British BBQ Society Forums

OK come rain or shine (or snow) we are smoking again on Saturday

We have bought a probe thermometer from Lakelands
We have a 2.3kg pork shoulder joint
8 chicken thighs
(we are also getting a small turkey)
and possibly a rack of ribs

So i reckon the pork should take approx 6 hours (but will be putting the probe in to get an internal temp of 190/195, cos that's what I have learnt from this forum )

Not sure on the size of the Turkey yet as getting it tomorrow I think

I am thinking Turkey and thighs on bottom grill and ribs and pork on top

Pork and turkey will take the longest too - should we have another probe for the Turkey? (not sure I can get another one in time!)

Have lined the water pan with foil and have sand which we will also cover with foil, Restaurant Lumpwood (24kgs ), a few home made rubs and our fingers well and truely crossed

Still feel like such a novice any further tips/suggestions welcome

Thanks xx

Good to see someone else getting out in the rubbish weather and cooking.
Do you want it all to be ready at the same time....if so I would try to get the Turkey up top cos it's warmer up there.
You could always get a dial probe thermometer to check your Turkey for now.
One more suggestion.......Plenty of pics please.

esselle wrote:Plenty of pics please.

Seconded! Good luck with the smoke, like Scott, good to see more All Weather Grillers!

clairbare wrote:So i reckon the pork should take approx 6 hours

Hi Clair,

I would try to leave a bit more time than 6hrs to get them up to 190 as i smoked a couple of pork shoulders a few weeks back of a simillar size and they took 11hrs in the end, dinner was very late than night

Also have you seen some of the talk on here about the 3-2-1 method for fall off the bone ribs? 3 hours in the smoker, 2 wrapped in tin foil and the final hour unwrapped for you to add a glaze.

Finally for your turkey have a look at this link http://bbq.about.com/od/turkey/a/aa112297a_2.htm
I've not smoked a turkey yet but will be this year for Christmas and am planning on using this method for doing so, and i've spoken to a few people about the times and they all say they seem about right.

Hi Clair,

Ed beat me to it, allow alot longer for the pork especially if you will be loading the BBQ which will slow down the cooking process, the great thing about the pork, once cooked, you can wrap it, wrest it for hours before serving, best to get it on early.

Toby

Surely it doesn’t matter whether the bird is above the pork or vice versa, as long as any juices/blood are not raw onto cooked before you eat the cooked meat – help me understand this!
Either way, it would be Pork onto Turkey, or Turkey on to Pork and as long as both are fully cooked I don’t see a problem , or is there BTW – I’m Clairbare’s worse half – so, hello everyone!

MrBlue wrote:as long as both are fully cooked I don’t see a problem

I agree with this thought too Mr blue but i'm a relative newbie myself and might be missing something.

Although putting this thought to one side, i would keep the pork at the top of the smoker and the turkey at the lower level as if you get the top to about 250f the lower stack should be at about 230f which will be more than enough to cook the turkey and chicken bits whilst using the higher heat at the top to get the pork cooking in a reasonable time.

Also another thing that I've found using my ProQ is that when the dome thermometer is reading 220f my digital thermometer reads 250f and i know that it is quite common for the dome thermometer to be out by this much so if your strugling to get the dome thermometer above 220f it's probally going to be at the temp' you want anyway.

I know this isn't accurate, just something to keep in mind.

Just spoke to John Feeney, about the order of cooking the meats.

His comments were and I quote (for those of you that know Feeney you will gauge the tone) "Why the F**K would you even contemplate doing that? Consider the order of the meats in the fridge! if there was even a slight risk of contamination then you would avoid it at all costs. There is no problem mixing the meats just the cooked ones should go on the top!" - John Feeney, Development Chef, Professional Master Chef of Great Britain 2005.

Just passing on the message, it is apparently an accepted practice, BBQ's or Ovens alike.

Where the f**k is Feeney and how tthe F**k is he . Please tell him that i think its about time he put in an appearance as I for one miss his presence on the BBBQS circuit. Nuff said!