There’s hardly anything on Earth that is more delicious, delectable, satisfying, and indulgent than smoked meat. It takes what would otherwise be an ordinary, or even extraordinary, cut and elevates it to something that is truly transcendent.
It’s always worth it, but if there is one downside it is that smoking tends to be the slooowest cooking method there is.
It can be so slow that the logistics and planning needed to pull it off can be quite daunting, to say nothing of nailing the finish for dinner time. So, how long does it take to smoke meat?
Smoking meat takes anywhere from 2 to 20 hours depending on the type of meat and the cut. Small, fatty cuts take much less time, whereas larger or leaner cuts will take a lot longer.
Smoking is more art than science. Just ask any smoke master and they will tell you.
That being said, there are still plenty of signs that we can rely on to establish baselines for how long the smoking process will take, and learning these principles along with some rules of thumb that I’ll give to you in this article you’ll be smoking up a storm in no time.
Grab your tongs in your fork and let’s get going…
Various Factors Influence Smoking Time
The first thing you need to understand is that there is no clear cut, hard-and-fast rule for determining exactly how long any given cut of meat will take to smoke.
That’s because it is a formula with several variables. These variables are pretty easy to understand and apply, but you’ve got to familiarize yourself with them if you want to start sharpening your smoker IQ.
We’ll go over these variables, the big ones at least, in the following sections.
Smaller Cuts Smoke Quicker
The first variable we need to account for is the size of the cut. Just like any other kind of cooking, the larger and thicker the cut of meat is, the longer it is going to take to smoke.
And because smoking is pretty much the slowest kind of cooking out there, some mammoth cuts like brisket, a rack of ribs, or a whole hog can take a very, very long time- maybe days!
Conversely, small cuts of meat and other dishes like meatloaf, burgers, sausages, and pork chops can be done, delicious and safe in as little as 30 minutes or a couple of hours at most.
Smoking is still achievable and viable even for weeknight meals when you look at it that way!
Fatty Cuts Cook Faster
Here’s another pro tip that tends to elude beginners: go for the fattier cuts of meat of any given type. At first thought, it seems to make sense that a leaner cut would cook quicker but that just isn’t the case.
Adequate marbling and sufficient fat on the outside of the cut will help to cook your meat thoroughly and quicker than it would otherwise.
This variable is also, well, highly variable! It might only save you a handful of minutes if you’re dealing with a smaller cut of meat, but it could save many hours if you’re dealing with a larger cut.
Some Woods Burn Hotter and Speed Things Up
Smoking is always slow, comparatively, being a low-heat method but the type of wood you use for fuel makes a difference. This is because different kinds of wood produce more or less thermal energy when burned.
Some of the most popular ones for smoking like apple and cherry are on the low to medium end of the temperature scale, whereas trusty standbys like mesquite and hickory burn quite hot. More heat equals reduced cooking time, all things equal.
As always, it is certainly possible to go too hot and start grilling your food instead of smoking it correctly! Make sure to keep that temperature under 300° F (150° C).
Wrapping Meat Shortens Cooking Time
I know it’s sacrilegious to some people, but you shouldn’t hesitate to wrap your cuts to speed up cooking time. But, you don’t want to do this right at the beginning.
When you’re about halfway through cooking, give your meat a temperature check and if it seems like the temperature at the center is just too low and isn’t going to be ready on time, it’s time to wrap up your meat with foil.
Trust me, the results are still going to be absolutely delicious, and if you really want to put things on a rocket, add a little bit of liquid to the foil pouch, close it up, and then turn up the temperature on your smoker even more. Your meat won’t dry out and will still be tender, succulent and perfectly cooked.
Per-Pound Guidelines Can Take the Guesswork Out of Smoking
Now, time to get down to brass tacks science when it comes to smoking time. There are guidelines out there, lots and lots of guidelines, that can tell you about how long any given type of meat, and any cut of a given type, we’ll take to smoke based on all sorts of variables like temperature, wood type, and more.
You can use these as a rule of thumb to estimate how much time it will take to smoke if you know how much your meat weighs.
A cheat sheet, a smoking guide, or the manual that came with your smoker can provide this info for you at a glance. I like to keep a comprehensive spreadsheet in a note-taking app on my phone so it’s always just a tap away.
How Long Does It Take to Smoke Beef?
Beef can be smoked in as little as 30 minutes for hamburgers or as long as 20 hours or more for a large brisket. Prime rib only needs to smoke for about 30 minutes per pound and sausages, whatever size they are, are smoked and delicious in no longer than an hour.
What About Smoking Chicken?
Chicken and other poultry, as a rule, smokes a whole lot quicker than beef and other red meat, taking anywhere from 1 hour for small, whole birds to 8 hours for large, whole birds.
Chicken thighs are ready in about 1 ½ hours whereas chicken wings take only slightly less time at 1 ¼ hours. A whole chicken will take anywhere from 2 ½ to 3 hours for a good-sized bird like a capon or rooster, whereas smaller cornish hens only take 2 hours.
How Long Does it Take to Smoke Pork?
Pork, like beef, is highly dependent on the cut and the weight for smoking time, and it might take as little as 1 hour for sausages or days and days to smoke a large, whole hog.
Standbys like pork butt require about one and a half hours of smoking time for every pound, whereas a rack of spare ribs will take 5 to 7 hours depending on the size of the rack in question.
Whole hogs, the holy grail of smoking for some folks, take a whopping 16 to 18 hours for every 10 pounds of weight. I wasn’t kidding when I said it might take days!
How Long Does it Take to Smoke Seafood?
There’s a huge variety of delicious meat that comes out of the sea, and accordingly many different standards for smoking it.
The good news is that some types of seafood smoke quite quickly, like lobster tails and oysters which could take as little as 30 minutes or as long as 45 minutes. Shrimp are even quicker, taking just 20 to 30 minutes to smoke completely.
As usual, whole fish and large fillets take more time, anywhere from an hour to 4 hours.
Always Check Internal Temp for Safety
Just a reminder, the above figures are guidelines! The only way to determine when your meat is fully cooked and completely safe to eat is to use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. This safe temperature, likewise, varies from type to type and cut to cut.
A good guidebook is also good to have…
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Tom has lived and worked on farms and homesteads from the Carolinas to Kentucky and beyond. He is passionate about helping people prepare for tough times by embracing lifestyles of self-sufficiency.