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Smoker, Grill, Brewing & Kitchen Calculators

Smoker capacity, smoke times, fuel costs, and brewing math.

16 resources

Browse by subcategory

Grilling & Smoking

Smoker size, smoke time by cut, wood selection, fuel cost, rub-and-sauce ratios.

10 Resources
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Food Safety

Thaw times, leftover storage, danger-zone math, and when to toss.

6 Resources
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About Cooking

Cooking gets faster and less stressful when you know the math: smoke time per pound, fuel needed for a 12-hour cook, brisket yield from a 14-pound packer, water-to-grain ratio for a homebrew batch. PickShack's cooking tools cover that math without recipes, pick the right smoker capacity for your family size, plan a cookout supply list by guest count, time meat by weight and target temp, compare propane vs charcoal vs pellet running costs, and track what worked for next time. The first wave focuses on grilling and smoking; brewing and kitchen tools follow as the cluster grows. These are calculator-and-printable tools, not a recipe site, pair PickShack with your favorite cookbook or YouTube channel for the recipe side.

Tools 5

Grilling & Smoking 3

BBQ Rub and Sauce Mixing Ratios Calculator Scale a dry rub and finishing sauce by meat weight, cut, rub strength, and sauce style. Returns total rub in oz and g with a per-spice breakdown, total sauce in cups and mL with a per-ingredient breakdown, and the standard percent-of-meat-weight rule baked in. Sauce styles: Eastern NC vinegar, Kansas City, Carolina mustard, Alabama white, or none. US and Canadian brand availability notes.
Propane vs Charcoal vs Pellet Cost Calculator Compare the yearly running cost of propane, charcoal, and pellet grills for how you actually cook. Enter cooks per month, hours per cook, and local fuel prices to see cost per cook and annual cost for each fuel, plus which one is cheapest for your habits. US prices in USD with Canadian equivalents in parens (propane 20 lb / 9 kg tank, charcoal bag, pellet 20 lb bag).
Smoker Size for Family Calculator Pick the right smoker capacity by guest count, cuts (brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, chicken, whole bird, mixed), cook style (low-and-slow / hot-and-fast / multi-cook), and buffer (lean / generous / leftovers-friendly). Returns recommended cooking surface in BOTH sq inches and sq cm, estimated cook time, fuel needed (lb of charcoal / lb of pellets / 20 lb propane tank fraction with 9 kg metric pairing), and a plain-English smoker pick.

Food Safety 2

Food Poisoning Symptom Checker: Likely Cause and Next Steps Educational food poisoning symptom checker for adults. Map time since the suspect food, your symptoms, and risk factors to likely pathogens and an action tier (home care, call your doctor or 811, urgent care, or 911). Not a diagnosis. For anyone under 18, pregnant, over 65, or immunocompromised, contact a healthcare provider directly.
Meat Thaw Time Calculator: Safe Thaw Time by Method and Weight Calculate safe thaw time for frozen meat by method (fridge, cold water, microwave) and weight. Avoid the 4 to 60 C (40 to 140 F) danger zone and the counter-thaw mistake. Built on USDA FoodKeeper and Health Canada Safe Food at Home thresholds. Weight in lb and kg.

Guides 6

Grilling & Smoking 4

How to Choose a Smoker (Pellet vs Gas vs Charcoal vs Offset vs Kamado vs Electric) Anchor smoker buying guide: pellet vs gas vs charcoal vs offset vs kamado vs electric tradeoffs, sizing by family, budget tiers from $200 entry to $2,000+ prosumer, brand picks for both US and Canada (Traeger, Weber, Big Green Egg, Komodo Kamado, Kamado Joe, Pit Boss, Char-Broil, Napoleon and Broil King made in Ontario, Bradley made in BC, Louisiana Grills), common mistakes, seasoning new smokers, and where to buy.
How to Season and Maintain a Smoker (Decade-Long Care Guide) Season a new smoker, then keep it running for a decade with simple monthly cleaning, smart off-season storage, and the rookie mistakes that kill smokers in two seasons. Covers offset, pellet, kamado, electric, and propane; food-grade smoker oil USD and CAD pricing; gasket replacement; Canadian-winter storage; pellet auger and firepot care; rust prevention.
Kamado Grill Buying Guide: Big Green Egg vs Kamado Joe vs Vision vs Primo How to choose a kamado grill (the ceramic egg-shaped charcoal cooker) across the major brands: Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, Vision Grills, Primo Ceramic (oval), Char-Griller Akorn (steel budget bridge), Pit Boss. Honest brand profiles, size selection by cooking surface, price tiers from USD 300 budget to USD 2500+ enthusiast, essential accessories vs marketing fluff, five common mistakes that cost money, US and Canadian retailer routing (Patio Doctor / Smoke 'n Bones / Mr. BBQ Parts / FireFly BBQ + Canadian Tire / Costco Canada), kamado vs other smoker types, and used-kamado buying tips.
Meat Thermometer Buying Guide: Instant-Read vs Leave-In vs Wireless How to choose a meat thermometer for grilling and smoking: instant-read vs leave-in probe vs wireless, what accuracy and read speed actually matter, price tiers, calibration with the ice-water and boiling-water tests, common mistakes, and what most cooks really need. US and Canada price guidance.

