Have you ever wondered how long it takes to smoke BBQ and what wood to use? If you ask yourself this question, you probably plan for a last-minute BBQ, and time is not on your side. When it comes to smoking BBQ, timing is everything, and you are right to be concerned about the time it can take you to prepare a meal for a party or just family.
The thing about BBQ is that the best ones are those that are cooked low and slow on the smoker, meaning you need to do some planning beforehand if you want your food to be served on time.
The amount of time needed to smoke BBQ also depends on the type of food being cooked. Meat tends to take longer, while poultry and fish will take less time. Also, you need to know what types of wood or fuel you are going to use. There is an excellent guide on the best wood for the perfect steak that you can find here.
What can I smoke in 4 hours?
If you have less than 5 hours in your hand to prepare BBQ, here is what you can smoke in 4 hours:
1.Pork loins
When you have a sizable crowd that needs to be fed in a short time, a pork loin should be the number one option.
The flavors that the kiss of smoke, brush of BBQ sauce, and dry rub are just irresistible, and your family or friends will benefit from it.
Loins are known for their neural flavors. Thus they present a perfect opportunity to showcase the sauce or rub.
Time required
- Ten minutes to prepare
- Two hours to cook
2. Whole chicken
One of the most versatile meats for BBQ, chicken, is usually affordable and easy to prepare. You can either cut it into pieces, cut the backbone out to spatchcock it or just leave it whole and stuff it with an assortment of aromatics.
If you have plenty of time, say 24 hours, consider bringing the chicken overnight. Nevertheless, the chicken will turn out fine even without the brine.
Time required
- Ten minutes to prepare
- Two hours to cook
3. Tri-tip
Tri-tip is that triangular cut of beef from the bottom of the sirloin and is known for being one of the tangiest cuts of meat you want for BBQ.
Smoking tri-tip adds a delightful complexity of savory that is usually absent in grilled steak. However, you will not get that wonderful crust you often get with grilling, but you can add it in another way by searing the meat in a cast-iron pan.
Time required
- Ten minutes to prepare
- One hour to cook
4. Bratwurst
Bratwurst is one of the most famous street foods. It is easy to make and tastes delicious in the mouth. Depending on which brats you bought, you can boil before cooking, but generally, boiling tends to leach flavor from the meat.
What you want to do is steam the brats with simmering beer and onions in an aluminum pan to keep them warm and juicy.
As the brats are smoking, consider throwing in a side dish like a pan of baked beans.
Time required
- Ten minutes to prepare
- Forty-five minutes to cook
5. Chicken lollipops
Transform your regular chicken into lollipops using just a kitchen knife. In the end, you will have food that is easy to prepare, inexpensive and takes just an hour and a half to cook.
Use the middle section of the chicken wing or thigh to prepare the chicken lollipop. The middle section tends to have only two bones, which you should remove one bone and push the flesh to one end of the remaining bone.
Time required
- Sixty minutes to prepare
- One hour and a half to cook
6. Turkey breast
Smoking turkey breast rather than the whole turkey will significantly reduce cooking time and use the remaining meat to make some sandwiches.
Additionally, smoking turkey breast also allows you to get the temperature right since you don’t have to worry about the legs and thighs.
Cooke three or four breasts ago, which should be enough to serve up to size people.
Time required
- Ten minutes to prepare
- Sixty minutes to cook
How cold is too cold to smoke meat?
Before you start smoking, the first thing you need to consider is the temperature difference between the outside and inside your smoker. During the summer, your smoker will have an interior temperature of about 100 F before you fire it up. This means that if your food requires 325 F to cook, you need a fire that will boost the smoker’s internal temperature by 225 F.
But during cold seasons, the inside of the smoker may even be 35 F, which means you need to increase the internal temperature by 290 F.
Apparently, there is no too cold temperature to smoke. If you smoke below 100 F, this is called cold-smoking.
But how cold can you cold smoke?
Basically, any temperature that would freeze your meat is too cold. Most cold-smoking will require a temperature below 70 F, though the colder you go, you are likely to reach a point of diminishing returns. To be safe, try to maintain the temperature above 40 F.
Should I wrap my brisket?
Most BBQ experts recommend that you wrap your brisket once it reaches an internal temperature of around 165 to 170 F.
This means you should get the brisket after around four to six hours. But you can still cook brisket without needing to wrap it, provided you cook it for 11 or 12 hours.
When the brisket’s internal temperature reaches 165 to 170 F, the temperature might stall as the brisket constricts and squeezes out moisture.
The best material to wrap your brisket in foil, which helps retain all the juices during the stall period and makes the brisket come out incredibly moist.
At what temperature does meat stop absorbing smoke?
If you cut your meat, you will notice a pink layer just below the surface under the bark. This is known as the smoke ring and has long been a seal of a great BBQ approval.
There is currently an ongoing debate on the exact time or temperature the meat stops absorbing smoke, and it seems like nobody knows the answer.
However, most smoke absorption takes place until the internal temperature of 135 to 140 F is achieved. After this, the meat will continue taking in the smoke flavor through a process called adsorption (note: the spelling difference).
The formation of the smoke ring tends to stop at around 140 F when proteins in the meat start to solidify. Note that there is a direct connection between smoke flavor and smoke ring appearance.