If you have ever found yourself wondering what to smoke this weekend, this post will give you plenty of options so you can find your firm favourite.

There’s no denying smoking takes up quite a lot of time and effort so it’s often best left to the weekend or holiday times when you have more spare time.

What to Smoke This Weekend

When you are thinking about what to smoke this weekend there are a few considerations such as how much time you want to devote to smoking, how many mouths you have to feed and how much money you are willing to spend.

There are certain cuts that are cheap meats to smoke, for example beef chuck roast (for pulled beef), bottom round roast, or beef cheeks are all cheaper than brisket. Whole chickens are popular and inexpensive things to smoke and are good for a crowd.

While large cuts of meat such as brisket and pork butt are popular choices, both of these cuts take a very long time to smoke – brisket can even take up to 18 hours depending on the size of the cut. It may be worth considering smoking a pork loin or a whole turkey which can be done in around 4 hours. Whole chickens can be smoked in less time again – around 3 hours.

If anyone in your family or your guests are vegetarian or vegan, you might have to consider some vegetarian smoker recipes.

It’s also worth considering what to smoke in terms of pellet grill appetizers to keep your guests from getting too hungry before the main event, as well as what sides you might want to smoke, for example smoked mac and cheese or smoked baked beans.

Smoked Pork Loin

For a much quicker smoke than pork shoulder for pulled pork, you could consider pork loin. Since you don’t have as much connective tissue and fat as pork shoulder it will only take you around 3 hours smoking low and slow at 225F or 107C over your wood of choice.

Apple wood is the classic pairing with pork but if you want a stronger smoke taste hickory is a great option too.

Smoked Sausage

For quick and easy smoker recipes it’s hard to beat smoking sausage. You have so many different options to choose from – Bratwurst, Andouille, Chorizo, Cumberland, or Italian Sausage the list goes on and on. You can smoke any sausage in 1-2 hours at 225F or 107C and put them in rolls for hot dogs, or serve them with mash, fries, sauerkraut, onions and the like.

You can even smoke a number of different types of sausage at once for the sheer fun of it. In terms of ease and versatility we would consider sausage to be one of the top 10 meats to smoke.

Smoked sausage is great in jambalayas, stews and casseroles as well.

Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs are an absolutely delicious thing to smoke this weekend and they can be done in 3-4 hours at 225F or 107C.

Serve them with mash and gravy, roast potatoes, fries, green salad, mac and cheese or whatever way you like.

What to Smoke This Weekend For Beginners

If you are a beginner smoker then you might want to avoid a long smoke such as beef brisket which can be difficult to get just right. It may be worth considering large cuts of meat that don’t take too long in the smoker such as whole chickens, pork loin, whole turkey or even larger cuts of steak such as Tomahawk steak.

You might also want to consider smaller cuts of meat that are quick to smoke such as chicken wings, thighs and breasts, turkey breast or legs, lamb chops, pork chops, any kind of sausage, individual steaks such as sirloin or ribeye and the like.

Unique Things to Smoke

If you are looking for some unique things to smoke this weekend, here are a few ideas:

• Devilled Eggs
• Smoked Mac and Cheese
• Ostrich – burgers, breast or legs
• Cornish Hens
• Pheasant
• Nuts (e.g. Honey Chipotle Smoked peanuts)
• Bison – burgers, brisket etc
• Alligator or Crocodile
• Oysters
• Lobsters
• Cocktails (smoke water and then freeze it to use in cocktails and smoke the fruit in the cocktails e.g. limes or lemons)
• Kangaroo
• Wild Boar
• Wild Turkey

Smoked Chicken Ideas

Crispy Smoked Whole Chicken Recipe

For a great weekend smoke try this crispy smoked chicken recipe. If you hve plenty of mouths to feed try smoking 2 or 3 chickens at a time and serve with all the trimmings.

You smoke the whole chicken at 225F or 107C for an hour first to take on smoke taste, and then you increase the heat in the smoker to 400F or 232C for the second stage of smoking to ensure a crispy skin. All in all it will only take you about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours.

Dust the chicken with your favourite BBQ seasonings or you can make your own rub from the ingredients below. Simply place them in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.

• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder (increase or decrease according to heat tolerance
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons onion powder

For some great side dishes for BBQ chicken you could consider mashed potatoes, fries, sweet potato fries, BBQ baked beans, potato salad, green beans, green salad, pasta salad, roast potatoes and the like.

Smoked Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are an often underrated cut of meat for smoking, but they are full of flavour with plenty of meat and relatively inexpensive, especially compared to chicken breasts. They also have plenty of built in moisture which makes them perfect for smoking.

At 250F or 121C they will only take 1 1/2 to 2 hours to smoke.

What Meat to Smoke on a Sunday

Here are a few ideas for what meat to smoke on a Sunday for a memorable Sunday lunch or dinner:

• Tri Tip Steak treated like a brisket (trisket) – 3-4 hours smoking time
• Smoked Pork Loin – around 3 hours smoking time
• Whole Chicken – 2-3 hours smoking time
• Whole Turkey – 4-6 hours smoking time
• Smoked Beef Roast – 4-6 hours
• Smoked Venison Roast – 2-3 hours
• Tomahawk Steak (Cowboy Steak or Bone-in Ribeye) – 1-2 hours smoking time
• Beef Chuck Roast – 4-6 hours
• Whole Salmon – 2-3 hours
• Flank or Skirt Steak for tacos – 1 1/2 to 2 hours smoking time
• 5 hour Pork Butt at 350F or 149C

For more smoking ideas you could try this best smoker recipes to try article.

If you are considering what to smoke this weekend in terms of the time it will take have a look at our 1 hour smoker recipes, 2 hour smoker recipes, or 3 hour smoker recipes posts.

If you have more time available for smoking our article on 5 hour smoker recipes could be more your thing.

If you tried out any of the ideas on this post let us know in the comments below or tag us on Instagram @bbqgrillshub.