I keep running into contradictions regarding smoking times and temperatures. I was looking over some lamb recipes online today. One guy was recommending 2.5 hrs. at 225F with a finish temp. of 135F. This was for a 4 to 5 lb. leg. The next one I looked at recommended 4 hour at 375F for a shoulder that weighed about the same. The 3rd recipe recommended 12 hours at 225F for a lamb shoulder, with a finish temperature of 195F.

I find the same anomalies with beef and pork recipes. Sometimes it seems like people are just pulling numbers out of their rear.

Granted time should vary with the size of the piece of meat. The type of smoker shouldn't matter. The meat doesn't know whether it' being cooked in a green egg, grandma's oven, or the trunk of a 1950 Ford. Temperature is what cooks the meat over time, not the conveyance.

What's going on here?

Ken, speaking from my experience, I wish I could give a firm answer, but I can't.

My #1 rule is to never cook by time, but only by internal temperature of the finished product; when it gets to my target (usually between 185 and 190, depending on the meat and the circumstances), it's done. When I am cooking barbecue for the day's supper, and The Beautiful Mrs. Tas asks when it will be done, I check the internal temperature, subtract that from my target temperature, and reply:

"It will be ready in (fill in the blank with the answer) degrees, plus one-and-a-half-to-two hours, for resting and finishing"

It drives her crazy, but it's the truth.

One thing that I do to mitigate this circumstance is to start much earlier than I probably need to. Once your meat hits your target internal temperature, it can sit and rest (double-wrapped in foil, then double-wrapped in towels, then placed in an empty cooler) for several hours - at least four hours, and actually as long as the internal temperature stays above 140 degrees.

A VERY general guideline that I hear is that barbecue takes 1.5 hours per pound to cook at 225 degrees, but this is by no means set in stone. It is a very general guideline based on an average piece of meat and average circumstances, and in my experience there is rarely ever such a thing as an average cook. I prefer to cook in the 245-ish range, and even at that higher temperature my barbecue generally takes longer than per pound than 1.5 hours...too many variables.

So based on everything, I would have to agree that when it comes to cooking times, people generally are talking out of their rears. A far better rule of thumb, to me, is to cook at a "good" temperature until it reaches it's target internal temperature, always keeping in mind at least 1.5 hours to rest once it reaches that temperature. To me, the 245-ish mentioned above is best for beef and pork - it might vary 10 degrees in either direction, but at that temperature you get good, steady cooking that doesn't dip too low to make the heat ineffective, and doesn't spike too high to burn. Meanwhile, it's high enough to instigate good Maillard reactions, which is very important from a taste standpoint in the end product. To me, 225 is far to low to use for an entire cook, although I often start my cooks there for a couple of hours, to promote a good smoke ring.

For smoke-cooking of fish and poultry - or lean pork and beef), I would cook much higher, because there is no need for low/slow to render fat and connective tissues, and low heat just dries out your meat and - in poultry - produces rubbery skin). At least 275 would be better, and 325 to even 350 wouldn't be bad for large poultry.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Tas. There are at least a half dozen good bullet points in your response. One that jumps out at me is that I never rest my meat long enough apparently. Usually it is thirty minutes to an hour. Sounds like I need to at least double that. Another, is that I do tend to cook a lot around the 225 mark. Sounds like I need to boost that up 10% a least.

In most cases I'm wrapping in foil at some point during the cook. Do you ever finish a piece of meat uncovered for 30 minutes or so to get a "crusty" bark. Seems that if I finish a piece of meat in foil the bark is "soft", and may even tear when the meat is cut.

quote:

In most cases I'm wrapping in foil at some point during the cook. Do you ever finish a piece of meat uncovered for 30 minutes or so to get a "crusty" bark. Seems that if I finish a piece of meat in foil the bark is "soft", and may even tear when the meat is cut.

I almost never foil the meat until I judge it to be "finished" and take it off the heat. The double foiling/towels/cooler allow the meat to hold its temperature for several hours while the fat and connective tissues continue to render, resulting in tender, juicy finished product. I very rarely foil the meat during the actual cooking because this tends to braise, rather than roast, the meat.

Having said that, I do do it occasionally, and in fact should have done it today. When I do foil during cooking, I do finish it uncovered for a while in order to "firm up" the bark, which is kinda/sorta my favourite part of barbecue!

As an aside, I've read older accounts of people foiling during cooking, poking a few holes in the bottom of the foil to allow excess moisture to escape. At first, this might seem self-defeating (letting all the moisture out!), but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense, as it allows the biggest amount of moisture to escape while retaining enough to keep the meat from any danger of drying out. This allows a person to get the benefits of foiling during the cook, without the down-sides that many complain about. I will most likely experiment with this sometime this summer.

Interesting!

I did a few racks of spare ribs a while back. I foiled them after about two hours as they looked to be getting too dark. They continued to cook for maybe another two hours, when the temperature of the meat was about 185. I then removed them from the heat and rested the meat for about thirty minutes in the foil, meat-side down. When I flipped the ribs and went to serve them, they were drowning in their juices. I didn't like the presentation at all. They tasted greasy to me. Oddly enough the next day, after sitting in the refrigerator, when reheated, they looked and tasted perfect.

I went back and watched some videos and noticed Aaron Franklin finish cooking his ribs meat-side DOWN, then turn his ribs and rest them meat-side UP. Maybe that little tweak would be enough to "drain" the ribs. Either that, or the holes-in-the-foil approach you mention, may be my next experiment.

I've got my meat where it tastes right, but it doesn't "look" the way I want it. I want that BBQ Pitmasters look.

For me its all about the meat. for spare ribs that are thick I use the ole 3-2-1 method 275* I put my rub on and right into the smoker. I use alder and nut shells. any wood is good. after 3 hours I wrap them I don't use any other layers of seasoning. when you remove the foil ribs are bone side down. I do not use the grease in the foil.
I have my grill ready with low coals just hot enough that the meat will sizzle in about 1 min.
Favorite bbq sauce as much as you like. A little char is great.
Finger likin good. other meats I like to use temp. shoulder, for pulled pork. beef the same
Dave