Pork and Chicken together

[Joel]

I just purchased a boneless pork shoulder 12.5 lbs. I'm wanting to cook 3 whole chickens also. We are having family over for a party Sunday around 3pm. I was wondering if someone could give me some instuctions on how to go about this, do I put them both in together or start one and add the other later. Do both cook at the same temp? I'm new at this but learning all the time. Any help I would appreciate.
Thanks

[West Coast Kansan]

I would do the pork on Saturday and the chickens on Sunday.  The pork will rest nice and the smoke flavor is better the next day IMO. Just put the pork in the fridge wrapped / covered real good after you FTC for a couple of hours. 

Allow yourself plenty of time for 3 whole chickens.  Like 5 hours plus your margin. Preheat to 250 and put the water bowl with hot water in when you start the smoke and install the food. Keep the vent open full for the first half of the smoke and then no more than half closed. Keep the door closed and use an internal thermometer.

If you use chicken crowns and no cans that will help with the cook time as well. 

[Joel]

Thanks for the fast reply.One more thing I would like the pork to be pulled pork, at what temp should I FTC. Thanks

[hillbillysmoker]

I do 195.

[manxman]

I do 185F internal meat temp, seen various posts here ranging from around 175F to 195F.  :)

[West Coast Kansan]

Shoulders I dont normally go as high as butts maybe 175 to 180 but will slice them.  Butts are higher temps 190 - 195. Given you want to pulled pork I would target 185 - 190 internal temp to take it out of the smoker and FTC at least two hours, 3 better if you wrap it well - add a couple of splashes of apple juice when you wrap it in foil and towels.

You might FTC in an Oven preheated to 200 and then turned off.

Pull it before you put it into the fridge on Saturday night if that is the sequence you want use. Keep it tightly sealed when it goes into the fridge.

You will see what you like and wont go real wrong with anything posted here. You will also find your own magic point and methods in time. Especially ribs are a personal thing - that i still have not perfected.  Post your results and have fun, family will love it.

[Gizmo]

One thing to consider when trying to decide on the appropriate take off internal temperature is what the cook temperature is.  When slow cooking tougher cuts of meet, the higher the cook temperature is, the faster the internal temp will get to your desired point.  Lower cook temperature will take longer.  If your final internal temp is too close to your cook temp (for instance your cook temp is 200 degrees and your desired internal temperature is 195 deg) you may never get there until the meat has turned into charcoal.  Some recommendations I have seen state to have your cook temperature 60 degrees above your internal temperature.  That recommendation may be from the wood burners as 60 degrees seems a little extreme but the philosophy is good.  I like to have 30 to 40 degrees or so in the Bradley.

[Habanero Smoker]

All the above methods sound good, and it winds up being a matter of preference. Just to add to the thread. It is not always the final internal temperature that is a deciding factor, but how you got there. If you get there too fast, the connective tissue will not have long enough time to break down into gelatin. So you can be at 195°F, and have a very tough piece of meat. If you get there slowly, you can have a very tender piece of meat that can be pulled at 175°F. The longer you can keep the internal temperature 165°F and higher, the longer you give the connective tissue time to dissolve.

[Joel]

Final result. Thanks to the info I recieved everything turn out great. I was gone all day on Saturday and did not get home till 12am. I put the pork roast in the smoker around 1am after everything was heated up to my temp of 210 and went to bed. When I got up at 7am the digital thermometer probe read 150. Around 8am I butterflyed 2 whole chickens ( which I learned how from a link on this web site) IMO that is the best way to cook whole chicken in a smoker. Anyway when I put the chicken in with the pork I kicked the temp up to 250 air damper all the way open for the first hour to hour and a half then went to three quarter. The roast hit target temp of 175 around 11am took out and FTC for two hours in a oven preheated to 200 then turned off. The roast turned out very good tender enough to slice some and shred the rest. The chicken was a little dry but that was my fault. I had the probe stuck in the theigh it raised to the target temp so fast I thought I stuck it wrong hitting a bone or somthing. So I raised my temp and restuck in the breast, again the temp raised fast, I looked at the chickens outside, it looked like it could go more so I let it cook more. So it was a little over cooked.

I'm not quite sure the proper place to take the temp. Is 170 high enough for the theigh or the rest of the chicken to be done?

Thanks again for everyone's help

[West Coast Kansan]

170 thigh and 160 breast is my target.  I would also look at the liquids to be clear - I have not split a chicken in the smoker often, I have on grills and oven to finish.  Will give it a try more often.  We eat lots of chicken.  Sounds like a great fathers day  ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

If I am smoking/cooking chicken in the smoker; for me it's 165°F dark meat, and 155°F breast (if smoked separately). If you are doing whole or halved chickens always go the by the thigh temperature, to ensure the thigh meat is done. For me, under cooked thigh and leg meat is kind of slimy, and has a metallic taste. If you are unsure of the placement of the probe, you can slowly move the probe in and out to see if the temperature drops. Most probes take several seconds to obtain a new reading, so give your probe a chance to register the temperature after you move it. If it drops you can continue cooking. If the temperature rises, when the probe is moved in either direction, then it is done. Better yet get a good instant read thermometer, but instant reads can be slow to register a temperature. Thermopens are great, but at $85 and up, it may not be practical for most. A good $10 - $20 dial instant read take a faster reading then most digital one on the market.