“At work over the last six years I have been using a Bradley smoker to enhance and give a new dimension to the food we prepare. Home smoking was quite a difficult affair until we got one of these fantastic machines; up to that moment the likelihood of you setting fire to the smoker, the food you where smoking and yourself were quite high. But now the smoker controls how long the wood smolders for in a safe enclosed unit. With the Bradley, you just simply place the wood chips into the stacking system that then automatically feeds them through on to a hot plate where they smolder and produce the smoke, which, with the help of a heating element, flavours and cooks the food.

Hot and cold smoking

This is what we call hot smoking – that is, cooking food and flavouring it with smoke at the same time. Bradleys can also be used for cold smoking with the help of a cold smoke adaptor that fits on to the unit. Cold smoking is flavouring cured foods by placing them in a smoky environment with no heat so that they gain the smoky flavour but do not cook. An example of this is smoked salmon. Traditionally, food was smoked to extend its shelf life but nowadays we like the smoked flavor and have found ways of enhancing the food we eat by smoking it. Smoking can also add value to your food if you have a business or a bounty of food at set times of year, such as game or fish. To give you an example, a ready smoked chicken will cost around £7.99. I can smoke a chicken myself for £3.00. I have also smoked game, such as pheasants, in the same way I have smoked chicken and produced an exceptional starter during the season when game is plentiful.

Over the next few weeks I will be doing demos as Holkham and the CLA on smoking foods so I thought I would blog the recipes below for some of the foods I will be using. Happy smoking and see you at the shows - look out for Bradley Smokers at the CLA.  

Whole hot smoked chicken

1 whole chicken

2 lt cold water

200g curing salts

1)      Mix curing salts and water together  to create a brine.

2)      Place the brine into a small container so that when you submerge the chicken into it, it covers the bird.

3)      Leave the chicken in the brine overnight.

4)      Take the chicken out of the brine and drain any liquid out of the cavity.

5)      Truss the chicken (tie ready for cooking)

6)      Take a cloth and dry the skin well on the chicken, then place it on a cloth covered tray in the fridge again overnight. Do not cover it, because you want the skin to dry out so that the smoke will stick to it.

7)      Fill the stacking tube with wood chips. I have used hickory and oak for chicken.

8)      Fill a dousing bowl with water. Wood chips may fall into this when they have burnt out.

9)      Turn smoker on and set to high heat.

10)  Place the chicken on a smoking rack and into the smoker. If you are smoking more than one, make sure they are not touching so that the smoke can get all around them.

11)   Cook the chicken in the Bradley for between 45 to 60 minutes but check the juices are running clear and that the thickest part has a core temp of least at 65 to 70°C - use a temperature probe to do this.

12)  Once cooked, remove from the smoker, allow to cool then refrigerate. It can be used cold for salads, sandwich fillings or warmed up to be used in soups and pasta dishes amongst many other uses.

Hot smoked salmon

1 side of salmon

300g caster sugar

150g table salt  

Olive oil

1)      Make sure the salmon is free from bones.

2)      Trim the tail end off so that the side is the same thickness and width all the way through. Also make sure it fits on a rack nicely, allowing the smoke to freely pass around it. If necessary, with very large fish cut it in half.

3)      Place the salmon on to a tray.

4)      Mix the sugar and salt together well then sprinkle the mix over the top of the salmon. Use all the mix.

5)      Place in the fridge and leave overnight.

6)      The next morning, wash the sugar and salt mix off, then dry the salmon well using a cloth. If you have time, place in the fridge for a few hours to dry out further.

7)      Brush the skin side with some olive oil and place on the smoking rack.

8)      Fill the stacking tube with wood chips - I have used hickory, maple and oak for salmon.

9)      Three-quarters fill a dousing bowl with water. This is the bowl where the wood chips fall after they have burnt out.

10)  Turn the smoker on and set to high heat.

11)    Place the salmon in the smoker for 30 minutes. The salmon should be cooked but still moist in the middle. Its better slightly under-cooked as it will continue cooking once removed from smoker and allowed to cool.

12)   Once cooked, remove from smoker, allow to cool then refrigerate. It can be used cold for salads, sandwich fillings or warmed up to be used in soups and pasta dishes amongst many other uses.