Smoking meat is often associated with long, slow cooking times that can make even the most patient pitmaster antsy. But what if you could enjoy the deep, smoky flavours you love without a marathon cooking session? Enter these quick smoker recipes, designed to deliver mouthwatering results in under 3 hours.
This collection of fast smoker recipes proves that you don’t always need all day to create a delicious smoked feast. Short on time or just too hungry to wait for an 8 hour low and slow feast, these quick and easy smoker recipes will have you savouring tender, flavourful meats and sides in no time.
What Is The Quickest Meat To Smoke?
When time is of the essence but you still want to enjoy the rich, smoky flavours that only a smoker can bring, choosing the right cut of meat is crucial.
One of the quickest meats to smoke is chicken, specifically chicken wings, thighs, and drumsticks. These smaller cuts have a higher surface area relative to their volume, allowing them to absorb smoke more rapidly and cook faster than larger cuts.
Chicken wings, for example, can be smoked to perfection in about 1.5 to 2 hours at a temperature. This makes them an ideal choice for a quick, satisfying smoked meal.
Another fast option is fish, particularly salmon, which can be fully smoked in under 1.5 hours.
Pork tenderloin also ranks high on the list of quick-smoking meats. This lean cut can be ready in just 2 hours, providing a tender meal without the all-day cooking.
But you don’t just have to smoke meat! There are plenty of sides that are also quick to make in a smoker.
Quick Smoker Recipes That Are Ready In 3 Hours Or Less
While these quick smoker recipes typically take under 3 hours to cook (some much less), don’t forget that each smoker is slightly different, each smoking session is slightly different and the type of smoker you are using (pellet, coal, electric etc), can make a difference to the time too.
Either way, these aren’t your typical low and slow and you’re going to have dinner on your plate much sooner with these recipes:
1. Smoked Buffalo Wings
Chicken wings are one of my favourite go-to options when I don’t have a full day to dedicate to smoking. And buffalo wings are always a winning choice, especially paired with a blue cheese dip.
2. Reverse Seared Tri Tip
Tri-tip is a roast beef that cooks like a steak and doesn’t take too long to smoke. This reverse sear tri tip starts low and slow and ends with a sear to finish.
3. Blackened Tilapia with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce
These blackened tilapia filets are simple to prepare, loaded with a smoky flavours and cooked to perfection, served with lemon butter caper sauce.
4. Smoked Pork Loin
This juicy Pellet Grill Smoked Pork Loin is easy to make, only takes 15 minutes to prep, and around 2.5 hours to cook!
5. Smoked Turkey Breast
Turkey doesn’t just need to be a favourite holiday dish. This smoked turkey breast is brined and grilled with hardwood smoke for juicy tender meat.
6. Juicy Smoked Burgers
These 3 ingredient smoked burger patties are the perfect lazy Summer dinner or perfect for entertaining a crowd too!
7. Smoked Lobster Tails
These smoked lobster tails are paired with lemon-garlic butter to make them buttery with those smokey notes and ready in no time.
8. Smoker Mac And Cheese
Your favourite comfort food just got even better with those smokey flavours to make this smoked mac & cheese a fast favourite, made with 3 cheeses and perfect as a winter warmer main or as a hearty smoked side dish.
9. Smoked Spiced Shrimp with Homemade Saskatchewan Dry Rub
It doesn’t get much faster than this! This smoked spiced shrimp is ready in under half an hour, with a homemade copycat Traeger blackened Saskatchewan rub.
10. Smoked Turkey Legs
The first time we ever went to Disneyland, the turkey legs were one of the standouts! Now you can make your own version at home with this smoker turkey leg recipe.
11. BBQ Flanken Cut Beef Short Ribs Recipe & Dry Rub
These Korean style flaken cut beef short ribs are perfect served with salad or corn on the cob.
12. Brown Sugar Smoked Salmon
This simple brown sugar salmon recipe has only 6 recipes and is on your plate and ready to eat in around 2 hours.
13. Smoked Meatballs
Juicy and tender smoked meatballs with that added flavour of smokiness and your favourite sauce.
14. Smoked Baked Beans
A baked bean concoction is one of our favourite ‘lazy’ dinners when we don’t really have anything planned and just throw a heap of this and that into a skillet so this smoked baked beans is even better, with plenty of spice if you choose.
15. Bacon Wrapped Smoker Pork Loin
Make this tender bacon-wrapped pork loin in your smoker, with plenty of flavour added with the addition of a good pork rub. On your plate in just under 3 hours.
16. Smoked Hasselback Potatoes
Sometimes you just want comforting carbs, especially when the weather cools down. These Hasselback potatoes are all that and more!
17. Smoked Chicken Legs
These smoker chicken legs result in juicy drumsticks that are perfect for tailgates, game day, and backyard barbecues on summer days!
18. Smoked Spicy Meatloaf
Have you ever thought to cook your meatloaf in the smoker? This spicy smoked meatloaf is stuffed with habanero cheese.
19. Smoked Salmon
This smoked salmon turns an ordinary piece of fish into an extraordinary, delectable, melt-in-your-mouth, flavourful morsel, not to mention the fact that it makes for an easy dinner recipe, with just an hour on the smoker.
20. Crispy Traeger Smoked Chicken Thighs
These smoked bone-in chicken thighs are tender, juicy, and full of delicious smokiness. Coated in a dry rub and topped with BBQ sauce, these chicken thighs are cooked to perfection in around 90 minutes.
21. Smoked Shimp
These buttery smoked shrimp are delicious on their own or paired with your favourite cut of steak for a meal of epic proportions. Just 6 ingredients are needed and ready in less than an hour.
22. Smoked Pork Chops
These smoked pork chops are seasoned with BBQ meat rub, smoked to perfection, and finished with a coating of your favourite BBQ sauce for tender, juicy pork chops that are loaded with a sweet and smoky flavour.
23. Easy Smoked Jalapeno Poppers (Bacon Wrapped)
What’s even better than a jalapeno popper? A smoked jalapeno popper! This is a great appetiser for game day or paired with your other favourite smoked sides!Â
24. Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin
This sausage-stuffed smoked pork loin is slightly spicy from the sausage, delicious and easy to make and great for easy smoked dinners with your favourite sides.
With these quick smoker recipes ready in 3 hours or less, there’s no excuse to fire up your smoker this weekend! Then again, why wait until the weekend? Some of these are quick enough for a sneaky mid-week smoker session too!
But what about sides? Check out these side dishes:
