Guides
Smoking and BBQ guides
10 explainers, each built from published sources and listing them. No weekend-with-a-thermometer anecdotes: where nobody publishes a number, the guide says so.
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Smoking and barbecue
Running a smoker, holiday roasts, and why the meat does what it does.
How to Smoke a Ham
A plant-packaged fully cooked ham needs reheating to 140°F; a cook-before-eating ham needs 145°F and a rest. USDA's times by weight.
4 min read · 3 sources · updated 2026-10-14
How to Smoke a Prime Rib
USDA times a bone-in rib roast at 23 to 30 minutes a pound at 325°F, done at 145°F with a 3 minute rest. What that means in a smoker, by weight.
3 min read · 3 sources · updated 2026-10-14
How to Smoke a Turkey
USDA publishes a 225 to 300°F smoker band and a one-day-per-four-to-five-pounds thaw. What that means for a Thanksgiving bird, counted backwards.
8 min read · 5 sources · updated 2026-09-27
Gluten-Free BBQ and Smoker Safety
Heat does not burn gluten off a grill. What the Gluten Intolerance Group actually recommends for shared smokers, and which BBQ staples to check first.
5 min read · 5 sources · updated 2026-09-18
How to Use a Smoker Beginner Guide
Learn how to operate charcoal, offset, pellet, and electric smokers. Master clean thin blue smoke, air damper control, and meat temperature monitoring.
5 min read · 5 sources · updated 2026-08-30
The BBQ Stall, Explained
Your brisket sat at 155°F for six hours. That is evaporative cooling, not rendering fat — and the experiments that proved it are worth understanding.
4 min read · 3 sources · updated 2026-08-28
Fuel and wood
How much to buy for a cook, and which wood goes with what.
How Much Fuel for a Smoke
Pellet use per cook, computed from conventional consumption rates. Plus the honest reason nobody can tell you how much charcoal you need.
5 min read · 3 sources · updated 2026-08-30
Smoking Wood Flavor Chart & Guide
Comprehensive wood smoke flavor chart detailing smoke intensities, burn profiles, flavor characteristics, and meat pairings for outdoor barbecue.
4 min read · 5 sources · updated 2026-08-30
Pizza
Dough and oven temperatures, with the arithmetic shown.
Stone vs Air Temperature
Your oven says 950°F and the base is still white. Air and stone temperature are different numbers, and only one of them cooks the bottom of a pizza.
4 min read · 4 sources · updated 2026-08-29
Pizza Dough Hydration, Explained
What hydration should pizza dough be? What the percentage actually measures, why wetter is not better, and how your oven decides the answer.
5 min read · 4 sources · updated 2026-08-28