Food Safety 2

How Long Leftovers Actually Last (and When to Toss Them) USDA FoodKeeper and Health Canada fridge and freezer timelines by food category, the 2-hour danger zone rule, cool-down math, reheating safely to 74 C/165 F, and when smell alone is not enough to trust leftovers. Canadian and US authoritative sources cited throughout.
How to Read Food Expiration Dates (Best Before, Use By, Sell By Explained) Best Before, Use By, Sell By, and Packaged On labels explained with CFIA and FDA rules, a comprehensive food-safety-past-date table by category, the egg float test, and how to cut food waste without risking illness. Canadian and US authoritative sources cited throughout.

Printables 5

Grilling & Smoking 3

BBQ Cookout Shopping List by Guest Count (Printable) A printable cookout shopping list that scales meat, buns, sides, condiments, drinks, ice, fuel, and supplies by guest count. Quantities pre-filled for 6, 12, and 20+ guests, plus a 'your count' fill-in and a Got-it check column. Lb with kg parens; black-and-white printer friendly.
Meat Smoking Temperature & Time Reference (Printable) One-page reference card. Cuts (brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, chicken, turkey, salmon, lamb, etc.) by row, target internal temp in BOTH F and C, smoke time per lb and per kg, recommended wood, wrap point, and rest time. Includes a wood pairing table (mild apple/cherry/peach for poultry/pork; medium hickory/pecan/oak for pork/beef; strong mesquite for beef only).
Smoker Fuel and Rub Inventory Tracker (Printable) Printable inventory tracker for propane tanks, charcoal bags, hardwood pellets, smoking wood, dry rubs, and sauces. Fillable rows for on-hand count, last refill or mix date, reorder threshold, brand or recipe source, and notes. Lb shown with kg in parens; black-and-white printer friendly. Includes a Canadian-retailer reference (Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Co-op) and typical reorder points.

Food Safety 2

Family Fridge and Freezer Temperature Log (Printable Monthly Log) Printable monthly fridge and freezer temperature log for families. Track daily readings, weekly maintenance, power outages, and food-loss documentation. Includes safe-range reference, decision rules, appliance-replacement criteria, and Canadian and US food safety sources.
Leftover Storage Tracker (Printable Fridge & Freezer Log) Printable fridge and freezer leftover tracker. Log storage dates, toss-by dates, and status for up to 20 fridge items and 16 freezer items. Includes a laminate-ready quick toss-by reference (USDA FoodKeeper + Health Canada), cool-down and reheat rules, toss signals, and a monthly fridge-clean log.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have recipes here?

No. PickShack covers the math and reference side of cooking: smoke times by cut and weight, fuel costs, smoker capacity by family size, brisket yield, brewing batch costs, kitchen-time conversions. For recipes, sites like Serious Eats, AmazingRibs, Meathead's BBQ Lab, and the Food Network are far better. We pair well with those: use them for the recipe, use us for 'how long, how much fuel, how big a smoker do I need.'

What's the difference between grilling and smoking?

Grilling cooks fast over direct, high heat (350 F / 175 C and above), suited for burgers, steaks, vegetables, anything done in 30 minutes or less. Smoking cooks slow over indirect, low heat (225 to 275 F / 107 to 135 C) for hours, infusing wood smoke into larger cuts (brisket, pork shoulder, ribs). Different techniques, overlapping gear. The grilling-and-smoking subcategory covers both.

Do I really need a dedicated smoker, or can I smoke on a grill?

You can absolutely smoke on a charcoal grill or a kamado-style grill (Big Green Egg, Komodo Kamado, Kamado Joe) using indirect heat and wood chunks. A dedicated pellet smoker (Traeger, Pit Boss) or offset is more convenient for long unattended cooks (8 hours and up) but is not necessary for occasional smoking. The smoker-buying tools help you decide based on how often you actually smoke.

Gas, charcoal, pellet, or kamado, which should I buy?

Gas is most convenient and cheapest to operate (about $0.50 per cookout for propane), good for weeknight grilling. Charcoal delivers traditional flavor at $1 to 3 per cookout. Pellet smokers are set-and-forget convenience for smoking, $300 to 1500 upfront. Kamado-style ceramic grills excel at both grilling and smoking and hold heat exceptionally well, $300 to 3000+ upfront. The buying-guide content walks through the tradeoffs by use case.

How does cooking content connect to PickShack's preparedness side?

Cooking off-grid is a core preparedness skill, you can cook full meals on a charcoal or propane grill during a power outage. The cooking tools cross-link with preparedness content where relevant: fuel storage, freezer-without-power, generator-fuel-runtime. Your grill and your generator share fuel infrastructure, so the math overlaps.