Different meats on the smoker

[motolife313]

I heard it's bad to have poultry cooking over other meat like beef but how about beef prime rib and pork tenderlion cooking over chicken wings?

Beef and pork on top shelf and chicken on middle shelf. I'll probably put the chicken on about 20 minutes or same time as the pork.dont want to get anyone sick or killed lol. Thanks!

 

[browneyesvictim]

Just put a drip tray under them to catch the drips. Get creative with racks that will fit in or on your drip tray so that it is elevated to get smoke all around the meat you are smoking.

 

[motolife313]

I'd rather run only 1 drip pan under everything. Just wanna make sure it's safe as long as chicken is on bottom

 

[chef jimmyj]

I have covered this many times. IT DON'T MATTER! You have hot meat in a hot smoker, 225+, if you were to open the door and spray the meat with Chicken Blood and EBOLA VIRUS the second the juice hit the 225* surface of the meat...POOF!... It's Toast!!! If you cooked the Prime Rib till it was rare then added the drippy wings and one minute later pulled the Beef and set it to rest on the counter. The chicken juices and any bacteria are sizzling away on the 225* surface the beef and will continue to be in the Pasteurization Death Zone of 140*F for the next 30 to 60 minutes. There is not a single known Pathogen that can survive, especially not Salmonella that dies in3 minutes at 148*F...JJ

 

[motolife313]

Thanks. I heard u don't want to have poultry abouve any thing other then other chicken it sounds like your saying that doesn't matter either if the chicken is over the beef

 

[chef jimmyj]

Correct, it don't matter which is over which as they are all coming out hot and sterile because the surface is 225 and will kill anything in a Fraction of a Second...JJ

 

[motolife313]

Ok thanks for replying so fast !

 

[motolife313]

seems like the surface of the meat isn't 225 degree tho even if smoker is at 250. I could be wrong tho.

 

[chef jimmyj]

seems like the surface of the meat isn't 225 degree tho even if smoker is at 250. I could be wrong tho.

What temp is the meat surface then? Roasting or Smokin, let's say Beef, cooks the meat by conduction. The surface is heated and that energy is conducted to the center over time. Hence, we get a dark dry Bark as the surface dries, minimum 185*, to evaporate water, then the caramelization of sugars, minimum 220*. There is then a layer of Well done, 160, medium, 140's, then Med/Rare, 125. Regardless of the temp at the center the COOKED meat, the surface will ALWAYS the Oven or Smoker temp. We see this another way as a roast cooked to rare at 225, will have the core temp continue to rise, carryover, 5-10*. A roast cooked at 425*F will carryover 20-25*F because the surface is hotter, aka a lot more energy. The surface is always the same as the oven temp in cooked meat...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

There you go!
That's why JJ is the safety moderator!
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thanks Al. I get it. Most folks will say Chicken on the bottom. Mostly because of the fear of Salmonella or the Yuk factor. But, there is not a single safety issue as regardless of when the chicken goes in the smoker, anything below will be coming out cooked and with a sterilizing surface temp of 225*F or higher, as we never smoke uncured meat below 225...JJ

 

[troutman]

The chef has spoken. I'm not in the restaurant business but in the family cooking business. Although I don't want my loved ones poisoned by some bug, I have never worried about cross contamination of meats while cooking. I've literally cooked every conceivable type of meat together, as well as let drippings from that meat flavor veggies or other food items I wanted to add taste to. Done it for decades and I'm still here.

Thanks for continuing to point out the realities of why we cook to the temperatures we cook to chef jimmyj.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thanks, A family favorite is Chicken on a rack over a pan of potatoes. The drippings make the meal...JJ

 

[motolife313]

Just checked meat surface temp while smoker is at 225-250. Over 1 hour in a it's at 175 on my ribs and cooking grates about 230, I'll check again in few hours

 

[chef jimmyj]

175 is already high enough for an instantaneous kill of any bacteria that contacts the surface of the ribs...JJ

 

[motolife313]

Man that stuff gets killed easy good to know thanks!