The shipped SmokeShow preset, adjusted for weight, smoker heat and beef doneness where relevant.
Free BBQ planner · No account
When should I start my smoke?
Start with when you want to eat. SmokeShow works backwards through the likely cook, rest and a little breathing room—then gives you a realistic starting window.
- Ranges, not fake precision
- Metric or Imperial
- Nothing to sign up for
Dinner first. Fire second.
Your result will show the start window and the assumptions behind it. No mystery maths.
- Estimated cook range
- Recommended rest
- Visible breathing room
- A realistic start window
02 · Your window
Finishing a little early is usually easier to manage than feeding hungry people late.
Serving target, not a guaranteed finish time.
Why this window?
Want your setup and history in the plan?
The free planner gives you the general window. The app carries it into the cook.
In SmokeShow for iPhone and iPad, choose a saved smoker, plan backwards from an optional Ready for time, and use relevant completed cooks on that same smoker when the evidence supports it. General guidance remains the fallback.
- Your smokers, remembered
- Personal ranges when relevant
- Manual checks and Journal
- Cook This Again
This is a planning estimate, not a doneness or food-safety guarantee. Always verify safe serving temperatures with a real thermometer and current official food-safety guidance.
Why BBQ timing moves
Weight matters. It is not the whole cook.
Two pork shoulders with the same label can still finish at different times. Shape, starting temperature, smoker recovery, weather, lid openings, wrapping and the stall all matter.
Smoker heat changes the pace
The planner adjusts the native SmokeShow range around the preset's recommended smoker temperature.
Rest belongs in the plan
Dinner time is later than pull time. The result keeps the cut's recommended rest visible.
Contingency beats a hungry table
Longer cooks get more visible breathing room. It is shown as an assumption, not buried as certainty.
How the estimate works
General knowledge, honestly applied.
The cook range comes from the same cut profiles and planning factors used by the shipped SmokeShow app. The web planner then works backwards from serving time using the cautious end of that range, the preset's typical rest target and a visible contingency range.
It does not know your meat's shape, starting temperature, weather or smoker behaviour. That is why you get a window—and why a real cook still needs a real thermometer.
Questions worth asking
Before the fire starts.
Can a BBQ planner guarantee when the meat will be ready?
No. Meat shape, starting temperature, weather, smoker behaviour, lid openings, wrapping and the stall can all move the finish. SmokeShow gives a planning range, not a guarantee.
Does the planner include resting time?
Yes. The result shows the rest range from the matching SmokeShow cut preset and uses its typical rest target when working backwards from serving time.
Why is breathing room included?
Finishing a little early is usually easier to manage than serving late. The planner shows its contingency rather than hiding it inside an exact-looking start time.
Does SmokeShow read a Bluetooth thermometer?
No. The planner is a pre-cook estimate, and the app uses manual readings entered from your own real thermometer. Always verify safe serving temperatures with current official food-safety guidance.