Plan cooks, calculate how much to buy, and hit your serve time with our BBQ tools & calculators—brisket, brining, and wood pairing.
This page is your home base for BBQ tools. Use the Brisket Planner to map a start-to-serve timeline, the Brining Calculators for consistent seasoning, and the Wood Pairing Guide to choose the right smoke. New tools are added over time. Bookmark this hub and check back and browse our BBQ glossary for help with unfamiliar barbecue jargon.
All tools at a glance
- Brisket Planner: Build a start-to-serve timeline and printable schedule.
- How Much Brisket to Buy: Convert portions to raw weight using realistic yields.
- Altitude Adjuster: Fine-tune timing and targets for high-elevation brisket cooks.
- Brining Calculators (wet, dry, EQ): Set exact salt rates by weight for repeatable results.
- Wood Pairing Guide: Compare flavor intensity and best pairings by protein.
- Turkey Calculator: Coming soon…
Brisket tools
- Brisket Cook Time & Planning Calculator — Plan the whole cook from serve or start time, stall, wrap, rest, with printable timeline. Open the brisket calculator →
- How much brisket to buy — Convert target cooked portions into raw brisket to purchase using realistic yields. Go to “How much” →
- Altitude adjuster — Nudge targets and timing when you’re cooking at elevation. Adjust for altitude →
Accuracy notes: Times are modeled on common cook rates, stall ranges, wrap method, and a proper rest—always verify with a probe.
Brining calculators
- Brining Calculator — Set an exact salt rate for any cut. Supports wet, dry, and equilibrium styles. Open brining calculators →
- Wet brine — Pick a salt %, scale to your container. Wet brine →
- Dry brine — Salt per pound for consistent seasoning. Dry brine →
- Equilibrium brine — Hit a precise final salt %. Equilibrium brine →
Accuracy notes: Wet, dry, and equilibrium brines compute exact salt rates by weight for consistent results.
Wood pairing
- BBQ Smoke Wood Pairing Guide — Match woods to meats with flavor notes and intensity. Open the guide →
Accuracy notes: Flavor notes reflect typical intensity and profile of common hardwoods/fruitwoods.
Quick answers
Use the Brisket Cook Time & Planning Calculator. Enter serve time or start time, brisket weight, pit temperature, wrap choice, and rest window. It back-calculates a start-to-serve timeline you can print, and you can add a holding buffer for safety.
Open How Much to Buy and set your guest count with a cooked portion per person. The tool converts portions to raw pounds using realistic trim and cook-loss yields, so you don’t run short. Add an optional leftovers buffer if you want seconds or next-day meals.
Use the Brisket Planner as a start-time calculator. Enter your serve time and targets, and it back-calculates when to light the pit and when milestones should happen, including wrap, rest, and hold. Print the schedule to keep you on track and add a buffer if timing is tight.
If you’re above roughly 3,000 feet, lower boiling points can lengthen the cook and shift targets. Use the Altitude Adjuster before you start your brisket to nudge timing and temperature assumptions so the plan stays realistic for your elevation. Small adjustments now prevent late plates later.
The Brining Calculator supports all three. Wet brine sets a salt percentage and scales to your container for even coverage. Dry brine applies precise salt-by-weight with no liquid. Equilibrium brine targets a final salt percentage in the meat for repeatable results. Pick the method that fits your cut, timeline, and gear.
Times are grounded in typical cook rates, stall windows, and a proper rest. Every brisket differs, so confirm doneness with a probe and plan a hold to absorb variation. The planner reflects real-world ranges; use it to set expectations, then adjust in real time as your cook progresses.
Open the BBQ Smoke Wood Pairing Guide to match woods to proteins with flavor notes and intensity levels. Start with a primary wood that complements your meat, then add a secondary if you want a bit of nuance. Aim for balance so smoke supports the meat instead of overwhelming it.
Methods & Sources
- USDA Food Buying Guide — Beef brisket yields — purchase-to-plate yield reference used in “How Much.”
- USDA AMS IMPS 100 — Brisket item specs (120/120A/120B) — cut definitions for packer/flat/point.
- FoodSafety.gov — Safe minimum internal temperatures — baseline food-safety temps for roasts.
- USDA FSIS — Smoking meat & poultry — handling, marinade reuse, thermometer use.
- USDA FSIS — The 40–140°F “danger zone” — hot-hold buffer guidance for planning.
- USDA FSIS — High-altitude cooking — boiling-point drop and time impacts.
- Colorado State Univ. Extension — High-elevation food preparation — practical adjustments at elevation.
- New Mexico State Univ. Extension — High-altitude cooking — ~1°F boiling-point drop per 500 ft.
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (UGA) — research-based handling guidance for salt solutions.
- Univ. of Illinois Extension — Brine method (food safety) — refrigeration and handling best practices.
- USDA FSIS — Safe food handling basics — cross-contamination, chilling, storage timelines.
- Texas A&M Meat Science — Cooking & smoking basics — wood use in barbecue context.
- USDA Forest Service — Wood Handbook — hardwood/softwood chemistry background relevant to smoke.
- Mississippi State Univ. Extension — Smoking notes (use hardwoods, avoid softwoods) — safety/wood-type guidance.
These references underpin yield math, cut definitions, safe-temp/holding guidance, altitude adjustments, brining safety, and wood-selection notes used across our tools.
About the author
James Roller documents South Carolina barbecue for Destination BBQ and authored Going Whole Hog. He researches techniques, interviews pitmasters, creates tools and curates reliable sources so home cooks can succeed.
