Plan a smoke by cut and weight — with target internal temps, smoker temps, and an honest warning about the stall that ignores the clock.
Smoking is the cooking method where a clock lies to you most. Two big cuts of the same weight can finish hours apart depending on your smoker, the weather, and the meat itself. The time estimate above is for planning your day — when to light the smoker so dinner lands on time — not a promise.
Large, collagen-rich cuts like brisket and pork shoulder hit a stall: somewhere around 150–170 °F, the internal temperature stops climbing and can sit flat for hours. It's not a problem with your smoker — surface moisture is evaporating and cooling the meat, like sweat. You can wait it out, or wrap the meat in foil or butcher paper (the "Texas crutch") to push through faster. Either way, build it into your timing; it's the single biggest reason smokes run long.
Tough cuts are taken to 195–205 °F — well past any safety minimum — because that's where collagen breaks down into gelatin and the meat turns tender. Poultry is different: it just needs to reach the safe 165 °F. Use a probe thermometer and pull when the meat hits temperature and probes tender, whatever the clock says.