Vertical smoking and cross meat contamination

[chops1sc]

I did my first ever smoke last weekend (chicken wings and a bacon explosion) and my common sense told me to put the chicken on the bottom (I put them in at the same time). Even if the bacteria dies from the heat I would rather be on the safe side and put the chicken on the bottom. This is great information in any case.

 

[thumperjay]

Along these lines, at what temperature would you cook a mixed smoke?  My wife wants to do a couple of chickens and a couple of small beef roasts.  Would you start the roasts at 225 until the last 2 hrs, then crank it up to 250-275 for the last 2 hrs with the chickens added?  I have an MES40.

 

[phatbac]

 
Along these lines, at what temperature would you cook a mixed smoke?  My wife wants to do a couple of chickens and a couple of small beef roasts.  Would you start the roasts at 225 until the last 2 hrs, then crank it up to 250-275 for the last 2 hrs with the chickens added?  I have an MES40.

I cook beef and chicken at the same temp all the time. for beef roast though i take to about 140 or so and pull it from the smoker and let it rest. if you going to do pulled beef like a chuck roast you will want to go higher but if its roast beef for sammies or just to eat sliced i wouldn't take much past 140 degrees IT. if i were to put chicken above it i would put in a foil pan and you wouldn't have a drip problem. Don't worry about covering the bottom it will still get plenty of smoke to it. if you wanna go hotter for crisp skin on the chicken it won't hurt that roast at all. it will be done a little faster but i have cooked many beef roast at high temps (about 275-290) and they turn out fine.

Hope that helps,

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[chef jimmyj]

 
Along these lines, at what temperature would you cook a mixed smoke?  My wife wants to do a couple of chickens and a couple of small beef roasts.  Would you start the roasts at 225 until the last 2 hrs, then crank it up to 250-275 for the last 2 hrs with the chickens added?  I have an MES40.

Even at 275 you are not likely to get crisp skin on the birds. I would smoke everything at 225-250. When the Breast IT hit 150, toss the birds in a 425 oven or hot indirect grill to crisp the skin and finish the cook to an IT of 165. Over/Under, Pan/No Pan? Your choice but nothing to worry about...JJ

 

[thumperjay]

Thanks for the tips Aaron and JJ.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[tjdcorona]

Happy Fathers DAy

 

[tjdcorona]

I do it all at 225 - plan on the chickens for 6 hrs at that temp - the beef - put in accordingly

 

[thumperjay]

 

[thumperjay]

So I smoked everything at 250 with Mesquite.  I spatchcocked the chickens and did one with EVOO + Montreal Mesquite and the other with EVOO + Montreal spicy.  At 1 hr 45 mins, the meat probe read 165, so we pulled them out.  I double checked with a kitchen thermometer and it said 155, so we put them in the oven at 425 for about 15 mins and they were at 170.  The were really juicy and fully cooked, but not as smokey as I would have liked.  The rest of the family said the skin was smokier, but I'm not a big skin guy.

https://gyazo.com/ee3813a6157981f431174097c896353b

The beef was chuck roast, which I read elsewhere should be taken to ~200 IT to break down the fat.  So I left those in for about 6.5 hrs.  I just used mustard/spog.  I had read that some people pull them early, wrap them in foil/liquid and finish them off without smoke, but the wife wanted to just smoke them the whole time.  When the hit 202 and I opened the door, my immediate reaction was to regret that decision.  They were very dark, almost black.  We pulled them out and broke one open and it wasn't as bad as it looked.  They are pretty salty and in my opinion too dry, but my kids absolutely love them.  Slap them on some bread with a little bbq sauce and they make some decent sammies.

https://gyazo.com/bff6f33fe6d9b35328144bd42b3ea1c4

Not sure about the preferred method for posting pictures on this forum, so I hope those come through. 

 

[tjdcorona]

This is a great hobby - nobody would have realized this was so difficult to get the perfect cook if you weren't so passionate about it! 5 years into this hobby and I always learn more - and GET TO EAT GREAT FOOD !! Cant get any better!

 

[mountainmama]

 
Even at 275 you are not likely to get crisp skin on the birds. I would smoke everything at 225-250. When the Breast IT hit 150, toss the birds in a 425 oven or hot indirect grill to crisp the skin and finish the cook to an IT of 165. Over/Under, Pan/No Pan? Your choice but nothing to worry about...JJ

I should have read this the day I joined.
I smoked 2 chickens and the skin was not crispy. This is great advice. Thumbs up dude.

 

[mountainmama]

 
Sorry Guys but...IT JUST DON'T MATTER! Chicken on top, Chicken on bottom? Don't matter...Let's look at the Worst Case scenario.

You are smoking a rack of Ribs, 225°F, at the 4 hours mark you put a whole drippy Chicken on top for a 2 hour smoke. Red Bacteria laden Chix juices are oozing all over the Ribs...ONE MINUTE later you realize the smoker temps were higher than you thought, this whole time the smoker was at 275°F, and Those Ribs Are Done! You immediately remove the Ribs...Any Problem here???? Is a trip to the Hospital certain??? NOPE!

The " surface " of those Ribs are 275°F! There is not a single Bacteria known to man that can survive more than few SECONDS at 165°F !!! There is just No Way the Salmonella, or anything else, see Dave Omak's chart below right column, could possibly survive contact with the 275°F surface of the Ribs. ALL Bacteria are Instantly killed and there is no chance of food-borne illness eating those Chicken basted Ribs...Even with Rare Steak. Bacteria can't Bore into the happily cool center and the Surface is 275°...More than instant Death to all!

Ok...There is mentally some YUCK factor because raw Chicken juices dripping sounds nasty but no Safety issues exist. In every other case the Chicken and other meat will be in the 225+ temps for hours. Above or below, again all bacteria is killed...JJ

Pathogen growth temps.jpg

• daveomak
• Jun 8, 2016

This is gold. Logic and science from pure experience. Much appreciated. Thumbs up dude.

 

[Gut228]

google the exact same question and im glad I clicked on this sight, new to smoking meats and was wondering this exact same question.

thank you all for the insight and advice that I have read.