How long to smoke spare ribs
spare ribs at 225°F take
6h 20min to 6h 20min
- Pull at
- 195°F
- FDA safe minimum
- 145°F
Your cook
At each smoker temperature
| Smoker | Time |
|---|---|
| 225°F answer | 6 h 20 min |
| 250°F answer | 5 h 15 min |
| 275°F answer | 4 h 15 min |
| 300°F answer | 3 h 10 min |
When it is done
- Take it off at
- 195°FPull temperature: the internal temperature at which the meat comes off the smoker, read with a food thermometer whose tip sits at the center of the meat.
- Safe from
- 145°FFDA safe minimum: the internal temperature the FDA gives for Beef, pork, veal and lamb (chops, roasts, steaks), as measured with a food thermometer. The meat must reach it before it is served.
- Rest
- 3 minRest: the minutes the meat stands off the heat before it is cut. The FDA gives Beef, pork, veal and lamb (chops, roasts, steaks) a 3-minute rest at 145°F.
Cited guides take spare ribs to 195°F, well past the FDA minimum of 145°F, for texture rather than safety: ThermoWorks brings collagen-rich cuts to 195–205°F so their connective tissue breaks down.
Other cuts
- How long to smoke pork butt 9 h 35 min – 15 h 35 min
- Smoking baby back ribs 5 h 15 min – 6 h
- pork loin smoking time 4 h 15 min
- How long to smoke pork tenderloin 2 h 5 min
- whole turkey smoking time 6 h 45 min – 10 h 15 min
- brisket 10 h 50 min
Sources
Figures built September 2026.
Where these figures come from (3)
- 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.
Times are estimates for planning. Meat is done when a food thermometer reads the safe minimum internal temperature, not when a timer ends.