Cold Weather Smoking


 
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Erich K

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I recently got a WSB and I did a 13lb turkey yesterday. The subzero temperatures that were blanketing New England finally lifted that morning and it was about 35 degrees. It felt like a heat wave! I got the smoker up to about 315-320 for most of the cook with all the vents open the whole time, and it was done within about 2hrs 45min. It turned out excellent, though the legs a little dry. This website is great to help us who are just starting out. Thanks!!
 
I did two turkeys at thanksgiving and one turned out dry. I learned not to do a turkey larger then about 12 lbs. The one that I did that was right at 12 lbs turned out great. the 17 pounder that I did was dry.
 
Try a simple brine of salt and brown sugar. Brine turkey for at least 12 hours. Rinse and cook. I guarantee that turkey won't be at all dry!
 
I did a pork loin last week when it was -8 out with about 30mph gusts. A couple chimney's of lite coals and it had no problems maintaining 325. It did take about 20min longer to get up to temp though. Forget about peeking under the lid! Instant drop to 190. Only did that when it was done.

I wind screen would help. But the WSM was right on for the entire cook. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Rob
 
Rob, do you think a windscreen would have helped or would some wind help drive the temp up to where you want it? It was pretty windy when I did the turkey and tryed a screen for awhile but it was pretty unstable and didn't want it to crash on the smoker.
 
Cold is not normally a problem. Wind however will suck the heat right out of the smoker. You would naturally think that the wind would act as a catalyst much like it does with a forest fire. This is definately not the case with the WSM. Next time you have some time on your hands and it's windy out, do what I did. Experiment /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
You guys are hardcore! I thought I was a champ out here in Texas with my overnight brisket smoke at 28 degrees outside. I used mexican blankets draped over patio chairs to block the wind that night. Ventalation or stable temps were not a problem.
 
Samo,

You are a champ in Teaxas! 28 man that's below freezing! You must have been in dire need of a cue fix to not wait 1 more day when it would warm up a little! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
Well here in Wisconsin I'm forced to smoke at temps in the single digits if I want BBQ. Which is'nt a big deal to me. When you live in it your used to it. But man I HATE living here! I would love to move somewhere warm all year round.

I'll be smoking two chuck blade roasts this Sunday morning for the SuperBowl. Shredded BBQ beef. The high for Saturday around here is supposed to be about 11F. So I'm assuming Sunday will be about the same. So that's almost single digit temps right there. But atleast the chuck blade roasts are only about a 6 or 7 hour cook though. So that's not so bad.
 
I'll be smoking some pork spare ribs on Saturday. The forecast calls for snow showers(1 to 3 inches) and a high of 15. I used a hot water heater insulation blanket to make a cover for my WSM, just for days like these! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Man what a drag. Not been a big cold weather person, but was going to give a briskett a try this weekend. Right now it's +1 with -14 windchill. My back deck along with my WSM is buried in 15 inches of snow. After diggin out the driveway, and sidewalks, just not sure I have that much ambition to dig out the deck this week. Plus we're supposed to get more Saturday, and next week. We normally don't get this much at one time.........yes I'm whining.
 
Well, we've been in single digits up here in Indiana for most of the week. Wind chill is bitter. But if the wind cooperates, I plan two racks of babybacks and a Boston Butt (my first) this Saturday; eat the ribs saturday night, eat the pulled pork while watching the Superbowl.

Last weekend, with weather in the 20s, I did a great pork loin. Who knew this was such a great cut of meat?

I figure either use it in the cold weather, or lose out on a lot of smoking time...
 
I smoked a turky, beef brisket, 4 pork butts for my wifes family reunion after Thanksgiving. It was 23 deg outside temp. I had a terable time keeping my smoker temp up. I ended up using a propane burner under the smoker to keep the smoke box up. Did I mention it was snowing? I wasnt sure if her family was worth it. Every thing turned out great.

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All this cold weather smoking talk made me decide to have some fun with my smoker.

Its -2f outside with a windchill -20 and I have two 6.5 lb pork shoulders loaded up and the temp just stablized at about 235. luckily I'm sheltered totally to the nortand west where teh wind is coming from so its time to crash and check them in about 6 hours.

This will certainly be my closdest smoke yet!!!!
 
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