With large cuts of beef and pork to barbecue, cooking “low and slow” is a key guideline to help prepare the best barbecue around.

Two of the most popular cuts to barbecue are the beef brisket and pork Boston butt.  These cuts are quite large and must be cooked to elevated (around 190°F) internal temperatures.

Because these cuts are so large, if they are cooked at high pit temperatures (350°F or greater), the outside portions of them will be greatly overcooked before the desired internal temperatures are met.

The old adage, “low and slow” is used by many pitmasters to indicate that the larger the cut, the lower the temperature of cooking and the longer the time that must be allowed (sometimes at least 1 hour per pound) to produce the best barbecue around.