Skip to content
Flame & Feast

Reference

How long to smoke anything

Every cut we have a published chart for, at every temperature that chart covers. Each page gives the cook window, the rest, the internal temperature to pull at, what time to light the smoker, and how much fuel it takes.

90 answers across 8 cuts. Every figure is a published range rather than a prediction, and nothing here is extrapolated past the chart it came from.

Beef brisket (packer)

The long one. Plan a whole day and a long rest. Pull at 195–205°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Beef brisket (packer) by weight and smoker temperature
Weight225°F250°F275°F
10 lb15h – 20hplan 24h12h 30m – 15hplan 19h10h – 12h 30mplan 16h 30m
12 lb18h – 24hplan 28h15h – 18hplan 22h12h – 15hplan 19h
14 lb21h – 28hplan 32h17h 30m – 21hplan 25h14h – 17h 30mplan 21h 30m
16 lb24h – 32hplan 36h20h – 24hplan 28h16h – 20hplan 24h
18 lb27h – 36hplan 40h22h 30m – 27hplan 31h18h – 22h 30mplan 26h 30m

Pork shoulder / Boston butt

The forgiving one. Hard to ruin, hard to rush. Pull at 195–205°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Pork shoulder / Boston butt by weight and smoker temperature
Weight225°F250°F275°F
6 lb9h – 12hplan 14h7h 30m – 9hplan 11h6h – 7h 30mplan 9h 30m
7 lb10h 30m – 14hplan 16h8h 45m – 10h 30mplan 12h 30m7h – 8h 45mplan 10h 45m
8 lb12h – 16hplan 18h10h – 12hplan 14h8h – 10hplan 12h
9 lb13h 30m – 18hplan 20h11h 15m – 13h 30mplan 15h 30m9h – 11h 15mplan 13h 15m
10 lb15h – 20hplan 22h12h 30m – 15hplan 17h10h – 12h 30mplan 14h 30m

Pork spare ribs

Cooked to time and feel, not to weight. Pull at 195–203°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Pork spare ribs by weight and smoker temperature
Rack225°F250°F275°F
Whole rack5h – 6hplan 6h 30m4h – 5hplan 5h 30m3h 30m – 4h 30mplan 5h

Baby back ribs

Smaller and leaner than spares, so noticeably quicker. Pull at 195–203°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Baby back ribs by weight and smoker temperature
Rack225°F250°F275°F
Whole rack4h – 5hplan 5h 30m3h 30m – 4h 30mplan 5h3h – 4hplan 4h 30m

Beef short ribs

Brisket flavour on a shorter clock. Pull at 200–210°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Beef short ribs by weight and smoker temperature
Weight225°F250°F275°F
3 lb4h 30m – 6hplan 7h3h 45m – 5h 15mplan 6h 15m3h – 4h 30mplan 5h 30m
4 lb6h – 8hplan 9h5h – 7hplan 8h4h – 6hplan 7h
5 lb7h 30m – 10hplan 11h6h 15m – 8h 45mplan 9h 45m5h – 7h 30mplan 8h 30m
6 lb9h – 12hplan 13h7h 30m – 10h 30mplan 11h 30m6h – 9hplan 10h

Whole chicken

Fast, and the one cut where the safety number is the target. Pull at 165–175°F; USDA safe minimum 165°F.

Smoking times for Whole chicken by weight and smoker temperature
Weight275°F300°F325°F
3 lb1h 57m – 2h 33mplan 2h 54m1h 30m – 2h 6mplan 2h 27m1h 12m – 1h 48mplan 2h 9m
4 lb2h 36m – 3h 24mplan 3h 45m2h – 2h 48mplan 3h 9m1h 36m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m
5 lb3h 15m – 4h 15mplan 4h 36m2h 30m – 3h 30mplan 3h 51m2h – 3hplan 3h 21m
6 lb3h 54m – 5h 6mplan 5h 27m3h – 4h 12mplan 4h 33m2h 24m – 3h 36mplan 3h 57m

Whole turkey

Cook it hot. Low and slow leaves the skin rubbery. Pull at 165–175°F; USDA safe minimum 165°F.

Smoking times for Whole turkey by weight and smoker temperature
Weight275°F300°F325°F
10 lb5h – 6h 30mplan 7h 15m4h – 5h 30mplan 6h 15m3h 30m – 5hplan 5h 45m
12 lb6h – 7h 48mplan 8h 33m4h 48m – 6h 36mplan 7h 21m4h 12m – 6hplan 6h 45m
14 lb7h – 9h 6mplan 9h 51m5h 36m – 7h 42mplan 8h 27m4h 54m – 7hplan 7h 45m
16 lb8h – 10h 24mplan 11h 9m6h 24m – 8h 48mplan 9h 33m5h 36m – 8hplan 8h 45m
18 lb9h – 11h 42mplan 12h 27m7h 12m – 9h 54mplan 10h 39m6h 18m – 9hplan 9h 45m
20 lb10h – 13hplan 13h 45m8h – 11hplan 11h 45m7h – 10hplan 10h 45m

Pork loin

Lean, quick, and unforgiving if you overshoot. Pull at 145–150°F; USDA safe minimum 145°F.

Smoking times for Pork loin by weight and smoker temperature
Weight225°F250°F275°F
2 lb1h 12m – 1h 36mplan 1h 57m1h – 1h 24mplan 1h 45m48m – 1h 12mplan 1h 33m
3 lb1h 48m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m1h 30m – 2h 6mplan 2h 27m1h 12m – 1h 48mplan 2h 9m
4 lb2h 24m – 3h 12mplan 3h 33m2h – 2h 48mplan 3h 9m1h 36m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m
5 lb3h – 4hplan 4h 21m2h 30m – 3h 30mplan 3h 51m2h – 3hplan 3h 21m

Where these numbers come from

Cook times are published ranges — hours per pound for the large cuts, total hours for ribs — computed by the same tested arithmetic behind the smoker calculator. Nothing on these pages is a figure typed in by hand.

Every page is generated at a temperature its cut has a published figure for. Between charted temperatures the calculator interpolates; outside them it clamps rather than extrapolating, and no page here is built on a clamped number.

Internal safe minimums are the USDA FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart. Pull temperatures are convention rather than regulation, and are marked as such on each page.

Figures last reviewed 2026-08-30.

Keep reading