Smoking a load of meat on Saturday, need some pointers

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iahusker

Newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2017
23
12
Northwest Iowa
Hi all, I'm in charge of preparing the meat for a wedding reception on Saturday. My plan is to have the meat done an hour and a half before meal time to allow it to rest and allow me to get there (15 min away) I am smoking 9 bone in turkey breasts and 5 boneless pork loins. I've smoked each before many times in much smaller numbers, and figure 4.5 hours for the turkey and 2.5 hours for the pork at 250-260 degrees. My concern is this will be the first time my smoker has had this amount of meat in it, and am wondering how much extra time, if any, to expect from the greater mass of food. My smoke chamber is 3' x 3' x 6', and holds temperature very well once it has warmed up. Advice or thoughts from people with experience is appreciated!
 
It's hard to say how your smoker will react.
You mentioned the cook chamber size. But what kind of smoker is it.
In the beginning I would run your smoker up to a higher temp than what your planning to cook at, because once that meat gets loaded the temp will drop. And then adjust your temp accordingly.
I think I would give yourself an extra hour. If the food gets done a little early you can always rest it in cooler with towels.
 
I agree with hardcookin.

Run the temp up higher than you want to cook at then add the meat.

After everything comes to temp the times should be about normal.
 
If I am smoking l always build in a 2 hour pad to cover my butt just in case recovery is slow or the unexpected happens. If uneventful, Foil and coolers are my best friend, next to the smoker...JJ
 
Last edited:
Hi all, I'm in charge of preparing the meat for a wedding reception on Saturday. My plan is to have the meat done an hour and a half before meal time to allow it to rest and allow me to get there (15 min away) I am smoking 9 bone in turkey breasts and 5 boneless pork loins. I've smoked each before many times in much smaller numbers, and figure 4.5 hours for the turkey and 2.5 hours for the pork at 250-260 degrees. My concern is this will be the first time my smoker has had this amount of meat in it, and am wondering how much extra time, if any, to expect from the greater mass of food. My smoke chamber is 3' x 3' x 6', and holds temperature very well once it has warmed up. Advice or thoughts from people with experience is appreciated!

Never worry about metal.....it should be fine unless it's a traeger and then you will have problems. For me the most important thing is fire management and keeping hydrated and cool.
 
That's a nice custom setup! But as far as times, only you are going to be able to figure that out being that it's custom.
Just give yourself enough time...
I will be following your post...Good Luck!
 
I cooked about 7 racks of ribs and 40 lbs of leg quarters last weekend for a grad party.

Some tips:
Pad EXTRA time for your EXTRA time just in case.
I agree to cook high and adjust later. nothing is gonna burn that fast in a long smoke.

I had to carve the ribs and that added to my freak out time. I was about 20 minutes late.

Good luck! 
 
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