Question Hi. I recently purchased a horizontal smoker - it has two thermometers; one closer to the firebox and the other further away. Previously I owned a vertical smoker and had fairly good success. The question I have is this. As a result of "curing" the smoker b4 actually putting meat on it I noticed the obvious. The thermometer closer to the firebox registers a higher heat. My intent is to smoke a pork butt, brisket and ribs over a period of approximately 12 hours. Could you give me some idea as to where / how to place the meat so that it is done at about the same time? In the past when I was using a vertical smoker I had smoked both the butt and brisket for approximately 12 hours - sometimes more successful than others. Not having any experience with the horizontal I'm hoping you can give me some timing advice. Thanks.
Answer Hi,
You sound like you are already experienced with snoking meats so I will try not to be too redundant in my answer.
I would place the meats away from the tenderbox and monitor the temperature on the thermometer that is away from the firebox. The reason is you are smoking using indirect heat and if you place meat right near the firebox it will cook it faster than you will want it to cook.
I usually plan it out by thickness of meat. The pork butt will be thicker than the ribs and so start with the pork butt and then after a few hours start your ribs smoking. Or another alternative would be to just smoke your ribs from the begriming and when they get done remove them and just reheat them when you are ready to serve. That is usually how restaurants do it they will pre smoke their ribs and flash grill them to order.
Another thing i like to do with a horizontal smoker is line the bottom with some foil so that its easier to clean after.
I would also like to add you can turn or move the meat around halfway through the cooking process. If one side seems to be getting done faster than the other just change sides.
I hope I answered your question. Feel free to do a follow up if you would like more detail.
