Help Smoking Marinated Chicken & Pork Strips for Tacos

[davesnow77]

Hi,

I've got a Birthday event coming up for my mother-in-law and 12 of my wife's relatives. Planning on a big Taco Fiesta for the group.

I want to do tacos 3 ways; Smoked Mexican marinated chicken, smoked pork adovada & grilled carne asada. I'm hoping to streamline the process as much as possible. Our local Ranch Market in PHX has very authentic pre-marinated chicken and pork adovada strips ready to cook. I'm wondering if I could put these in some tin pans on my Primo so as not to have to smoke whole chickens & pork butts .

The problem is I'm not sure how long to smoke chicken & pork strips. Obviously I don't want them underdone (putting my Mother-in-law in the hospital will not endear me to my wife's siblings), but also, how do I avoid overcooking since we're talking strips of meat? (I'm not sure sticking a ThermoPen in individual strips is a very effective way to go.)

Would appreciate any tips/advice on this.

Thanks!
Dave

 

[smokerjim]

welcome to smf, i would say your plan will work fine as far as time it depends on what temp you plan on cooking at. but being strips i don't think they will take long.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

If you have the means you might consider throwing the meat on a hot griddle. I do fajitas this way and they turn out pretty dang good. Also beware of the pre-marinated meats. A lot times they are pretty salty! Best of luck man!

 

[davesnow77]

welcome to smf, i would say your plan will work fine as far as time it depends on what temp you plan on cooking at. but being strips i don't think they will take long.

Thanks Jim, I'm thinking 250 for about 45 minutes to an hour since they're strips, just to add the smoke flavor. I guess if I'm concerned they're underdone at that point I could put a little sear on them in an iron skillet just to be sure.

 

[Brokenhandle]

These guys got ya covered but sure looking forward to the finish pics!

Ryan

 

[normanaj]

Also beware of the pre-marinated meats. A lot times they are pretty salty!

This I totally agree with.They can also come out very mushy in some cases.

 

[davesnow77]

This I totally agree with.They can also come out very mushy in some cases.

Thanks All. Norman, I notice you also use smoker tube sometimes. We live in PHX but also have a place in Crested Butte, CO. Only have a gas grill up there at this point but would like to put some smoke on stuff while there. It's at 8700 feet. I've read where tube is better at altitude than box. Thoughts?

Thanks
DAve