How to Smoke Multiple Types/Sizes of Meats

September 26 , 2007 | Issue 38 | Download PDF Version

Welcome friends to the September edition of the Smoking Meat Newsletter!

We have a lot of great information to cover so let's jump right into it with no further adieu! Some of the featured articles this month include:

• Smoking Multiple Types/Sizes of Meat
• My Review of the Johnson Smoker
• Buy the Recipes - Support the Site
• Upcoming Barbecue Competitions
• Joke of the Month

Smoking Multiple Types/Sizes of Meat

It never fails.. about 20 times a week I get an email with this question and it deserves a good answer in my opinion. How do you schedule the smoke time on various pieces of meat so that everything gets done at about the same time? Well there is a fairly simple answer and it is all based on proper planning.

The following is assuming the reader is smoking multiple briskets but could easily be applied to almost any other type of meat as well as various types at the same time.

The best thing you can do is to try and purchase briskets that are very similar in weight and size.

This will allow you to estimate a little better.

Ultimately, temperature is the indicator on when meat is finished and I highly recommend a good digital probe meat thermometer. I recommend 185-190 however some take it on up close to 200 for that fall-apart effect.

Having done my share of briskets, I have noticed that time relates to when a certain temperature will be attained most of the time.. there are always exceptions in smoking meat.

To get it down to a science, you want to allow around 1.6 hours per pound and then give yourself a few hours as a buffer. This figures out to be about 96 Minutes per pound and seems to be more accurate than the 1.5 hour/lb that we generally talk about.

It is easy to keep briskets hot for several hours once they are done.. it is not easy to keep people happy when they are waiting to eat so give yourself more time than you think you need and you will be glad you did later.

When you are smoking meat of different sizes, you have to look at each piece of meat separately to figure when it wil be done and this may mean using more than one thermometer to keep from poking and creating leak holes in the meat during the cooking process.

If you are not in charge of buying the meat and end up with various sizes, you can sort the briskets into 3 or 4 groups of similar sizes and put them into the smoker in intervals beginning with the largest group.

Allow yourself at least a 2 hour buffer for each group to be on the safe side.

It is no different when cooking different types of meat..

If you are cooking chicken, ribs and brisket and you want them all to get done at the same time then you would figure out your cook times and subtract the cook time from your finish goal time to know when to insert the meat into the smoker.

In the example above, If I wanted to have the meat ready by 2:00 PM on Saturday, I would place my 10 pound brisket in at 8:00 PM on Friday night which gives me 16 hours based on 1.6 hours/lb + a 2 hour buffer, the ribs would go in at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning which gives me a good 6 hours + 2 hours wrapped in foil and in the igloo cooler for further tenderizing. The chickens would go in promptly at around 9:30 AM on Saturday to allow about 4 hours + some good resting time.

The formula is S=F-C:

F= Finish Time
S= Start Time
C= Cook Time

All in all.. practice really does make perfect and if you want to perfect your smoking then you just have to get out and do it. In my opinion, even mistakes are usually still pretty tasty and what other hobby can say that?

The Johnson Smoker - My Exclusive Review

As a special editorial in this edition, I have reviewed the all new Johnson Smoker and am giving my opinion about it.

In getting ready for this a while back, I ran across this mostly unheard of unit still in the design phase of its existence and due to it's rare claims I had to see if it was really all it was said to be.

It was said to be low-cost, hands-off and created juicy, tender meat with the greatest of ease. You and I both know that this is pretty bold claims to make!

After some contact with the manufacturer, he brought me a test unit to use and what I immediately noticed was what looked like a miniature house with a chimney on top. It was pretty cute and would look great in the front yard.. heck even my wife would think so but how could something like that smoke a rack of ribs or some yard birds or a tasty brisket?

After explaining and showing all of the correct ways to use the unit, I was left alone with the new smoker and anxious to try it out.

I loaded it with a couple chimneys of lit charcoal later that evening after preparing some ribs and a couple of whole chickens with my tasty rub. I placed about 6-8 large chunks of mesquite on top of the coals and walked away.

I was told that it was a hands-off unit.. meaning once you initially got it going, you would not need to babysit it for hours on end.

I guess I really did not expect hands-off to really be "hands off" because I kept going out to check on it. I did not open anything but just a watchful eye on the thermometer.

It had climbed up to around 230 rather quickly and everytime I went out to check on it, the smoker was wisping out thin blue smoke and the thermometer had not moved from its near perfect mark.

I think I even tapped on the thermometer a time or two thinking it had stuck in it's position but to my surprise it had not. It was somehow maintaining this steady temperature that I had not though possible outside of electric or propane.

I did not measure the temperature of the meat as I normally would during the cooking/smoking process.. this was a test run and I had been told that the meat would come out moist, juicy and smoke flavored and I was giving it every opportunity to fail if it wanted to.

About 4.5 hours later I opened the smoker to find the chicken in a state of perfection, the skin was even crispy! The baby backs were done as well and had just that right amount of tear from the bone.

At this point I was impressed with the tenderness but I figured the flavor would be less than impressive since I normally add wood several times during the process and with this smoker, I was told I should not open it at all during the entire process.

By this time it was really late.. we're talking maybe 3 AM in the morning and I am the only one up. I am in the kitchen slicing ribs and carving chicken and taking bite after bite of what must be some of the best meat I have smoked.

