questions on how to smoke more than one meat at a time

[zarkon0007]

hi all. i am in the proccess of building a large smoker and want to cook several different meats at the same time. it is an old 275 gallon oil drum with two racks and a chain to hang meat from. any suggestions on what kinds of meat to smoke that goes well together and how to get them to all be done at the same time. also i am not sure what to use for a heat source. i am using a seperate smaller barrel for the smoke and heat and am not sure what to use, propane or wood. i hear propane is far easier but i want the meat to come out as good as it getst

thanx for any info on this

 

[eman]

Use propane to start your wood burning.

All meats can be smoked together ,It just takes alot of practice to know what to put on next to get them all done around the same time.

Poultry on bottom . I like to put my big cuts of beef or pork on top so that it can drip down on everything else.

 

[bpopovitz]

Welcome to the SMF. 

I think getting everything done at the same time is one of the hardest things to do.  Remember when cooking brisket and shoulders you really need to be cooking to temp and not by time.  While you can certainly ballpark the time I have found it better to start the large pieces of meat far earlier to make sure they are done on time.  If done early you can always foil them and wrap them in towels to be placed in a large cooler.   I've kept pork shoulders warm in a cooler for 4-5 hours before.

I hope you enjoy looking around, this is a really great place and the members here are all outstanding.

 

[zarkon0007]

thanks for the help. i am pretty new to this and what i am going to try is probably too ambishes but that is just my nature. i have another question if you are willing. the smoker i am creating has the fire box off to the side and is piped into the smoker its self. the small store bought one i had was a vertical smoker that had the wood, chips and water bowle in a single unit. the question i have is where do i put the water tray in my home made smoker. in the fire box with the fire and chips or do i put it in the smoker itself? i think i have the technical part or everything else but have been wondering this.

again thanx for the help and the patience

 

[eman]

My horizontal offset didn't have a water pan .I have never seen one w/ a pan But i aint seen everything yet.

 I guess you could put it in the smoking area and it would also catch the juices???