Bradley Digital Food Smoker Review: The Best Smoker Out There?
Bradley Smokers is a family company and is one of the most recognizable names in the outdoor smokers’ industry. The company was founded in the 1970s, and that is one interesting story. Bradley Smokers have been smoking food for 40+ years, delivering clean smoke to recipes with quality and consistency every time.
Back in the day, the entire smoking process was much more difficult. That is what motivated the founder of Bradley to come up with smoker designs that will make the entire process easy and enjoyable.
People behind Bradley smokers know that the most important part of the entire smoking process is controlling the smoke.
We will cover the digital 6 rack smoker today, often characterized by its outstanding performance. We’ll cover below (almost) everything there is to know about the Bradley digital smoker!
Bradley Digital 6 Rack Smoker (BTDS108P)
For all those searching for a quality smoker, there are several features you should pay attention to – the cooking space, the temperature ranges, and the versatility of the smoker. However, the beauty of owning a Bradley Smoker (especially this digital one) is that it comes with all the desirable and excellent features that any pitmaster is looking for.
Just like the previous model, this one is also easy to assemble, pretty straightforward to use, and you can experience a no babysitting, no hassle experience, and still get high-quality, clean smoky flavors every time. Let’s not forget that cleaning this smoker is also fast and easy.
As you already figured out from the title, this digital smoker comes with six racks, but you can also go for a smaller four-rack version. Besides the smoker, you will also get a cookbook and a user guide.
The Bradley 6 Rack smoker features:
- a 500-watt cooking element and a 125-watt smoking element.
- The exterior of the cabinet is 39″ high x 14″ deep x 17″ wide (plus another 13″ for the smoke generator)
- the interior is 15″ wide x 11.5″ deep x 33″ high.
- The unit weighs 67 pounds with the smoke generator attached.
The overall design of the Bradley 6 Rack digital smoker is very clean, both inside and out. The exterior is made of steel with epoxy powder coating and the interior is made of polished, stainless steel, ensuring that this unit will last a long time. The Bradley smoker team makes sure to add a lifetime value for loyal customers.
The smoker features a vertical, slimmer design without appearing too small or cramped. Even though this model comes with a huge cooking space, its size is very functional!
What makes Bradley smokers stand out is the “smoke generator” mounted on the side of the unit. Just like with the previous model, the smoke generator burns the Bradley bisquettes and then blows smoke into the cabinet which has an electric cooking element. Each bisquette can burn for about 20 minutes, making it a very efficient energy source, considering it only costs about 40¢ each. You can choose different flavors such as apple, alder, cherry, hickory, mesquite, pecan, or a different blends.
Bradley 6 Rack Digital Smoker will hot smoke, cold smoke and roast to perfection. The full digital control panel allows you to set the amount of smoke, cooking temperature and cooking time. this unique smoke without fire system operates for up to 8 hours without refueling.
The digital controller has smoke generator functions on the left and temperature functions on the right. It takes about 20 minutes for the heating element to warm up before you can press the “Wood” button and start feeding the bisquettes into the burner. The temperatures are set just like on your kitchen oven. Independent timers are integrated for both the smoke and oven functions.
Additional Features:
- Large Cooking Capacity
Just like the Bradley Smart Smoker, this model comes with a large cooking space as well. To be more precise, you will get 781 square inches of space for smoking your favorite foods. This is more than enough room to feed a large gathering. Also, if you love smoking larger cuts of meat, this smoker will meet all your needs.
You can use all six racks at once, just keep in mind that there are a few spots within the smoker that are slightly hotter than others. This won’t give you any trouble when cooking food, but you should give the smoker a test run before serving friends and family.
- Versatile Cooking Device
This smoker also comes with two separate heating components – heat for smoking and oven or convection heat.
Thanks to this, you will be able to cook with or without heat and with or without smoke. So, Bradley 6 Rack Smoker can be used as a slow cooker, oven, cold smoker, or dehydrator and it is perfect not just for meats but also for fish, vegetables, nuts and cheese.
- Heavy-Duty Door That Traps Heat
Bradley 6 Rack Digital Smoker features a heavy-duty magnetic door that traps in heat beautifully.
There are a few obvious reasons why you should get a smoker with a tightly-sealed door that traps in heat. First of all, trapped heat means that all your food will be cooked evenly. Then, there will be minimal heat transferring to the exterior of the smoker, making it safe especially for children and pets. Last but not least, the ability to retain heat also means that the smoker can work well in all weather.
And be aware that this smoker is design for low and slow cooking, a technique that delivers the best flavor to your recipes, making any kind of meat tender and juicy. and if you need something to get done quickly you can always add the smoke flavor on the smoker, finish or sear for a quicker doneness on your grill.
Pros:
- No babysitting, no hassle smoker that cooks food evenly
- The construction of the smoker is durable and of high quality
- The automatic feeder saves you from opening the door and losing heat
- A versatile smoker that can be used as a smoker, an oven, or a cold smoker to cook meat, vegetables, and cheese
- The smoker can work for up to eight hours without any smoke or heat loss
Cons:
- You can only use Bradley bisquettes to fuel the smoker
- It is a hot smoker, but won’t get hotter than 280 degrees F (137.8 degrees C) (for me this is a pro for slow cooking, but might be a con if you are in a hurry)
- The unit can be pricey
Bradley Smoker Wrap up
Bradley is a brand with a special line of smokers. The company may manufacture different models that come with different features, but all Bradley smokers have the same qualities – they are built to last (Yes, we found smoker fans using their units for 10 years); they are easy to use, and they cook food perfectly every time. You can choose from four-rack or six-rack models, and both are large enough to feed a large group of people. In addition, the smokers are well-insulated so they maintain a consistent temperature and smoke amount throughout cooking. Whether you are just starting out with smoking or you’re already an experienced cook, Bradley smokers will fulfill all your needs! If you love food smoking, definitely check out Bradley’s food smoking tips & tricks to level up your next cookout adventure!
Happy Smoking!