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Bradley Smokers Frequent Questions

Bradley Smokers – Questions you ask us

As we continue to grow our sales of Bradley Food smokers we thought it would be a good idea to publish on our website some of the common questions that we get asked regarding the Bradley Smoker products

Where must I locate the smoker and can it be used indoors?

The Bradley Smoker is a natural draft smoker which means that smoke rises through the cabinet and exits through the vent in the top. It would normally be used outdoors and is light enough to lift and carry easily from a place of permanent storage into the open air. That said, it would be perfectly possible to use the smoker indoors having arranged a method of smoke extraction.

How much smoke does it make?

Too much to use indoors in a confined space without specific ventilation - see above. But outside in the open, or under a lean to, the smoke rapidly dissipates . It does not make bonfires full of smoke. It will not disturb the neighbours!

What is the difference between a cold smoked or hot smoked product?

Most smoked foods that are produced for resale are first cured and then cold smoked. Cold smoking is usually done below 100 degrees F. or below a temperature that burns or liquefies fat. Heat is added at the end of the smoking process for appearance and flavour. A hot smoked food needs very little curing and has the appearance, taste, and texture of fully cooked foods.

Why is cold smoke so important?

Creating smoke without heat is the best way to control the flavour of any food being smoked. In most food smokers heat is generated by burning wood, as the wood burns from ignition to complete ash the wood generates heat. At the point where wood is self-consuming (burns without any heat source) it produces a lot of heat. At this point there is very little smoke produced and the temperature within the smoker is out of control. A food smoker will produce a far superior tasting food if the temperature and smoke remain at a constant and controlled level.

How long does it take to smoke food in the Bradley Smoker?

Obviously the times vary with the size of the cuts or portions of food, and with whether you are cold or hot smoking. Well you knew that, but to give a simple answer - hot smoked chicken in the time it takes to cook, say 90 minutes - 2 hrs, cold smoked salmon in 4 to 5 hours, bacon (cold smoked) in 6 hours, cheese in say 3 hours, mackerel in say 45 minutes. The answer is probably a lot quicker than you imagined.

Are the Bisquettes organic?

The bisquettes are made with all natural products and the wood we use is clean and kiln dried and has not been used for some other purpose before we made it into a bisquette. Collagen is used to bind the wood chippings. The bisquettes are in all respects organic.

What types of foods are the different Bisquettes used for?

There are 9 different flavours of bisquettes that you can purchase for the Bradley smoker and we recommend that clients who are new to smoking purchase a variety pack with their first machine. This will allow you to trial some different flavours against the foods you are cooking to find the flavours that suit your pallet and the end product you are looking to achieve, with each bisquette burning in about 20 minutes that gives you approx 4 hours of smoking time with each flavour from the variety pack.

If you are looking for recipes for the various flavours below are some ideas of the type of food you can smoke with each flavour of bisquette.