First smokes & chicken & ribs together?

[shoresmoker]

Hey all. This weekend, I'll be doing my first smokes on my new Smokin'-It Model 1 electric smoker.

I was planning on starting small for my first smoke on Friday. Wings (split into wingette and drumette pieces) with a rub, maybe an injection, over hickory at 250 for 2 hours.

Saturday, I was planning on doing some kielbasa. Smoke at 200 until the internal temp reaches 160.

But on Sunday, we have company coming over and I wanted to do ribs and chicken halves together. I'd like them to be done at the same time. What's the best way to accomplish that?
 

Should I use baby backs and do them both for the same time (about 4.5 hours or until the chiken reaches 165) at 250 degrees? Or will that dry out the chicken?

I'd prefer to do spares or St. Louis cut ribs, but the Model 1 isn't that big (hence why I'm doing chicken halves and not whole beer can chickens). I was also planning on using 4 oz of wood because that's what Steve from Smokin'-It said to use.

What do you guys think of all this? Can you help a noob out with some advice and guidance?

 

[jesse t]

First thing to remember for safety sake is to put the chicken under the ribs.  I have done ribs and chicken during the same smoke.  3-2-1 method on the ribs, adding the chicken with about 4 hrs left on the ribs.  Cooking to internal temperature, it shouldn't dry out.  Many brine their poultry and find that it helps it to stay moist.  Also, you could plan on less time on the smoker for the chicken by finishing it up at 275-300 on a grill (or oven?). This helps the skin crisp up.

As far as the St Louis vs Baby back, could you cut them in half and/or use rib racks to get the St Louis to fit?
 

 

[shoresmoker]

Thanks Jesse. That's great advice. I had thought about brining and that may be the way to go. 

I think I'll head to the grocery store with a tape measure and start measuring racks to see what will fit!

 

[smokinhusker]

As Jesse said "keep the chicken below the ribs", good advice on brining and I believe there are several on here. I usually brine with the Slaughterhouse Brine, but I think Chef Jimmy has one too. Keep in mind that chicken halves will cook faster than a whole chicken. The grill idea is a good one too for crisping the chicken if it comes off before the ribs.

 

[shoresmoker]

Thanks SmokinHusker. I'll look up the Slaughterhouse Brine. I appreciate the head's up on the chicken halves too. 

I'll let you know how things go!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Practice "Patience" when cooking, make sure you cook to temp. and save getting sick.

Also , cook Ribs 'ABOVE' the Chicken. No cross contamination...

Have fun and...

 

[shoresmoker]

Well, I called an audible. I got cold feet  since I was cooking for a crowd, and I decided to do something with a little more margin for error--pork butt for pulled pork. 

Here's what I did....

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  Rubbed a 7 lb butt at 7:30 am with Pork Succor Rub (from the book Smoke & Spice). I put it in the smoker at 11:20 pm at 225 with 4.95 oz hickory and drip pan filled with Guinness and prune juice (only beer and fruit juice we had in the house at the time). Meat was 47-50 ish internal temp.

• At 6:20 am the next morning, the internal temp was 170. Turned temp on smoker down to 212ish. 

• Butt came out at 4:20 pm. Internal temp was 195. 17 hours. Wrapped in two layers foil and in towel, then into cooler (preheated with hot water) until 7:15 pm. 

• Pulled apart nicely. Could have even been a bit hotter? 200? Next time, I'll take it to 200-205.

• Served on Martin's potato rolls with cole slaw and  homemade sauce (recipe adapted from Tyler Florence--mix of mustard, ketchup, brown sugar and cider vinegar). Delicious. Best pulled pork I've ever made.  Nice bark. Not too much smoke flavor. Could have been smokier. Maybe more wood next time? 

Thank you all for your advice. I'm looking forward to posting more smokes!

Here it is when I took it out...