Chichen and Spare Ribs

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Hello,

I am thinking about cooking a whole chicken and Spare Ribs at the same time. Do you, guys, have any suggestion which one of the I should put on the top grate and which one on the bottom?

- what is your favorite way to smoke chicken?

Thanks,
Alex
 
I like chicken spatchcocked or cut in half (Chris has excellent instructions in the cooking section). After cutting in half, I like to flavor brine or marinate, then smoke-roast at 400 degrees. I typically use the Weber kettle for chicken since it works better for higher heat cooking and because it is much more fuel-efficient for cooking a chicken.

The tricky part to doing chicken and ribs is that it would be much easier to do the chicken on top, since it will finish earlier, and it is a pain to remove whatever is cooking on top to get at the lower grate mid-cook. However, pork basting chicken sounds more appealing than chicken basting pork, so that is the down-side to putting chicken on top. On the other hand, if you did just chicken thighs you could do it on bottom and get to it with tongs through the door.

The other thing is that the chicken will not like as much smoke as ribs. So you either use less smoke and a milder smoke wood than is appropriate for ribs, or add the chicken after the ribs have been cooking for a few hours and the smoke is less intense than when you started.
 
I've done a whole chicken w/ good success on a Weber Roasting Pan. I put some beer in the little cup and set the bird on the spike. It wont baste your ribs on the lower rack 'cause the pan catches the drippings. So, you can have it on the top rack ('cause it will be done first). Chicken does soak up smoke easier than the ribs will like David says but you will smoke them for less time than the ribs as well so; what I do is use some Apple wood first w/ the ribs and chicken and when the chicken is done, I throw in some Hickory to finish off the ribs. I Brine my chicken for about 6 hrs for a 4# bird. I make the brine the night before, chill it down, put the bird in (depending on what time I want it all done)in the AM. Haven't found a rub I love yet for my chicken. Good luck
 
Keith has some good thoughts on using the roasting pan, if you have one. Many feel there is a serious health concern in so far as having raw juice from chicken dripping on anything, so I would steer away from chicken on the top.

Spares will take around 7 hrs without the use of foil and probably 6 or maybe a little less when it is used. I often do butterflied halves of chicken low/slow at 250 lid and 5 hours is ok - for me.

With the spares, you should go low/slow, so a thought might be to start the chicken on the bottom, the spares on top and foil the spares at about 3.5 hours, for an hour and then remove and finish outside of foil for another hour or so. This should give the chicken plenty of time to finish.

Best of luck to you.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul G.:

Many feel there is a serious health concern in so far as having raw juice from chicken dripping on anything, so I would steer away from chicken on the top.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>


But they have no problem eating the chicken from whence the "raw juice" came from!

Not jammin' you, Paul. It's just one of my pet peeves when it comes to cooking myths. Once exposed to the heat of the cooker, the "raw juices" will be quite safe in just a few minutes.

JimT
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JimT:

Not jammin' you, Paul. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
No problem Jim. I've been a lawyer for 37 years and I live a life of "jammin"

You're probably right about the juices from raw chicken, when cooked - and the operative word is "probably".
icon_smile.gif


Paul
 
Just like Jim said. Once those bacteria hit 165 degrees. They are dead, dead, dead. The only concern with chicken over other foods is if you are for some reason placing raw chicken over a finished product. Drip juices on the other meat and than pull it out to serve.
Other than that...the risk of cross contamination is moot.
 
I usually do not cook chicken and ribs together. For chicken I use higher temperatures and less smoke, usually not hickory. For ribs low and slow, with hickory or a hickory mix. YMMV
 
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