Cold weather smoke


 
D

Danny Mo.

New member
Hi all. Smoking an 8.5lb butt on my 14.5” WSM. It’s in the low 30’s here in NC and struggling to get past 200 on the smoker. Butt is at 101 and has been on for an hour and a half. Any tips? I feel like I’ll need to reload but when is too soon/late? Do you add unlit coals when reloading?
 
Low 30's shouldn't have much affect on temps. I live in MN and smoke meats in the wintertime in much colder temps. I would say you either have to open more vents, add more charcoal or potentially block the wind if it is a windy day. Also, are you reading the temp from the stock Weber thermometer? If you are at 101 degrees after an hour and a half, it seems as if things are moving along well. Perhaps you don't have an accurate read on grate temp.
 
Hi Danny. I'm not an expert but if you've done all you can to raise the pit temp (such as intake & exhaust vent adjustments and stoking the coals) then adding unlit coals will not raise your temp immediately. So unless your existing fuel is mostly spent or your pit temp is dropping I think I'd be inclined to add some lit coals.

It just depends on the circumstances as to my choice for adding unlit vs adding lit.

Good luck and Merry Christmas!
 
Meat temp stalling at 159. Added a few unlit charcoal briquettes a little bit ago. Smoker running slightly below 250. Not sure if I should add more?
 
I just smoked a pork butt last week. When I started it was 30 degrees outside. You need more fuel to get higher temps. One good thing is the winds of Kansas was frozen still. I am using lump and it seems works much better then charcoal type in the cold. Still learning about using lump. As for the holding temp, when the meat reaches the internal temp for a phase change to occur, the temp of the meat will not increase until the solid to liquid phase change has finished. The amount of fat in the butt determines how long the hold is. Just simple physics. Grab a beer and allow physics laws to control the time.
 
Danny - I agree with my fellow Kansan Dan and usually wrap my pork butts at an internal temp of 160-165, add unlit charcoal and grab a beer (or two) until internal temp reaches 200. Adding half a chimney of lit at same time is an option too depending on your grate temp.
 
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