How long to smoke at 250°F
At 250°F, the 21 cuts take from
25min to 13h
Every cut at 250°F
| Cut | Time at 250°F | Pull · FDA |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | ||
| brisket smoking times at 9 lb | 9 h | 195°FFDA 145°F |
| tri-tip smoking times | 1 h 45 min | 130°FFDA 145°F |
| prime rib times at 7 lb | 2 h 55 min – 4 h 25 min | 130°FFDA 145°F |
| burgers times | 50 min | 160°FFDA 160°F |
| beef back ribs times | 3 h 30 min – 4 h 25 min | 195°FFDA 145°F |
| chuck roast | 7 h – 8 h 50 min | 205°FFDA 145°F |
| steak | 35–50 min | 130°FFDA 145°F |
| short ribs smoking times | 5 h 15 min – 7 h 5 min | 200°FFDA 145°F |
| meatloaf times | 2 h 40 min | 160°FFDA 160°F |
| Pork | ||
| pork butt at 8 lb | 8 h – 13 h | 195–203°FFDA 145°F |
| baby back ribs | 4 h 20 min – 5 h | 165–195°FFDA 145°F |
| pork loin | 3 h 30 min | 145°FFDA 145°F |
| pork tenderloin times | 1 h 45 min | 145°FFDA 145°F |
| spare ribs times | 5 h 15 min | 195°FFDA 145°F |
| Poultry | ||
| whole turkey smoking times at 14 lb | 5 h 35 min – 8 h 30 min | 165°FFDA 165°F |
| whole chicken smoking times at 4 lb | 3 h 35 min | 165°FFDA 165°F |
| chicken wings | 1 h 40 min – 2 h 15 min | 175°FFDA 165°F |
| chicken thighs times | 1 h 40 min – 2 h 15 min | 165–175°FFDA 165°F |
| chicken breast smoking times at 2 lb | 1 h 15 min | 165°FFDA 165°F |
| chicken legs smoking times | 2 h 15 min | 175°FFDA 165°F |
| Fish | ||
| salmon | 25–40 min | 145°FFDA 145°F |
Everything at one temperature
Sources
Figures built October 2026.
Where these figures come from (7)
- Cook times: Masterbuilt, “Smoking Time & Temperature Guide”, retrieved from https://www.masterbuilt.com/blogs/master-it-blog/smoking-time-temperature-guide on 2026-09-23. Restated as numbers and normalised to 225°F by the formula on this site; no text or table is reproduced.
- Cook times: Traeger, “Best Smoked Turkey”, retrieved from https://www.traeger.com/learn/how-to-smoke-turkey on 2026-09-23. Restated as numbers and normalised to 225°F by the formula on this site; no text or table is reproduced.
- Cook times: Traeger, “Prime Rib Cooking Times & Guide”, retrieved from https://www.traeger.com/learn/how-to-cook-prime-rib on 2026-09-23. Restated as numbers and normalised to 225°F by the formula on this site; no text or table is reproduced.
- Cook times: ThermoWorks, “Smoked Pulled Pork: Delicious Results in Almost Half the Time”, retrieved from https://blog.thermoworks.com/pulled-pork-time-temperature-matters/ on 2026-09-23. Restated as numbers and normalised to 225°F by the formula on this site; no text or table is reproduced.
- Cook times: Smoking-Meat.com, “Smoking Times and Temperatures Chart”, retrieved from https://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-times-and-temperatures-chart on 2026-09-23. Restated as numbers and normalised to 225°F by the formula on this site; no text or table is reproduced.
- Safe minimum internal temperatures: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, “Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures”, August 2017, retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/media/107000/download on 2026-09-23.
- Smoker air temperature: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Smoking Meat and Poultry”, last updated 2024-08-13, https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/smoking-meat-and-poultry; read on 2026-09-30 from the Internet Archive copy https://web.archive.org/web/20260119024449/https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/smoking-meat-and-poultry.
Times are estimates for planning. Meat is done when a food thermometer reads the safe minimum internal temperature, not when a timer ends. The USDA advises keeping the air in the smoker between 225 and 300°F for the whole cook.