Reference

How long to smoke anything

Every cut we chart, at every temperature we chart it for. 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.

This is the chart. If you want it worked out for your weight and your serve time, the calculator does that.

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

Or take the whole thing on one printable page — every cut and temperature, sized for a sheet of paper.

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
Weight	225°F	250°F	275°F
Any weight	1.5–2 h/lbper pound	1.25–1.5 h/lbper pound	1–1.25 h/lbper pound
10 lb	15h – 20hplan 24h	12h 30m – 15hplan 19h	10h – 12h 30mplan 16h 30m
11 lb	16h 30m – 22hplan 26h	13h 45m – 16h 30mplan 20h 30m	11h – 13h 45mplan 17h 45m
12 lb	18h – 24hplan 28h	15h – 18hplan 22h	12h – 15hplan 19h
13 lb	19h 30m – 26hplan 30h	16h 15m – 19h 30mplan 23h 30m	13h – 16h 15mplan 20h 15m
14 lb	21h – 28hplan 32h	17h 30m – 21hplan 25h	14h – 17h 30mplan 21h 30m
15 lb	22h 30m – 30hplan 34h	18h 45m – 22h 30mplan 26h 30m	15h – 18h 45mplan 22h 45m
16 lb	24h – 32hplan 36h	20h – 24hplan 28h	16h – 20hplan 24h
17 lb	25h 30m – 34hplan 38h	21h 15m – 25h 30mplan 29h 30m	17h – 21h 15mplan 25h 15m
18 lb	27h – 36hplan 40h	22h 30m – 27hplan 31h	18h – 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
Weight	225°F	250°F	275°F
Any weight	1.5–2 h/lbper pound	1.25–1.5 h/lbper pound	1–1.25 h/lbper pound
6 lb	9h – 12hplan 14h	7h 30m – 9hplan 11h	6h – 7h 30mplan 9h 30m
7 lb	10h 30m – 14hplan 16h	8h 45m – 10h 30mplan 12h 30m	7h – 8h 45mplan 10h 45m
8 lb	12h – 16hplan 18h	10h – 12hplan 14h	8h – 10hplan 12h
9 lb	13h 30m – 18hplan 20h	11h 15m – 13h 30mplan 15h 30m	9h – 11h 15mplan 13h 15m
10 lb	15h – 20hplan 22h	12h 30m – 15hplan 17h	10h – 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
Rack	225°F	250°F	275°F
Whole rack	5h – 6hplan 6h 30m	4h – 5hplan 5h 30m	3h 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
Rack	225°F	250°F	275°F
Whole rack	4h – 5hplan 5h 30m	3h 30m – 4h 30mplan 5h	3h – 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
Weight	225°F	250°F	275°F
Any weight	1.5–2 h/lbper pound	1.25–1.75 h/lbper pound	1–1.5 h/lbper pound
3 lb	4h 30m – 6hplan 7h	3h 45m – 5h 15mplan 6h 15m	3h – 4h 30mplan 5h 30m
4 lb	6h – 8hplan 9h	5h – 7hplan 8h	4h – 6hplan 7h
5 lb	7h 30m – 10hplan 11h	6h 15m – 8h 45mplan 9h 45m	5h – 7h 30mplan 8h 30m
6 lb	9h – 12hplan 13h	7h 30m – 10h 30mplan 11h 30m	6h – 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
Weight	275°F	300°F	325°F
Any weight	0.65–0.85 h/lbper pound	0.5–0.7 h/lbper pound	0.4–0.6 h/lbper pound
3 lb	1h 57m – 2h 33mplan 2h 54m	1h 30m – 2h 6mplan 2h 27m	1h 12m – 1h 48mplan 2h 9m
4 lb	2h 36m – 3h 24mplan 3h 45m	2h – 2h 48mplan 3h 9m	1h 36m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m
5 lb	3h 15m – 4h 15mplan 4h 36m	2h 30m – 3h 30mplan 3h 51m	2h – 3hplan 3h 21m
6 lb	3h 54m – 5h 6mplan 5h 27m	3h – 4h 12mplan 4h 33m	2h 24m – 3h 36mplan 3h 57m
7 lb	4h 33m – 5h 57mplan 6h 18m	3h 30m – 4h 54mplan 5h 15m	2h 48m – 4h 12mplan 4h 33m

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
Weight	275°F	300°F	325°F
Any weight	0.5–0.65 h/lbper pound	0.4–0.55 h/lbper pound	0.35–0.5 h/lbper pound
10 lb	5h – 6h 30mplan 7h 15m	4h – 5h 30mplan 6h 15m	3h 30m – 5hplan 5h 45m
11 lb	5h 30m – 7h 9mplan 7h 54m	4h 24m – 6h 3mplan 6h 48m	3h 51m – 5h 30mplan 6h 15m
12 lb	6h – 7h 48mplan 8h 33m	4h 48m – 6h 36mplan 7h 21m	4h 12m – 6hplan 6h 45m
13 lb	6h 30m – 8h 27mplan 9h 12m	5h 12m – 7h 9mplan 7h 54m	4h 33m – 6h 30mplan 7h 15m
14 lb	7h – 9h 6mplan 9h 51m	5h 36m – 7h 42mplan 8h 27m	4h 54m – 7hplan 7h 45m
15 lb	7h 30m – 9h 45mplan 10h 30m	6h – 8h 15mplan 9h	5h 15m – 7h 30mplan 8h 15m
16 lb	8h – 10h 24mplan 11h 9m	6h 24m – 8h 48mplan 9h 33m	5h 36m – 8hplan 8h 45m
17 lb	8h 30m – 11h 3mplan 11h 48m	6h 48m – 9h 21mplan 10h 6m	5h 57m – 8h 30mplan 9h 15m
18 lb	9h – 11h 42mplan 12h 27m	7h 12m – 9h 54mplan 10h 39m	6h 18m – 9hplan 9h 45m
19 lb	9h 30m – 12h 21mplan 13h 6m	7h 36m – 10h 27mplan 11h 12m	6h 39m – 9h 30mplan 10h 15m
20 lb	10h – 13hplan 13h 45m	8h – 11hplan 11h 45m	7h – 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
Weight	225°F	250°F	275°F
Any weight	0.6–0.8 h/lbper pound	0.5–0.7 h/lbper pound	0.4–0.6 h/lbper pound
2 lb	1h 12m – 1h 36mplan 1h 57m	1h – 1h 24mplan 1h 45m	48m – 1h 12mplan 1h 33m
3 lb	1h 48m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m	1h 30m – 2h 6mplan 2h 27m	1h 12m – 1h 48mplan 2h 9m
4 lb	2h 24m – 3h 12mplan 3h 33m	2h – 2h 48mplan 3h 9m	1h 36m – 2h 24mplan 2h 45m
5 lb	3h – 4hplan 4h 21m	2h 30m – 3h 30mplan 3h 51m	2h – 3hplan 3h 21m

Where these numbers come from

Cook times are 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 charted 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.

Where the hours per pound come from. For whole turkey, USDA: “Estimate 20 to 30 minutes per pound if using a smoker.” For every other cut, no institution publishes a per-pound smoking rate, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Those figures are long-standing barbecue convention — the numbers cookbooks and pitmasters have agreed on for decades — presented as a window wide enough to hold the variation between cooks.

That distinction is marked on every page. A cut whose rate somebody actually publishes says so and links to it; a cut whose rate is convention says that instead. It matters because a figure you cannot check is worth less than one you can, and you are entitled to know which you are reading.

Figures last reviewed 2026-08-30.

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