COOKING TIMES?

[Smokinchicken]

Thought this might be a good place to share your experiences with cook times. Please list your experiences with different types of meats such as how long do you cook them per pound and at what temp.

[BitBucket]

There are so many variables that go into cook duration it's really an incredibly difficult topic to tackle in terms of minutes/lb. In my opinion that's because there's a huge difference between rendering a piece of meat 'cooked and safe to eat' vs. 'religious experience' which is what I think we all shoot for. Consider the following factors that all play a role in your cook time for killer Q:

• Moisture content
• Size/weight of the cut
• Number meats cooked simultaneously
• Number of times you peek!
• Fat to lean ratio
• meat aging (enzymatic breakdown of tissue, at least for beef)
• muscle density
• shape/thickness of meat
• pit temp and variation
• hot/cold zones in the pit
• air flow
• time between coming out of fridge and going into smoker (core temp of meat)
• ambient temps
• humidity
• shape, size, and composition of your cooker
• fuel type: Moisture content, BTUs, etc

I DO use time in my cooks, typically to tell me when to wrap so that I stop taking on additional smoke and slow or stop additional moisture loss. I want smoke, but not too much. 4-5 hours for larger cuts (brisket, pork shoulders) is typically my time limit in my pit, both for flavor and to preserve moisture. After that I go by internal temp of the meat to get me in the ballpark, and touch/feel to confirm tenderness. This last is a learned thing. Most of the time if you hit temp properly people will love it, but if you can dial in tenderness by touch you can convert that up-to-temp done-but-slightly-chewy meat into perfection you would otherwise miss.

You can control cook times to some extent with temperature. I've had outstanding (but less smoky) brisket at around 14 lbs trimmed in 8 hrs with a 'fast cook' method at 350 degrees: That's 2.5 hours unwrapped, then wrapped until internal temp of 203 then rest until serving time (1-4 hours covered with a blanket or towel or in an insulated cooler), but always the pull-off-heat moment is controlled by temp + feel not time.

I've also drawn out the exposed to smoke phase to 4 hours at 250-275, but those meats finished slower, pushing 8 hours out toward 10-12.

I don't know if that's what you were looking for Smokinchicken, hopefully it helps though...

[Pete Mazz]

Larger cuts like brisket and shoulders go on at 250 for about 4-5 hours in the smoke. After that they would get foiled or panned and then you can crank up the temp to 300-325 to get them up to temp. As BB stated, after they get close it's my thermapen and feel that tells me they're done, typically ~8 hours.

If I'm doing poultry it's always spatchcocked and cooked at 275-300. I usually figure 2 1/2 - 3hours, depending on size and, once again, the thermapen is my guide. I shoot for 155 in the breast and 165 in the thigh. After resting they're perfect.

For ribs I put them in the smoke for 3-4 hours at 250 then foil or pan for an hour. I'll unwrap to finish and take them to 195 between the bones.

As you can tell, a good instant read thermometer is your best tool for getting consistent results. It is also good for probing for tenderness in large cuts. If you don't have one you should put it on your wish list!

[Rodcrafter]

These guys said all I would say needs to be said for me anyways so all I would add is;

[Smokinchicken]

I guess what I had in mind was to determine length of cooking times for different meats. This would be a good reference for planning start (cook) times. I've been out of practice for about 10 years.

[Squiggle]

I kind of know what you are trying to get at but, as has already been said by some very experienced Q'ers, you can't go solely off cooking times. Internal temp is & tenderness are the main factors in my opinion, of course there are plenty of others but those are the main two.

You can, however, use a rough guide to decide when to start cooking for a gathering/party that starts at 5pm(for example).

Pork butt approx 6-8hrs
Brisket approx 10-14hrs
Pork ribs approx 3-5hrs
Beef ribs approx 4-6hrs
Chicken pieces approx 1.5-2.5hrs
Whole chicken approx 2-4hrs

Again, these are not set in stone & many factors can alter these numbers, they are just a rough guide from my experiences.

[Rodcrafter]

Good job Squiggle


Making memories!

[BitBucket]

To add to Squiggle's comment (which is great!) the things that are not cook time itself but all add up:

Any pre-cooking treatment

• Brine/injection
• Rub
• Countertop rest (so the core of the meat isn't 34 degrees when it goes on the smoker if you feel ok with that)

Post-heat rest times for the large cuts.

• It's here I pad time for things like a drop inn pit temp, stall in meat temp, wind/rain/snow (well at least where I am snow is possible).
  You can hold/rest for an hour or four if you need to just keep the meat at or above 140, if you have an oven, an insulated cooler, or even some clean blankets (on wrapped meats of course).

[The Czar]

It makes me nervous that squiggle is right


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[temurf]

I agree with all of the above.

I will add that I usually budget enough time for the upper limit of the estimate. For example: When I do brisket, I put them on 14 hours before I need them to be done and if they're done sooner then I just keep them warm ( above 140 degrees of course) till I need them.

[Squiggle]

Yep, I do the same thing!

It makes me nervous that squiggle is right

Hahaha, as I said before, I scare myself sometimes. Although, I do have the best teachers anywhere.

[SAFETYHARBORREDNECK]

Butts are easy here down south.
Cook em for 4-6 hours uncovered.Put in foil pan with 1 cup of water.Cover with foil,throw 6-8 large splits in and "set it and forget it" till morning.
Down here,it'll still be warm/hot in the morning.We put it in the cooler till an hour before you need it.Take it out and pull it.
TA-DAAAAAAA

[Diggerg]

Ok so following this up what internal temps do you shoot for with different cuts?