11 Easy Smoked BBQ Tips For Beginners (and Pros)

Being a beginner at anything can suck. Often times, you don’t know what you don’t know. These BBQ Tips for Beginners will help you save time and money so you can spend both with your family.

We’ve compiled the tips below based on 20 years of experience smoking BBQ goodness to satisfy many hungry bellies…

Tip	Description	Tip	Description
1	Create a Barbecue Game Plan	7	Use a meat thermometer
2	Be generous with seasoning/rub	8	Let the meat rest after removing
3	Double check your fuel supply	9	Serve the food hot
4	Preheat your smoker	10	Clean the smoker while it’s hot
5	Control smoker temperature	11	Take notes & adjust for what YOU like
6	Keep the lid closed

Tip #1 — Create a Barbecue Game Plan

It may sound simple, but don’t skip this step! Put together a solid game plan to ensure your smokey meal goes off without a hitch.

Here’s a few things to consider when putting a game plan together:

• What time do you plan to serve the meal?
  • work backwards from that time to plan your schedule
• Do you have all the supplies you need (meat, seasoning rub, fuel, etc)?
• How long will it take to prepare the meat?
• How long will you need to smoke the meat?

Think through those items (and more) before get the BBQ fired up! 🍖🔥

Tip #2 — Be generous with seasoning/rub

So you put in all the money, time, and effort to make an amazing smoked meal….then you take your first bite and are overcome with disappointment. There’s very little flavor and you feel like the whole meal is ruined!

Under seasoned meat will derail your whole cooking experience and make you feel like a failure. It’s one of the most common things I see when folks are starting out in BBQ.

Apply generous amounts of the seasonings and rubs to any meat you smoke or grill.

As a general rule, the thicker the meat, the more seasoning you need. For example, a chicken breast won’t need as much seasoning as a big ole pork butt.

Tip #3 — Double check your fuel supply

Ever been in the middle of a long smoke and suddenly you’re out of fuel? It’s happened to me and it’s NOT FUN.

Make sure you’re stocked with plenty of charcoal, wood, pellets, or propane before you start cooking.

I recommend you stay stocked up on fuel at all times to ensure your meats get all the smoky flavor they deserve any time you want to fire up the grill.

Tip #4 — Preheat your smoker

Preheat your grill / smoker and let it reach the desired temperature before putting food on the grill.

A pre-heated smoker can help prevent food from sticking to the grill grates and help you stay on track for overall cooking time.

Tip #5 — Control smoker temperature like a boss!

Consistent temperature is the secret sauce of BBQ mastery. How well you maintain temperature can be the difference between tender, melt-in-your-mouth delicious meals versus tough-as-leather meats.

If your smoker’s temperature is all over the place, the quality of your food will be also.

Become a master of your pit by learning to control temperature like a boss! In my years of experience, I’ve seen that EVERY type of grill or smoker can be controlled. However, some types are easier than others:

• Pellet grill – Excellent at temp control
• Charcoal grills – Descent temp control (depends on design and cost)
• Propane grill – Good at controlling temp; can lack in smokey flavor
• Gas grill – Same as propane

I’ve maintained 225 degrees for 10+ hours on a little Weber Kettle charcoal grill (not meant for smoking but is certainly capable). I’ve done the same using a Weber Smokey Mounter water smoker, a Kamado smoker, and multiple other rigs.

Because of these experiences with other smoker types, I now REALLY appreciate my pellet smoker and how easy it controls temperature. It doesn’t get much better than set and forget!

Tip #6 — Keep the lid closed

There’s a saying in the world of BBQ, “if you’re lookin, you ain’t cookin”. Hopefully, you get the idea. 🙂

Basically, every time you open the lid, you let heat escape and risk a temperature drop. The size of the temp drop will be impacted by how long you keep the lid open, how cold it is outside, etc.

Here’s a couple pointers:

• Only open the lid when absolutely necessary
• Close the lid as soon as possible

Tip #7 — Use a meat thermometer (internal temp is your guide)

Everyone want’s to make great barbecue every time they cook. However, it can be hard to achieve repeatable results.

Few things will help you more than this tip…and it may just be the most important concept on the list…USE A MEAT THERMOMETER and let internal meat temperature guide you…

No matter what meat you are cooking or what type of smoker you are cooking it on, internal temperatures should always be used as a guide.

*I recommend following food safety guidelines as closely as possible.

Tip #8 — Let the meat rest after removing

Ever cut into steak or chicken hot off the grill and notice juices running all over your plate or cutting board? Usually, this is because the meat hasn’t rested enough.

During the rest period, juices redistribute and reabsorb into the meat, making it more tender and flavorful.

Rest your meat by allowing it to sit for a small amount of time after cooking. I usually wrap or cover the meat in foil during the rest period.

Resting time for each cut of meat varies. I generally rest smaller cuts (such as chicken breast, steaks, etc) for 5-10 minutes at minimum. Larger cuts, such as pork butts and briskets, need longer rest time for maximum juiciness. I rest these for a minimum of 30 minutes to an hour; but sometimes several hours if wrapped.

Tip #9 — Serve the food hot

Hot BBQ is the ultimate comfort food…it’s like a warm hug on a plate. Serve it hot to maximize that comfort food feeling.

The more BBQ cools off, the more it tends to tighten up and lose the melt-in-your-mouth awesomeness that makes it so good in the first place.

Tip #10 — Clean the smoker while it’s hot

A clean smoker is a happy smoker and preparing it for next time is a breeze when it’s still warm. You will appreciate having a clean grill when you start your new grilling session and you don’t have to clean.

When I take the last meat or item off smoker, I usually take a few moments to wipe down the grill grates using a paper towel. Cooking meat over indirect heat will leave behind a lot of rendered fat and sometimes bark.

Let grime build-up, and you’re looking at a flavor killer and a longer, harder cleaning job next time.

Tip #11 — Take notes & adjust for what YOU like

You and the people you cook for are the ones you have to please. I don’t care what the recipe says, or what that YouTube video says to do…if you don’t like it, change it up.

I recommend taking notes on what works and what doesn’t. Don’t be afraid to change things up to suit your own tastes.

More Resources for Beginners…

FAQ

What is the secret to good BBQ?

I wouldn’t call them secrets, but the tips on this list are a great start.

What are the easiest things to BBQ?

I believe pork butts are one of the easiest things to smoke. They are very forgiving, meaning if something goes out of whack they tend to still taste good.

Briskets are probably on the other end of the spectrum, but even they can be smoked to perfection by following simple guidelines.

Following the simple tips outlined above will make any cut of meat seem easy.

What time should you start a BBQ?

Give yourself more than enough time to cook and account for stubborn meats that can take longer than anticipated (pork butts or briskets).

I’d much rather have meat done way ahead of time and keep it warm versus having hungry people waiting on the barbecue to finish.

Do I need a meat thermometer?

Yes, in my opinion a reliable meat thermometer is an absolute necessity to great barbecue.

How do you prepare a BBQ for cooking?

Be sure it’s clean, has plenty of fuel, and preheated. That’s really all there is to it.