forget it type deal.



Nonny

Harry Demidavicius wrote:
On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:44:40 -0800, Nonnymus
wrote:

Years ago, I became enamored of smoked meats, such as butt, sausage,
brisket and ribs. Please, remember that I appreciate the difference
between a butt cooked in a masonry smoker over pre-burned wood and
what's produced on a gas grill. I'm looking for something reliable that
would produce an acceptable smoked rack of ribs or butt, without a lot
of intervention and hassle. Any thoughts?
A friend of mine who lives in a Seattle townhouse with a pretty small
are in the back of it. got a Bradley smoker, and just loves it.
Harry

--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

Good luck with your new smoker! If I may ask, where did you end up
buying it?

Also, if you get a chance, I'd be interested in hearing about any
advantages to having the digital model vs. the original one; e.g., does
it monitor food temp as well as oven temp; is there a timer function;
etc.?

Bob
==============================
In article , says...

Harry, and all who replied: Today, I ordered the powder coated digital
4 shelf. It should arrive in a week or so. I literally hit 7 places in
'Vegas' looking for the digital 4-shelf and struck out. My plan is to
add casters to it and keep it out back, covered, and wheel it near the
house when needed. I'll report on the grand experiment as things
progress. Thanks to all.

Nonny

43fan wrote:
"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
Harry, and all who replied: Today, I ordered the powder coated digital 4
shelf. It should arrive in a week or so. I literally hit 7 places in
'Vegas' looking for the digital 4-shelf and struck out. My plan is to add
casters to it and keep it out back, covered, and wheel it near the house
when needed. I'll report on the grand experiment as things progress.
Thanks to all.

Sorry I didn't get to reply sooner... I'd have told you to go to Walmart,
pick up the Great Outdoors Smokey Mountain gas smoker for usually $99. It
doesn't have a thermostat but if you want that, I have the instructions(or
can get them) for mods you can make to it to have it thermostatically
controlled. Involves a little bit of work, but with what you did with the
IR, I'm sure you'd do great with it. Even without the thermo control
though, it's basically a set it and forget it type deal.


Nonny

I'll just bite the bullet and go with the electric one. To my simple way
of thinking, electric or gas both provide the heat to burn the wood and
heat the "oven." However, it's so simple with electric, vs.say, using a
water heater micropilot/burner/valve to do the same thing. I do have
natural gas at the grills, but my current thought is to slap on some
casters to the Bradley, keep it out by the pool, and wheel it to the
picnic table when using it. At 44 or so pounds, it'd be easy to pick up
and put at eye level on the picnic table when in use.

I looked at several types of smokers when doing a little homework, and
the electric ones won out for simplicity. Another thing that really
appealed to me was that the Bradley lets you separate smoke generation
from cooking, since they use separate elements. Time will tell, and if
I don't like it, I'll sell it and go back to a better known smoker.

The best part is torturing my neighbor. He's also my best friend, and
most folks outside of my family would say he's the better cook. He grew
up the son of a fellow who owned a small town meat market, and cooking
is his hobby and main pleasure. His father smoked his own meats for the
butcher shop, so the guy knows his business inside and out. Like me,
however, time, age and demands from other things have prevented him from
going beyond his present gas grill and deep fat fryer. He really cranks
out some mighty fine ribs, smoking them for hours with wood chips in
foil. The results vary, but when he has the time and patience to make an
afternoon of it, the results would have you licking your elbows.

When I built my IR grill, he was looking over my shoulder continually,
and was one of the folks who tasted the first results. His attitude is
that since I have the IR grill over here, hooked up, and am paying for
the gas, why in the heck would he want to get one for himself. He has
my garage code and knows where the gate key is. Grin

When I ordered the smoker, I told him to brace himself for a new
addition to my toys, but didn't say what it was. I told him that it was
comparable to bringing home a Bentley Flying Spur or a really laid out
SeaRay 46'. I predict that when the smoker arrives, I will need
paramedics to calm him. I can see the poor old guy, now, laying in
ribs, salmon and chicken to use in my new smoker. . . even before I do.
grin

seriously don't know if you all share your 'Q with neighbors, but I
sure as heck do- along with my other experiments. It's a darned good
way to know people, and something that is appreciated. Another neighbor
has two teen aged boys, and they're the kind of kids you love to have
around. I took over some grilled Monkfish with Hollandaise sauce to the
family a few weeks back, and the boys waylaid me and ate all the
Monkfish before their folks even smelled it.

--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

On 30-Nov-2006, Nonnymus wrote:

43fan wrote:
"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
Harry, and all who replied: Today, I ordered the powder coated digital
4
shelf.

snip


seriously don't know if you all share your 'Q with neighbors, but I
sure as heck do- along with my other experiments. It's a darned good
way to know people, and something that is appreciated. Another neighbor
has two teen aged boys, and they're the kind of kids you love to have
around. I took over some grilled Monkfish with Hollandaise sauce to the
family a few weeks back, and the boys waylaid me and ate all the
Monkfish before their folks even smelled it.

--
---Nonnymus---

I've only shared a time or two with close friends and my daughter but,
this saturday, I plan to carry 'Q' and beans to a block party here in
the Mobile Home Park. I made a big pot of beans today and tomorrow, I'm
going to smoke five racks of ribs and two picnics. If'n I don't kill any-
body, I should know a bunch of people by Sunday. I'm pulling a 'Big
Jim' of LazyQ. Get most everything fixed the day before and reheat
the day of the event. That pretty well assures that there will be food to
eat at the appointed time. It works for Big Jim, but then he's been doing
it for awhile.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)