Bradley temp settings and smoke time for albies

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    Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 3:24pm
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Been doing well on the albies down this way of late and wanted to hear from others what temps and smoke times they are doing in their bradleys? Im chopping mine into v thick loin chunks b4 smoking...and my last lot (4 hr smoke, with 3 at 60 and last hr at 93 degrees) was nice but a bit on the dry side for my preference. 

Any thoughts/pearls of wisdom/learnings you can share? I've dont want to undersmoke or undercook the next batch it as I want to be able to squirrel some away for winter in the freezer without it going off. 

Be also interested to know what settings people use of delicate flesh fish like hoki. Cheers!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Unclejake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 3:56pm
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I only have an old fashioned smokehouse (without a temp gauge and burning bits of actual tree), but the one time I did albacore (for someone on this forum, but I can't remember who) I treated it like kingfish, and it was the same as yours Davo: A bit overdone and a bit dry

I usually do kingfish for 3.5 hours ion my particular smoker, but I think I would knock the time back for albacore by as much as an hour
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 6:29pm
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Thanks UJ...and thanks for that previous albacore smoke....I believe that smoke was for Richie and the fish was for me to take north to my whanau for a funeral. Personally I liked your product a lot and it was a hit up in Tairawhiti. I think I'll chop back my time to 3 hours...and drop the temp a bit. Any further advice from smoking gurus would however be much appreciated. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote lingee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jan 2015 at 5:46am
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firstly i donot put salt on the fillets and smoke at a medium heat checking from time to time. with no salt the fillets will stay moist.marinate with lemon pepper or your choice.stays moist for days.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote davv Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jan 2015 at 2:10pm
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what a good idea for a topic Davo- Santa dropped a 4 rack Bradley down my chimney and excitedly I had a decent smoke up with it at new year but was a little disappointed with the results of my bluenose salmon and kawahai- once I get something spot on I'll post here with specifics. I read a few links and they put you in the ball park I suppose but I haven't seen anything exact with Bradleys yet
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote skidoggg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jan 2015 at 6:24pm
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personnaly don't really enjoy alberts smoked as much as I do steaked and seared still pink in middle . have done a few even tried skippys smoked and they not good . set smoker to 80 odd deg c for about 3 to 4 hours .don't think its not cooked if its not super brown as easy to over cook fish .... just did full load of marlin slabs in my four rack at 81 for bout 5 hours then gave a boost at 92 deg for an hour . had to break piece open to check was not raw inside . important to cure overnight or 24 hours so cure can soak in .heaps of maple syrup or brown sugar to sweeten
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Tzer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 17 Jan 2015 at 10:21pm
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Davo instead of smoking the loins which do tend to dry out try doing just the belly flaps and wings, higher oil content there so wont/shouldnt dry out. Skippy flaps/wings also smoke up nicely.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 7:27am
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Cheers fellas. Bellies and wings are real good smoked for sure. Would using no salt mean the product would be less preserved? Ive been using the cure mix plus maple and golden syrup on mine for 24 hrs before smoking. The taste is good its just the texture im trying to improve...my last batch was v tasty and is well liked but i wondered if i smoked it cooler and shorter if id end up with a slightly less dense and more moist result. Ill keep on experimenting!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote No Fear Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 10:00pm
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I brine mine for 24 hrs then put in Bradley and smoke for 4 hours,no heat, have had several a+ ratings.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 6:38am
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Wow no heat...i hadnt thought of that. How long do they keep for?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote No Fear Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 7:20am
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didn't last long,too nice to not eat,, have had It in frigde for a week and still fine,, I use bacon brine, and all the other goodies in a brine, for 24 hours, then smoke,,,,,,,,, can give ya a full recipe if u would like, I vacuum pac an frezze
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2015 at 8:54am
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That sounds awesome Thanks kuruzin if you could give me the recipe ill give it a whirl. Cheers!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 10:02am
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Hot smoking - Basically you want to get the internal temp of your fish up to 71 degrees at the very end to make sure you have killed all the bacteria. I think with fish you can go a degree or two below that, compared to chicken and pork, but 71 is the FDA approved level.

