BBQ'n different meats at the same time...

[Gregg M.]

What have you all done in situations where you have Q'd different meats at the same time? What combos should you avoid? What meat should be on the top grate and which on bottom? How about doing some sides at the same time?

I ask because when I get the smoker fired up, I prefer to do a few different kinds of meat at the same time. I'd like to see what others have done and their technique for it all to come out good.

One combo I know i'd like to do is chicken and ribs. Or ribs, kielbasa, and beans.

 

[Rick Kramer]

Kevin K could explain this so much better than I but I'll give it a shot.

Let's go with your chicken and ribs. Here's how I could do it. Let's say my ribs take 3.5 hrs to cook from start to finish and the chicken takes 90 mins to finish. I could start the ribs on the bottom grate and after 2 hrs of cooking the ribs I could put the raw chicken on the top grate. Because the chicken will reach the doneness point at practically the same time as the ribs the juices coming from your chicken will not contaminate the ribs. It may seem wrong or even gross to put raw chicken over any meat but as long as the chicken (and other meat) reaches the proper done level the heat and cooking process will eliminate the bacteria.

Maybe someone could make this a little clearer than I.

 

[R. Hanson ("Rondo")]

Here's a combo I do routinely....2 spares flat on bottom rack, 1-2 butts on top, Registers small link sausage scattered around the butts on top rack. Links for breakfast, spares for lunch, and pulled pork for dinner