Food smoking is a slow process. Here the food is cooked in low heat constantly for hours till it reaches the desired flavor. This allows the food to absorb a more intense smoky flavor as compared to searing or grilling. As difficult as it might get to prepare the food smoker to reach the ideal temperature, it is more challenging to cool down the smoke when the temperature starts rising. However, it is an important step to maintain a consistently low temperature inside the food smoker to get perfectly cooked and tender juicy steaks.

If you often struggle to cool down a heated-up food smoker, this guide will definitely help you.

Cooling down a conventional food smoker

The most important factor while operating a conventional smoker is to assess its temperature to know when you should cool it down. The best solution is to use a smoker thermometer. It will show you the temperature inside the smoker, to help you keep a constant track of it while cooking.

Regulate airflow through the chimney or top vent: The hot air from the Bradley chamber rises and vents out through the top vent. If you close the top vent, it will contain more smoke in the unit by cutting off the air supply. So, adjust the top vent only to let more smoke escape from the chamber to keep the inner temperature at a minimum.

Bonus tips to cool down the smoker

Here are two other methods that you can try with your conventional food smoker.

Use compressed wood bisquettes: Compressed wood bisquettes are designed with uniform density and thickness. Bradley Bisquettes extinguish automatically before turning to ashes to ensure only pure smoke reaches your food. Bradley Bisquettes comes in different flavors like apple, cherry, oak, pecan, alder, maple, etc.

You can check out our unique bisquette flavor profiles here!

Go for a cold smoke adaptor kit: The cold smoke adaptor kit helps to cook foods by cold smoking inside a conventional food smoker. The Bradley Cold Smoke Adaptor enables you to do a true and simple cold smoke. Even on warm summer days! (minimum temperature is subject to ambient temperature).

By moving the bisquette burner outside the smoke box, you can turn any Original or Digital Bradley Smoker into a cold smoker unit. (Not compatible with P10 Smoker – BS1019)

Constructed from powder-coated steel, the adaptor fits between the smoke tower and generator. Using a flexible aluminum tube (36” long extended) that lets the smoke cool before reaching your food. Allowing you to do a true cold smoke.

Benefits of using a good food smoker

With a high-quality smoker that has many advanced features, temperature control will be a breeze. Thankfully there are food smokers from Bradley Smoker that are designed to offer a convenient food smoking experience without intervening much during the operation of the smoker. Here are some Bradley features that you should look for in every high-quality food smoker.

Digital console for time and temperature control: Bradley smoker enables pre-setting cooking time and temperature before you start smoking. This will configure the smoker to work at a constant temperature the recipe you’re smoking demands. Forget the trouble of temperature tracking and all the hassles of cooling down the smoker.

Trouble-free bisquette feeding: With an automatic bisquette feeder, all Bradley Smokers can self-feed. Once you fill the chamber, the smoker can operate constantly for up to 10 hours with periodic supervision.

Ergonomic design for faster cooking: Magnetic doors prevent excess smoke from escaping the chamber and an insulated body regulates the temperature inside the smoker. These features prevent slowing down the cooking process due to temperature fluctuation.

Food smoking at home gives you the luxury to cook your favorite foods from the comfort of your own home. It is also a great way to surprise your guests at house parties. However, the additional work associated with food smoking can be quite tedious. High-quality food smokers like Bradley smoker takes a lot of burden off your shoulders and makes food smoking easy and more convenient. For more great ideas on how to get the most out of your Bradley Smoker, check out the awesome articles on our Bradley Smoker Food Smoking Blog for more tips & tricks.