ANOTHER TIMING QUESTION

[KARENCOOKS]

I'm going to have an almost full smoker for the first time  ;D and was wondering how much extra time to allow, is there a minute/total pound formula or just wing it? I'll be doing a full rack of ribs on one shelf, 10 chix legs on the next and 2 whole chix on the next. Any ideas? total pounds for all items wuold be 17 lbs. 10lb whole chickens, 4 lbs chicken legs and 3 lbs ribs.

[icerat4]

I say 4 hours of smoke time .and an additional 5-6 hours cook time .its tuff when ya do different stuff at one time.in the same smoker.

[BigSmoker]

I don't normally cook that much food so this may be a little off so take it for what its worth ;D.  Poultry soaks up the smoke so I'm saying max time of smoke 2.5 hours but this is all personal preference ;).  Whole chickens normally take 4.5-5 hours, ribs(for me st. louis style) 4-4.5 hours, Chicken legs I've never done but I'm thinking 3-3.5 hours.  All of this cooked at appx. 235°f-240°f.  If you are doing it all at the same time preheat the smoker to high.  Whole chickens on bottom then legs then ribs.  Not sure I would want chicken drippings on my ribs.  Total cooking time may increase by 1-1.5 hours with all that food but like I said I don't cook that much at 1 time so I might be completely wrong ???  Let us know how it goes please.

[asa]

I agree about smoking the chicken for a shorter period of time than the ribs. You may want to start the chicken later, or remove it to the oven before the ribs are done.

[Habanero Smoker]

Karen,

You also have to factor in that you are trying to smoke 14 pound of chicken, with skin on, at one time. That is going to create a lot of moisture in your BS, and keep your temperature down. With that much chicken you may just barely get the BS up to 200F during the first 2-3 hours. You do have the option to take the chicken out, after 2-3 hours and finish off on the grill or oven.

[KARENCOOKS]

So far, this is how its going, I put 1 whole chicken, abt 4.5 lbs on the bottom rack, 12 chicken legs on the mid rack and 1 split rack of baby back ribs on the top.

Pre-heated for 45 minutes, to abt 250, put all meat in, immeadiately temp dropped to 150.

vent is about 2/3 open. after abt 1 hr temp up to 200 and staying there. Kinda suprising as its 105 outside already.  :o

After 3 1/2 hrs whole chicken is nicely finished, legs still a little pink inside, need another half hr or so, and the ribs need still more time.

This was a good learning session, I thought the legs would get done first as they are the smallest in mass, but the chicken is closer to the element so i guess thats the reason. Still, it all smells terrific.

We are going to the NASCAR race this weekend at Sears Point ( I know, but I refuse to call it the I word...) and the chicken legs, smoked chicken wraps, and smoked tri-tip wraps are on the menu. Plus some pretty darn good racing!!!! go Gordon!!

[Habanero Smoker]

After 3 1/2 hrs whole chicken is nicely finished, legs still a little pink inside, need another half hr or so, and the ribs need still more time.

This was a good learning session, I thought the legs would get done first as they are the smallest in mass, but the chicken is closer to the element so i guess thats the reason. Still, it all smells terrific.

It is best to go by the internal temperature. Pink meat in chicken does not necessarily mean that it is not cooked to the proper temperature. Pink meat, especially around the joints, in chicken is common when it is smoked. It can also be a sign that the chicken was very young when it was processed.

[Malc]

Good to know Habanero.  I experienced the same with chicken, and thought it was underdone.

As far as timing, I did 16+ lbs. of shoulder for the fourth split into two approx. equal halves.  I put it in at a temp of 220 at 10:00 p.m. on the third, and pulled it off at 1:00 p.m. on the fourth at an internal of 185.  That was about 15 hrs. plus a one hour ftc.  I used apple for smoke for 5hrs.  That was the first time I had done that much at once.  One thing to keep in mind is that I think you should always plan for longer time than you think it may take.  If it finishes early and you FTC, that stuff will stay hot for hours.  I use one of those 5 day coolers, and after an hour I could still barely handle the stuff it was so hot.  Plus, you can always reheat if you have to.

[rhodhse]

I agree that timing is a difficult thing to estimate.  When I have cooked shoulder, and most recently 16 lbs of brisket, it took much longer than I anticipated.  I stuck with the temp. as the way to determine when it is cooked.  The best way to get chicken right is to stop cooking when it reaches 160 (instant read) pink doesn't matter, and for ribs it is the twist method.  Personally, I would finish the chicken on the grill to get it perfect.