What factors affect the cooking time of meat on ceramic barbecue grill? Thickness and diameter, the quantity of connective tissue and fat, the heat you cook, Weather and smoker insulation, Humidity level, Whether your meat is boneless or boneless, the type of smoker you use while cooking, altitude.

1、Thickness and diameter

Although the temperature chart will make you believe that the weight of the meat is the main factor in determining how long your meat needs to cook, it is not accurate. In fact, the size, shape, diameter, and thickness of the meat are much more important.For the meat to be cooked, the center of the meat must reach a certain temperature. Now imagine that you have two pieces of meat of the same weight. One is thick and has a smaller diameter, and the other is thin and has a larger diameter. The heat will reach the center of the second piece of meat faster than the first piece of meat.

Although considering the shape of the meat can help you more accurately estimate the time required for cooking, rather than using the cooking schedule alone, it is still not a foolproof method of calculating how long it will take.

2、How much connective tissue and fat are there

If the meat you are cooking contains a lot of fat and connective tissue, you need to consider a longer cooking time.If cooked properly, the collagen in the connective tissue can make your meat moist and juicy. This means you have to melt it. This happens when the connective tissue reaches a temperature between 160°F and 205°F and stays there for a few hours.

The fat in the meat you plan to cook is not a bad thing, because it adds flavor. But it also needs to be melted to spread in the meat to release its benefits. This happens around  130°F.Cooking meat that contains a lot of fat and connective tissue quickly at high temperatures will counteract the benefits that fat and connective tissue impart to the meat, making it hard and dry. Insufficient cooking time will leave chewy, tough ribbons in your meat. Not attractive. So take your time and enjoy the benefits of having collagen and fat in your meat.

3、How hot are you cooking

If you cook at high temperatures, your meat will cook quickly. The trick is to accurately measure and adjust the cooking temperature.First, make sure you are using a good quality thermometer. Unfortunately, the thermometers of most smokers are of poor quality and cannot accurately read the temperature of the meat itself.

To get an accurate reading of the cooking surface temperature, measure the temperature a few inches away from the meat, and consider measuring the temperature on both sides of the cookware, as the two temperatures can be very different. You can also try to use a meat thermometer to see what's inside the meat.Another trick is to master the ventilation system of cookware well. This requires some practice, but managing your vents is essentially the same as managing your temperature.

4、Weather and smoker insulation

If it is snowing, windy, and miserable weather outside, it stands to reason that you will have to set aside more time for your chef. Cold air, wind and rain will cool the outside of the cookware, thereby slowing down the cooking time. The cold air entering through the vents will also cool the temperature inside the coal and cookware.

In addition to accepting the fact that dinner will take longer under these conditions, you can also insulate smokers and reduce the blow slightly. You can buy a cold jacket, or try DIY options, such as welding blankets, to prevent your smoker from losing too much heat.Even with heat preservation measures, you still need to store fuel. If the weather is cold, you still need to allow more time to finish cooking on time.

5、Humidity level

If you have ever been to the tropics, you will know how depressing the humid environment is. Nothing you do can calm you down. This is because the moisture on the surface of the skin cannot evaporate. The situation in the rice cooker is roughly the same.If the humidity level is high, the moisture cannot evaporate from the surface of the meat, keeping the surface temperature of the meat high and speeding up the cooking time. On the other hand, if the humidity level is low, the moisture will evaporate and cool the surface of the meat, thereby slowing down the cooking time.

Therefore, the climate of your place of residence will affect the cooking time. If you live in a very dry climate, which means your chef usually takes longer, how can you control the humidity level in the cooker and speed up the process? One way is to place a water pan in the cookware. This will provide a stable moisture content in the air and keep the humidity level constant.

6、Whether your meat is boneless or boneless

There are many speculations about whether your boneless meat cooks faster than the bone-in meat. The saying on the street is that the bones conduct heat to the center of the meat and speed up the cooking time.

But the fact is that bones are not good conductors of heat. In fact, because bones are porous and dry, meat itself conducts heat better than bones.One thing to remember when making the "bone or boneless decision" is that meat cooked with the bones is delicious. In addition, the bone itself can provide you with clues about when the meat is fully cooked. In a piece of meat like a pig's butt, being able to pull out the bone effortlessly is definitely a sign that the meat has been cooked.

7、The type of smoker you use while cooking

If you want to cook quickly, you may want to consider using an electric smoker. Since there is no burning involved in cooking with an electric rice cooker, less airflow is required. This means less evaporation and therefore less evaporative cooling on the surface of the meat. The end result is a faster cooking time.

Before you rush to buy a rice cooker, please remember that when cooking with a rice cooker, you will not get the same flavor as when cooking with a matchstick or charcoal smoker.

8、Altitude

If you live at a higher altitude, you may need to allow more time. At high altitudes, the air pressure is lower, which can cause some conditions to make the cooking process longer. One effect of altitude is that the higher you climb, the lower the temperature the water boils. So how does this affect your cooking time?

The water evaporates when it boils. This means that moisture will evaporate from the surface of the meat at a lower altitude, thereby cooling the meat at a lower temperature. It is worth remembering that although water boils at lower temperatures, the meat will not be cooked at lower temperatures.

The lower boiling point also means that you will quickly lose the moisture in the meat, so to keep the meat moist, you need to lower the cooking temperature. The end result is that your meat will take longer to cook.

To increase your challenge at high altitudes, less oxygen is available, so keeping the fire at a healthy temperature may also require more attention.