BBQ Calculators – Free Online Tools + iPhone App | the BBQ Geek

Plan your next barbecue with practical BBQ calculators designed to help you determine cooking times, holding times, serving quantities, and more. Use them right here on the web, or download the BBQ Geek app for iPhone to run your whole cook timeline with lock-screen alerts at every step — works with no signal at the smoker.
Get the Calculators as an app on your phone
Brisket Cooktime Calculator

Brisket Cook Time Calculator

When to put it on to be ready by lunch/dinner time.

Brisket Cook Time Calculator
Brisket Hold Calculator: Sous Vide Time & Temp

Brisket Cook & Hold Time Calculator

Find out when to finish your brisket so you can hold it until serving time without guessing.

Brisket Cook & Hold Calculator
Rib Cooktime Calculator

Rib Cook Time Calculator

Pick your cut, temp and wrap method, and find out when the ribs go on — plus when to wrap and sauce — to be ready by dinner.

Rib Cook Time Calculator
Pulled Pork Cook Calculator

Pulled Pork Cook Time Calculator

Enter your pork butt weight, smoker temp and wrap method, and find out when it goes on, when to wrap, and when to pull it to be ready by dinner.

Pulled Pork Cook Time Calculator

How We Build These Calculators

The BBQ Geek calculators are designed around real-world barbecue rather than theoretical cook times. Estimates account for variables such as meat weight, cooking temperature, wrapping and desired serving time. Results are starting points, not substitutes for checking the meat itself.

FAQ

Which calculator should I use?
Use the Brisket Cook Time Calculator or Pulled Pork Cook Time Calculator when you know what time you want to eat and need to know when to put the meat on. Use the Rib Cook Time Calculator for spare ribs or baby backs, including when to wrap and sauce. Use the Brisket Cook & Hold Calculator if you want to finish the brisket early and hold it in a sous vide bath until an exact serving time.

Is there an app for these calculators?
Yes – BBQ Geek is available free on the App Store for iPhone. It includes all four calculators plus BBQ Geek Pro ($4.99 one-time), which adds lock-screen alerts at every step of your cook timeline – even overnight, since it breaks through Sleep Focus for that 3 AM wrap. No account, no ads, no signal needed at the smoker.

What’s the difference between the Brisket Cook Time and Cook & Hold calculators?
The Cook Time Calculator tells you when to start smoking so your brisket is done in time for a specific meal. The Cook & Hold Calculator goes a step further, working backward from your serving time to tell you both when to start smoking and how long to hold it afterward in a sous vide bath.

How accurate are these calculators?
They’re built around typical smoking rates at common pit temperatures, but every cut, smoker and ambient condition is a little different. Treat the output as a solid starting point and always confirm doneness by probe feel, not just the clock.

Do these work for a stick burner, or just pellet smokers?
They work for either. The main thing that matters is the pit temperature you’re actually holding, not the fuel type, so plug in your real running temp rather than your smoker’s factory setting.

What if my meat finishes faster or slower than the estimate?
That’s normal. Brisket and pork butt can stall for hours, and ribs vary by thickness and how you wrap them. Each calculator builds in a safety buffer so finishing early is not a problem: wrap it and hold it in a cooler until serving time. If you’re using the Hold Calculator, small timing swings during the smoke stop mattering once the brisket is in the sous vide bath.

Can I use the Hold Calculator for pulled pork or ribs?
The Hold Calculator is tuned specifically for brisket. Pulled pork doesn’t need it, since the Pulled Pork Calculator already includes rest and cooler hold options and a pork butt holds well for hours wrapped in a cooler. Ribs are best served shortly after they come off the smoker, so there’s no hold step.

Do I need special equipment to use the hold method?
Just a sous vide immersion circulator, a container big enough to submerge the brisket, and a vacuum sealer or heavy-duty zip bags. No smoker changes required. The hold happens after the brisket comes off the pit.