Multiple meats - start them together or add later so finish together

[TorontoPete]

Hi all,

Tomorrow I am doing some ribs, wings and 5lb brisket.  Wondering if I should start the ribs at the same time as brisket to get smoke.  And pull the ribs after a couple hours and put them back in to get 5 hrs cooking.  With the wings I was thinking of putting them in for 2hrs near the end when the brisket starting to break from stall.  Should I reload with wood then?  Would it be too much smoke for the brisket?  I guess I can finish brisket in oven.  What do you guys usually do?

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[kz0m]

Hi Peter and welcome from DFW Texas area!

Just my own small experience:  I have smoked chicken on the bottom rack, small brisket on the middle rack and two pork butts on the top rack, all spaced accordingly on my model 3D without any problem.  I pulled the chickens first, then the small brisket, about 8 pounds worth and finally the pork butts after about 15 hours total time.  I'd put them in at the same time myself, you will smoke them first then they just cook after about 1.5-2 hours.  Also, poultry will absorb smoke quicker than the others and finish before the beef/pork will according to its size anyway.

Just my two cents worth, I had a successful smoke that way and would do it again if I needed to smoke more than one type of meat anyway.  Smoke all the meat first, I put the meat probe in the chicken breast, pulled the chicken after about 3-4 hours at 165, put the probe in the small brisket to 190 and pulled it and finally, put the probe into one of the pork butts to finish things off at 195 there.  A long smoke for three types of meat but they all turned out great!

Carl

[TorontoPete]

Thanks Carl.  Probably the way to go.

[Three Sons BBQ]

There is no right answer.

I have done both ways.

Start pork butt and let it smoke for 12 hours... Wrap it up... Throw in some fresh chips and throw the ribs on with fresh smoke for the ribs.

Plus at that point the butt was wrapped so it wouldn't get flooded with smoke on the bark wouldn't turn bitter, etc

Give whatever you want a try!!!!

Let us know.

[SuperDave]

When smoking multiple meat types it is best to try and pair meats of similar time requirements.  The amount of wood you will want to use for the brisket is much different than the amount of wood to use for ribs or wings.  I think you also could be looking at a long smoke on the small brisket.  The small, tough cuts tend to take the same amount of time as cuts twice their size.  I'd get 4 or 5 hours of smoker time on the brisket and finish in the oven.  Then you can start fresh with the ribs and wings.  Everything should start in the smoke at the same time.  If wings have to come out early, so be it.  Your smoke menu choices aren't ideal together so there will have to be some compromises.

[Pork Belly]

When mixing meat types, either in my SI #3 or at work I never add raw chicken to a smoke in progress. I start the chicken with the other product then remove the chicken when it is at final IT of 165. The beef and pork will continue smoking to IT of 190-200'ish. If you already have a mass of meat, lets say a large butt in the smoker, it is trying to climb in temp out of the stall to finished IT, you then introduce a rack of cold meat to the smoker to act as an additional heat sink, your not doing your main course any favors. However if all that meat started cold and came up in temp together you are removing mass from the smoker as the smoke progresses.

I do not believe that a quick opening of the smoker and pulling the entire rack negatively affects box temp. Sitting there fussing with product while the door is open is not a good idea, if you going to open the smoker during a smoke be quick and efficient.

This method also prevents any possibility of chicken juice getting on beef or pork.  Additionally Wings can be kept t temp or reheated and served as appetizers while you wait on the main course.

Back in the day when all I had was a Round Brinkman top loader we would  put the appetizer stuff on the top rack and the main course on the bottom rack then eat our way down to it.

[TorontoPete]

Thanks guys.  I'll let you know how I work it out.