Chicken Thighs and Ribs at same time

[oakrdrzfan]

I am planning on smoking chicken thighs and pork spare ribs at the same time today.  All racks will be filled.  It is cold and based on my past smokes, the smoker may not get up to 225F.  Is there much danger of bacteria for the chicken if it stays cool for too long?  It has been brined.

[Tenpoint5]

Put the chicken under the ribs. Then you don't have any nasty disease ridden chicken drippings falling on top of your Ribs.

[oakrdrzfan]

Put the chicken under the ribs. Then you don't have any nasty disease ridden chicken drippings falling on top of your Ribs.

That covers the ribs, but should I be concerned about the chicken? 

[Tenpoint5]

The chicken will be closer to the heat source so it should be ok. Preheat your cabinet to 250* then quickly put everything in. Leave the temp set at 250 until the meat starts to get close to your desired cook temp then adjust the set point down.

[Smokey the Bear.]

 I live in Toronto, Canada and it gets very cold here. I am thinking about loading my smoker with meat and then setting the timer to turn the smoker on at a specified time so that it would be done around the time i get home from work.

Is there anything that could go wrong with this kind of setup. Thanks.

[Habanero Smoker]

I live in Toronto, Canada and it gets very cold here. I am thinking about loading my smoker with meat and then setting the timer to turn the smoker on at a specified time so that it would be done around the time i get home from work.

Is there anything that could go wrong with this kind of setup. Thanks.

Just thinking out loud, but if you provide more information it may be easier for other to answer your question. My first thought is; if it is too warm, then you have a problem with bacteria. If it is too cold, then the meat will be very cold when the heat is finally turned on. That will slow down the ability for the smoker to get up to your set temperature. That will extend the cooking time, and possibly the length of time the meat is in the danger zone.


How cold is the ambient temperature?

What type of meat, and how many pounds?

How long will it be sitting in the smoker before you begin to apply heat?

How long will it be after the heat is turned on that you will be home to monitor the smoker?

[Smokey the Bear.]

The ambient temperature is just below freezing for most days in Toronto.

It would be chicken either a whole one or drums and thighs.

It will probably be in the smoker for about 3 hours before the smoker turns on.

I would be home 3 hours after the smoking process has begun to be able to see what is going on out there.

I just want to be able to start the cooking process before i arrive at home so i can get er done for dinner time at 5 pm. :D

[seemore]

Oak, let us know how the chicken and ribs turn out.

Smokey, good luck!!

Mrs.

[Habanero Smoker]

I would be very uncomfortable handling chicken in that manner. The chicken may be in the danger zone for too long. Also when you slowly raise the temperature, such as you are doing in this case (because of the cold meat and cold ambient temperature) over a long period of time, bacteria can become more tolerant, and will need a higher temperature to kill them; giving them more time to multiply.

If you take a look at the beginning of the article in the following link, it will give you an idea of how fast bacteria can multiply.

Food Poisoning & Food Hygiene

[oakrdrzfan]

Oak, let us know how the chicken and ribs turn out.

Smokey, good luck!!

Mrs.

The chicken and ribs both turned out great.  No pictures though.

[seemore]

Well, there's always NEXT TIME for the pictures, right?????
Mrs