Cooking in 100 degree heat?


 
G

Grant Narita

TVWBB Fan
I am wondering how difficult is it to smoke ribs if it's 100 degrees outside...I have no shade in the backyard and no large umbrella. Is it still doable? Should I only bbq in the early morning? Was hoping to bbq for dinner but that means doing it when the temp is 100 outside.

Also, will use the minion method.. Do I need to wait till the temp is at the cooking temp before I put the ribs on, or can I put them on immediately and control the temp while they are already on. If I need to wait to get to the 250 degree cooking temp, approx how long could it take to get up to that, if I start at 7am when it's cool outside?

Thanks for your help.
 
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I cook in 100 degrees a lot, you can do it if you don't mind the sun. Shade would be good if you could come up with some
Minion method is what I use, my food is on within 15 minutes of getting the smoker going
I cook at 250 on my dome thermometer for just about everything. But in truth, you just have to find "your sweet spot" with your set up
If you want to do a short cook, cook something beef (not necessarily beef ribs) A Tri Tip can be easily completed in under 2 hours. I recommend Italian Sausages with Tri Tip :)
Ribs can be done is about 4 hours (baby back / St Louis)
Butts & Briskets are about an hour a LBS

Most important thing, have fun!
 
I prefer to cook outside when the temp is way up there. No need to heat up the house with the stove. I don't hang out outside though, I do what needs to be done quickly and then get my tookus back in the house with the AC running.
 
Keep hydrated and blow a big fan! The cooker won't mind the heat, in fact I bet it's hotter inside than 100 F. LOL.

Mark
 
John Solak said:
I prefer to cook outside when the temp is way up there. No need to heat up the house with the stove. I don't hang out outside though, I do what needs to be done quickly and then get my tookus back in the house with the AC running.
Click to expand...

Yep, sit in the house with the AC on and watch the cook on the Maverick,
 
you will just have to do the research, it appears....grin.
the 100 degree may not make all that much difference, but you'll just have to see. I bet all you may have to do is adjust some of the lower vents, once. good luck.
 
Grant,
You will be cooking at the same WSM temperature. Only difference is the air being fed to the coals is preheated. Therefore, you will need less lit coals.
 
Grant Narita said:
I am wondering how difficult is it to smoke ribs if it's 100 degrees outside...I have no shade in the backyard and no large umbrella. Is it still doable? Should I only bbq in the early morning? Was hoping to bbq for dinner but that means doing it when the temp is 100 outside.

Also, will use the minion method.. Do I need to wait till the temp is at the cooking temp before I put the ribs on, or can I put them on immediately and control the temp while they are already on. If I need to wait to get to the 250 degree cooking temp, approx how long could it take to get up to that, if I start at 7am when it's cool outside?

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

I had the exact same question (different temps, though) for the exact same reason (but different). I expressed my complaint to Greg Rempe and to Meathead Goldwyn. Their recommendations, and the recommendations of many in this forum -- use less fuel, and/or try to create a shade situation using an umbrella (which I did). My smoker and grill temps went through the roof, figuratively, since my back yard is in direct sunlight for most of the day, and the temp, as shown by the food probe on my Maverick, can reach over 115 degrees on the metal side table.

I got myself a large (9 ft) patio umbrella. As far as regulating temp, I play around with the dampers, upper and lower, and I manage to keep the temp within 50 degrees of my target. Whenever the clouds pass over, you can watch the temp drop, and shoot back up again when the sun reappears.

Eventually, you'll be able to figure out how your cooker reacts to the weather.
 
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I can attest that you should use less fuel. Back in winter, I was smoking in 20-30 weather and using a full ring of charcoal for a butt but now that temps are in the 70's-80's, cooking at the same pit temp, I use less fuel. Usually have 1/4 - 1/2 a ring left for the next smoke.

Dave
 
I've had my smoker be 135 inside without having any lit coals. It's not a problem. Just drink plenty of fluids. Temp management shouldn't be much different. If outside temp over 100 was a problem I couldn't cook all summer!
 
Grant... Do not reduce the number of UNLIT coals as they are key for longer, unattended cooks. Just start with fewer LIT coals !!!
After the cook, shut down all vents. You'll have a ready source of coals for next time.
 
I have a large umbrella for a patio table. At first I just grabbed the base of it and stood the umbrella over the grill. This worked ok, but it wasn't real stable, especially if it was windy too, and actually started damaging the base. Last week I went by HD and bought a couple pipe mounting U shaped brackets and 4 large screws. Mounted those to the the railing of my deck. Now when it is hot or raining, I just slide the umbrella through those brackets.
 
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