How to Smoke Meat

Everything you need to master low-and-slow barbecue — from trimming and seasoning a brisket to nailing ribs, pork butt and burnt ends. Dial in temperature control, choose the right wood and learn to push through the stall. New to the pit? Pair these guides with our gear & buying guides and rubs & sauces.

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Latest Smoking Meat Techniques Gear Sauces & Rubs BBQ Styles Guides Pro Tips Grill Smoker Flat Top All Recipes

Sliced smoked brisket with a dark pepper bark on a cutting board

Dalmatian Rub 101: The Salt and Pepper Rub Pitmasters Swear By

Dalmatian rub is just coarse salt and coarse black pepper, usually mixed 50/50 by volume. Use coarse kosher salt and...

Racks of pork ribs with an even coat of rub on a smoker

Competition Rib Rub for 3-2-1 Ribs

A competition rib rub balances sweet, savory and heat so it builds a glossy, mahogany bark on 3-2-1 ribs. Mix...

Perfectly glazed spare ribs on a grill grate

3-2-1 Ribs vs No-Wrap Ribs: Pick Your Method, Nail the Bite

3-2-1 ribs (3 hours smoke, 2 wrapped, 1 sauced at 225°F) are tender, forgiving and softer-barked. No-wrap ribs at 250...

How to Cook Chicken Wings: Crispy Grilled, Smoked & Flat Top Wings

How to Cook Chicken Wings: Crispy Grilled, Smoked & Flat Top Wings

Crispy skin and a glaze that sets instead of burning: the baking powder dry brine, times and temps for every...

Prime Rib with Horseradish Sauce

Prime Rib Cheat Sheet: Doneness Temps, Times and How Much to Buy

Pull fifteen degrees below your target. Every prime rib number on one page, from how many bones to buy to...

Smoked Spiral Ham in a Foil Pan

Smoked Ham Cheat Sheet: Times, Temps and the Glaze Window

Every holiday ham number on one page, in the order you'll need it, from how much to buy to the...

Smoked Turkey on a Grill

Smoked Turkey Cheat Sheet: Times, Temps and a Thanksgiving Timeline

Every turkey number on one page: thaw and brine times, smoking times by weight at 325F, the 165F doneness check,...

Sliced smoked turkey breast on a wooden carving board showing juicy interior and bronzed skin

How to Keep Smoked Turkey Moist: 9 Pitmaster Tips

Dry smoked turkey is almost always an overcooking problem, not a smoker problem. Nine fixes, in the order they matter.

Close-up of deep bronzed crispy skin on a smoked turkey

How to Get Crispy Skin on Smoked Turkey: 9 Fixes

Why smoked turkey skin turns out rubbery, and the nine things that fix it, starting the day before the bird...

Raw turkey in a brine bag beside a marinade injector and a bag of Super Soaker Bird Brine on a prep table

Should You Brine a Turkey Before Smoking? Brine vs Injection

Whether to brine, which kind of brine to use, how injecting is different, and how to layer both without ending...

Spatchcocked turkey smoking on a grill grate with bronzed, crisp skin

How Long to Smoke a Turkey? Smoking Times by Weight Chart (2026)

Smoking times by weight for whole and spatchcocked turkeys at 325F, why the thermometer beats the clock, and how to...

Stacked Wood for Smoking a Ham

Best Wood for Smoking Ham (Pairing Chart)

Apple, cherry, pecan or hickory? A wood-to-glaze pairing chart for double-smoked holiday ham, and why mesquite is usually the wrong...