UK smoker guide · est. 2026
Low &slow.in British weather.
Choose the right smoker, plan the cook back from dinner time and keep it going when the wind gets up. UK butcher cuts, British wood and tools that show their working. No pitmaster bravado.
Where are you at?
Pick your situation
Three ways in. Every one ends at a fire that behaves.
I’m buying a smoker
Offset, kamado, pellet, bullet or the kettle you already own. Seven questions, honest reasons.
Take the quiz →02I’m cooking this weekend
Work back from dinner time, get the fire right and know what “done” feels like.
Plan the cook →03It’s raining. Obviously.
Wind, drizzle and a cold snap all steal heat. Here’s how to keep the cook on track without a gazebo fire.
Check the weather →Quick start
What's going on the smoker?
Pick the meat, or start from how long you have. Each one goes straight to the cook plan, with UK butcher names.
Rough cook times before resting, from each guide. Every cook varies, so use the planner on each page.
Cornerstone guides
Read these first
The pages we'd send a mate who's just bought a smoker and has eight people coming on Saturday.
TechniqueCornerstoneHow to use a smoker
Everything that happens in a first smoke, in order: lighting, holding temperature, adding wood, the stall, wrapping, resting and knowing when it's done.
Read the guide
ToolWhich smoker should I buy?
Answer seven questions about power, effort, fuel, space and budget to get a smoker type with the reasons behind it.
Open the tool
CooksCornerstoneBrisket smoking time
How long brisket takes on a smoker, per kg, with the stall, wrapping and resting built in, so you can work back from dinner time.
Read the guide
CooksCornerstonePulled pork smoking time
How long a UK pork shoulder takes on a smoker, per kg, with the stall, pulling temperature, holding and a plan that works back from dinner.
Read the guide
CompareCornerstoneOffset vs kamado vs pellet
The three big smoker types compared on effort, fuel, power needs and how they cope with British weather.
Read the guide
Weather and kitCornerstoneSmoking in the rain
How rain, wind and cold affect each type of smoker, how to shelter a cook safely without trapping smoke, and a wet-weather cook plan that works.
Read the guide
TechniqueCornerstoneThe stall explained
Why big cuts stop rising in temperature for hours mid-cook, the simple science behind it, and when to wait, wrap or turn the heat up.
Read the guide
CooksCornerstoneUK vs US BBQ cuts
Translate American BBQ recipes into British butcher cuts: packer brisket, Boston butt, baby backs, short ribs and more, with a UK to US cut table.
Read the guideIn season · Christmas
Free up the oven
Turkey crown, Boxing Day gammon and a plan that keeps the smoker busy while the kitchen does the sprouts. Plus gift ideas for whoever owns the smoker.
CooksChristmas smoking plan
A three-day Christmas plan for the smoker: turkey and gammon timings, fridge space, a step-by-step timeline and how much fuel to have in for cold weather.
Read the guide
CooksSmoked Christmas turkey
How to smoke a turkey for Christmas in the UK: crown vs whole bird, brining, cooking in cold weather, and freeing up the oven for everything else.
Read the guide
CooksSmoked gammon and ham
How to smoke a gammon joint in the UK: why gammon is already cured, soaking, smoking and glazing, and why it's the perfect Boxing Day cook.
Read the guide
Weather and kitSmoker gift ideas
Gift ideas for someone with a smoker, from stocking fillers to bigger presents: thermometers, gloves, butcher paper, UK wood, butcher vouchers and courses.
Read the guideCalculators
Do the maths before the fire
Every tool shows its working and gives you a range, because meat doesn't read recipes.
ToolMeat per person calculator
How much raw meat to buy for a BBQ, from guest numbers, appetite and how much a cut shrinks on the smoker.
Open the tool
ToolBrine calculator
Grams of salt and sugar for a wet, equilibrium or dry brine, from the weight of your meat and the strength your recipe asks for.
Open the tool
ToolSmoker fuel calculator
Estimate how many kg of charcoal or pellets a cook will use, from cook length and burn rate.
Open the tool
ToolSmoking time planner
Work back from serving time to a start window, with a cook range and rest time for UK cuts.
Open the tool
ToolCornerstoneSmoking weather check
Tell it the forecast and your smoker. Get a plain-English plan for wind, rain and cold: placement, fuel, timing and what never to do.
Open the tool
ToolUS recipe translator
Paste a line from an American barbecue recipe and read it back in UK terms: Celsius, kilograms, millilitres and the cut names a British butcher uses.
Open the toolToolWhich smoker should I buy?
Answer seven questions about power, effort, fuel, space and budget to get a smoker type with the reasons behind it.
Open the toolFree course
Smoking school
24 lessons in five modules, from choosing a smoker to slicing brisket. Read in order, tick them off, and we'll remember where you got to.
Start lesson 1 →- 01Before you buy
- 02Fire and smoke
- 03Your first cooks
- 04The big cooks
- 05British weather and care
News and notes
Latest from the pit
NewsGame season on the smoker
A seasonal note: why November is the month to smoke venison and pheasant, what's new on the site, and how to make a first game cook easy.
Read the guide
NewsKnowledge base and party plan
What's new on BBQ Smoker Guide: a filterable Knowledge base, a BBQ party plan with built-in calculators, calculators inside each cook guide and quicker search.
Read the guide
NewsNovember smoking notes
Seasonal notes for November: planning cooks around the dark, what's worth smoking this month, a pre-Christmas smoker check, and the new tools and guides on the site.
Read the guideBrowse
By topic
Choosing a smoker
Types, specs and which one suits how you cook. 8 guides
02Fuel and wood
Charcoal, pellets and British smoking wood. 3 guides
03Technique
Temperature control, the snake method, the stall, wrapping and resting. 17 guides
04Cooks
Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken and cold smoking, with UK cuts. 26 guides
05Weather and kit
Wind, rain, covers and thermometers. 6 guides
06Compare
Spec-based comparisons with the criteria stated. 2 guides
House rules
How we write this stuff
Cooking areas, temperature ranges and warranties come from the maker's UK page, with the date we checked. No source, no figure.
We haven't tested these; we compare published specs and independent sources. We'll tell you how a type of smoker works and who it suits.
Butcher cut names, °C first, oak and beech over mesquite, and advice that assumes it might rain.
Light it early.
The single most useful BBQ tip there is. The planner tells you how early.
Open the smoking time planner →