It was melting in my mouth... you know what I'm talking about.

Every bit of a quarter inch smoke ring and I was having a really hard time believing my eyes and my mouth.

I had closed the smoker back up after removing the meat and to my surprise, when I came out the next morning at around 9 AM the smoker was still clicking along at around 150 degrees and this was 10-11 hours later!

I went to church as is customary for my family and I and upon returning home around noon was amazed to find it was still maintaining about 130 degrees.

I am sure there are some factors that will play a part in it's operation such as what type of charcoal you use, the amount of charcoal you start with initially, the initial temperature of the meat and maybe just learning to leave it alone and let it do it's thing but in my opinion this smoker is destined to impress.

It is not the largest smoker on the market and is not made entirely from 1/4 inch steel like those heavy, trailer mounted units, but it works just as well as any smoker I have used and without having to babysit it at all.

After a few test runs, I now feel confident about getting it going and going to bed. With this smoker.. gone are the days of sitting up all night watching a brisket smoke for the next day's superbowl party.

It may not be for everyone as some folks enjoy the constant tending of the smoker and that is ok but for others with a busy lifestyle, I think this will be extremely appealing and will be an investment that pays for itself time and time again.

What's better? You can set it in the front yard and plant flowers around it. It is aesthetically pleasing to the women folk as well as the men and that can be a very good thing!

This article is completely non-biased.. I was not paid or compensated in any way to write this review. There was a clear understanding between Johnston Smokers and myself that I would be reviewing the integrity, quality and smokability of this unit with a scrutinizing eye and that my write-up would be one of honesty.

If you have questions or would like more information on this smoker and/or how to order one please email johnston.smoker@yahoo.com

You can also check out the features of the Johnston Smoker here.

October Barbecue Competitions

10/04 - 10/06
Corinth, MS
State Championship
Kansas City Hog Wild in Corinth MS
Contact: Tammy Bond & Susan Joiner, 629 Constitution Drive, Iuka, MS 38852
Phone: 662-423-2468 or 287-1556 Fax: 662-423-9283
E-mail: tammy.bonds@avnet.com
KCBS Reps: BIGLER CAROL, BIGLER RANDY G

10/05 - 10/06
Marshall, MN
AG Bowl Smokefest
Contact: Tim Steinbach, 1501 State Street, Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: 507-537-6816 Fax: 507-537-6578
E-mail: steinbach@southwestmsu.edu

10/05 - 10/06
Laurens, SC
State Championship
Squealin on the Square
Contact: Jonathan Irick, 200 Courthouse Square/PO Box 1736, Laurens, SC 29360
Phone: 864-984-2119
E-mail: mail@mainstreetlaurens.org
KCBS Reps: GARRETSON MIKE, WELCH CLIFTON

10/05 - 10/07
Kansas City, MO
State Championship
28th Annual American Royal BBQ
Contact: Jolene DeMoss, 1701 American Royal Court, Kansas City, MO 64102
Phone: 816-569-4036 Fax: 816-221-8189
E-mail: jolened@americanroyal.com or jodyh@americanroyal.com
KCBS Reps: GIBBS JACK, GRINSTEAD SCOTT, LAKE MIKE, LAKE THERESA, GRINSTEAD STEVE, SHOWALTER LYNDA
Alt Rep: SIMMONS MARK

To find more competitions such as these be sure to check out the calendar at http://www.kcbs.us

Joke of the Month

Anniversary Gift

Larry was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary. His wife was really angry.

She told him "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the driveway that goes from 0 to 200 in less than 6 seconds... AND IT BETTER BE THERE!!!"

The next morning Larry got up early and left for work. When his wife woke up, she looked out the window and sure enough there was a gift-box for her wrapped in the middle of the driveway. Confused, the wife put on her robe, ran out to the driveway and brought the box back in the house. She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

Larry has been missing since Friday.


Thank you "Blackhawk19 " from SmokingMeatForums.com for this joke!

Feel free to submit jokes to the forum in the "Jokes" category for all of our entertainment and for possible inclusion in the monthly Smoking Meat Newsletter .

Cajun Seasoning that goes Beyond Good!

My buddy Bruce at www.CrazzyCajun.com has some of the best cajun seasoning you have ever laid 'yer tongue on and that's a fact with my hand up!

My family and I use it on almost everything and you will too if you give it a try. Go to his website today at http://www.CrazzyCajun.com to find out how to order.

Word of Mouth is the Best Salesman!

If you enjoy this website and the forum at www.smokingmeatforums.com along with all of the perks like this free monthly newsletter then be sure to tell all of your friends about it!

We are the fastest growing Smoking Meat network online and we are NUMBER #1 in Google for the keyword "Smoking Meat" for more than a year now as well as quite a few other major keywords too.

That is BIG news folks and just further proof that you are a part of the VERY BEST!

Be contagious and tell everyone about it!

Closing Remarks

I am so happy that you are a subscriber.. please send all correspondence to my email address at jeff at smoking-meat dot com and be sure to check out the forum at smokingmeatforums.com for answers to all of your smoking meat questions and more.

Have a wonderful Day and God Bless!

Note: This newsletter can be freely reprinted or used without permission as long as it stays intact, as is and is not changed in any way from the format in which it was set by the author and/or editors of this publication.

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