How long and what temp do you smoke your meat?

Hi,

Working at a place where we smoke briskets and pork butts regular, my teammates and I have had to try lots to make our smoke meats come up nice - juicy - and the pork pulls easily.

That said, we figured out that 200 seems to be the best cooking temperature. We'll smoke a full bone-in pork butt for 9.5 hours.

We smoke a trimmed brisket (not the best way really) 9 hours, and one that only had it's deckle cut off (meaning no top-back really marbled meat) - but all it's other fat still on top - for 11 hours.

By the way, our commercial smokers heat through electric. The smoke-box is ignited with gas. We usually burn one log - something that's been split. So it smokes for a while, and then just cooks for a while. Get a nice smoke ring too.

I wanted to share this because it's been working great for us. And I thought it might be fun to discuss our differences of opinion with temps and time and how much of the cooking is really smoking....

Nancy

It's ready when it's ready. I have never found a definitive internal temp or cooking time for butts or briskets that is reliable. Each piece of meat is different and the temps in the pit may not be evenly distributed. It is a matter of experience to know when it is done. Pork butts are a little more predictable (and forgiving) than briskets, but I've even seen identical looking butts that have been done hours apart.

For the way I like to smoke, 200F is pretty low. My pit usually runs ~250F.

225 12-14 hours pork shoulder
ditto ribs 8-9 hours
ditto chicken 5-6
ditto fish -1 and a half to 2
ditto tomatoes an hour
ditto turkey 8-10

the smoker tends to run hot so I'm constantly assuaging the temp back from 250-275 to 200-225

Chicken I smoke at 300-325 degrees. I don't like the texture of chicken skin when smoked in the low 200s. It gets all rubbery and gross (IMHO, of course.)

Spare ribs and baby backs I tend to do at higher temps, too, in the 275 range. I like the slight charred-ness these temps give the meat, and the slightly toothier texture.

Pulled pork I try to keep at around 250, and brisket 200-225.

As you can see, I tend to favor the higher end of barbecuing temps for most meats.

Bill/SFNM wrote:It's ready when it's ready. I have never found a definitive internal temp or cooking time for butts or briskets that is reliable. Each piece of meat is different and the temps in the pit may not be evenly distributed. It is a matter of experience to know when it is done. Pork butts are a little more predictable (and forgiving) than briskets, but I've even seen identical looking butts that have been done hours apart.

For the way I like to smoke, 200F is pretty low. My pit usually runs ~250F.

gotta agree..ive had smaller butts take longer than bigger ones..
cooked two 8 lb butts on a full Backwoods smoker (had three 15 lb packer cut briskets on as well) and they were done in 12 hrs..ive had the same pound butts on previous cooks on a WSM and they took 16 +..the briskets went on at the same time and took 4 hrs longer..cooker was running between 225-250..so yea its done when its done..bottom line if you want it for dinner or a party start it the night before and hold it in a cooler or cambro until dinner

I try and maintain 225 and could not smoke without a remote thermometer in the meat. The time to smoke a brisket varies so much, some take 10 hours and one that looks to be exactly the same takes 14. I cook to 205 deg internal temp and the brisket is perfecto.