I smoke fish for 3 - 4 hours at about 67c in the bradley then at the end crank it up to 73c  (bradley doesn't have 1 degree increments) for 20 mins to an hour to get up to temp. Often I do this without smoke if I think there is a nice smoke colour on the fish. At this stage I often baste it with sugar mixture to get that sweet caramel taste on the outside of the fish.
Key to moist fish is brine, water bowl in the bradley and you do not heat above 71 degrees internal temp... even if it has been in the smoker for 6 - 8 hours. Note with water in the bradley, the fish will take a lot longer to get up to temp. This is called the stall and is caused by water evaporation on the flesh/skin of the fish... esentially the same as sweating. Just ride through it... I've had. A good smoke takes time.
Cold smoke is below 33c. You CAN NOT do this in the bradley without the cold smoking attachment, as just the smoking plate heats your bradley up to 50c in summer. You need to stay below 33c to prevent bacteria growing for a cold smoke. Put a bowl of ice cubes in the bottom, put the bradley in the shade do anything to keep under 33c. Over that and you may as well hot smoke to be safe. Cold smoking key is the brining for something like cold smoked salmon - silky texture subtle smoky taste. For something like kippers more important is smoking them for ages 8 + hours - strong smoke flavour.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 11:16am
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Thanks Josh
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2015 at 5:56pm
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Am doing a cold smoke tonight. Found this wee gem quite informative http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/cepublications/pnw238/pnw238.pdf
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Espresso Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Feb 2015 at 6:17pm
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the longer you can cure, say 3 - days with the Bradley cure the better, tender, pink the flesh will be, which means you won't have to go quite so high in finishing temps.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bull Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Feb 2015 at 2:59pm
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So did you end up doing a proper cold smoke? How did it go and what was your process?
Nice simple article Dave. Interesting min internal temp where they recommend the 30 mins at 150 - 160f (65.5c - 71.1c) for hot smoking. I just thought it needed to hit 160c not sit there. I recon the time it takes to go from 65.5 to 71.1 would be well over 30 mins in the bradley if you have only just set the oven temp slightly higher, which I do. Espresso - cranking up the heat just dries out the outside and over cooks the fish, which some people prefer, but otherwise its that internal temp which is key.   
The other 2 criteria salt and refridgeration. I think most of us salt over night and put fish in fridge so those two things never gonna be a concern. For those that just spread a bit of salt and sugar and bang in a one of those small hot smokers well they cook the fish quickly and eating the meths would be just a bad as any bacteria!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Davo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Feb 2015 at 8:09pm
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turned out real good Josh. 5.5 hours at 26-28 degrees. Had fresh ice in every hour and that worked a treat. 



came out beautiful texture not hard and chewy with nice smoke flavour. Tips from Kuruzin helped too thanks mate! Only criticism from me is it wasnt as sweet - but that's down to how I washed n recoated i with my golden syrup (poor mans maple). Definitely paler but Im fine with that. Have dropped some round to friends throughout the day and will await their feedback. Unfortunately I ate my only open vac pac for breakfast :-) Will show a pic of what it looks like next time I open another. Cheers


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Fissure Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Feb 2015 at 9:01pm
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ha, those white trays fit perfect dave. looking forward to a sample.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Unclejake Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Feb 2015 at 12:43am
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Originally posted by Davo Davo wrote:

Thanks UJ...and thanks for that previous albacore smoke....I believe that smoke was for Richie and the fish was for me ...... 

Haha. Was it? Awesome. Richie was most definitely involved and I think he smoked up a batch too. His verdict was that both fish were nice, but different. 

It sounds like you have got the technique sorted now. Good work mate. Enjoy.
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