Cold weather and WSM

[Ryan Burke]

So I am going to be doing my 3rd cook on my 18 WSM on Sunday. The mothers all want ribs for dinner and the temps when I am going to put them on will be in the mid 30's. Do you do anything different with the cooker in cold weather? Usually when i do BB's I smoke for 2 hours, wrap for an hour and put them back on till they get finished.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Pick a sheltered location or setup a wind break. It's the wind, not the cold, that causes problems with cooker temp.

Your timing and wrap process will be fine. You don't say whether you're doing Minion Method or getting all charcoal hot before starting (Standard Method), and you don't mention if you're using water. If Minion, start with a little more unlit charcoal in the cooker and light maybe 10 more briquettes than usual. If Standard, use perhaps 20% more lit charcoal than usual. If using water, make sure it's hot!

Good luck!

 

[Ryan Burke]

Chris, Thanks for the quick response. I fill the charcoal ring but leave a hole in the middle for the Minion method. I will add more lit coals then normal. The last two cooks I have used water in the pan.