Getting the smoker hot in the cold?


 
R

RobS IL

New member
Hi, I've seen posts in the past about having trouble getting the smoker hot enough on thanksgiving, due to the temps. Other than a waste of fuel, is there any benefit to doing an empty burn of the smoker prior to the cook? Would this help raise temps when it's time to put on the bird?
 
That is going to greatly depend on your smoker. There's very little insulation value in any of the WSM bullet smokers, unfortunately, IMO, burning any longer than necessary to get good thin blue smoke is a waste of fuel. One of the best things that you can do is put it behind a wind break. You could also contemplate wrapping it in a welding blanket (heat resistant/proof, obviously,) to keep in some of the heat.
 
Don't think the welding blanket will be feasible to pick up before Thursday and not concerned about wasting fuel, very well stocked on that. Do you think running a few chimneys to start will help at all?
 
Caveat: I haven't used a bullet smoker in almost 10 years. Both Harbor Freight and Northern Tool carry welding blankets if you have one handy.

I suspect that a wind break for even a slight breeze will probably be your biggest help. Given the nature of bullet smokers, you're going to have to keep on top of your fuel load and vent management. Burning more fuel before loading food in a bullet doesn't buy you anything, IMO, you just los all of tha heat when you lift the top off. In colder temps, you're just going to burn more fuel, and require more oxygen (open up the vents a little.) A remote thermometer would also be a big help, maybe 2, one for the food and one for the chamber temp. You might even be able to get those locally in your grocery store or hardware store.
 
How cold will it be??

I have done some evening cooks here in Canada (Toronto area) and it has been just below 0d C (or just below 32d F) and there was no real issue at all with getting the WSM up to 250-275 as normal.

Not sure at what temps this starts to change drastically....
 
@JKalchik Yep, I always do the double probe in meat and cooking area. Helps me manage temps much better. For poultry vents are fully open, try to run as hot as I can. While I agree you lose a lot of heat, the base is still burning hot and the temps don't take very long to get back to normal levels after the lid is lifted. Of course, this is relative to the outside temperature. Summer less of an issue vs late fall/winter.

@ChritopherC we are in the chicago suburbs, so it will hopefully be around 45F when I start the cook. It's only a turkey breast, so not needing a full day to get it going. For poultry I prefer to run the WSM as hot as I can. Makes for a crispier skin and the breast meat isn't fatty enough to benefit from a low and slow. In fact, low and slow has created too rubbery of a skin in my past experiences.
 
RobS IL said:
Hi, I've seen posts in the past about having trouble getting the smoker hot enough on thanksgiving, due to the temps. Other than a waste of fuel, is there any benefit to doing an empty burn of the smoker prior to the cook? Would this help raise temps when it's time to put on the bird?
Click to expand...
I do turkeys on my 26" Weber kettle now. Easier to get enough heat,, and far more space. A low and slow turkey isn't great for me - blubbery skin, takes forever. As far as the welding blanket, the first year (I'm in the Chicago suburbs) I had a terrible time keeping my 18" Weber Smoky Mountain even close to 225 let alone hotter for a turkey. I bought a Harbor Freight fiberglass welding blanket and that does the trick. Now they have a "deluxe" blanket that's impregnated with silicone RTV and I'm sure it'd be better as far as snagging, rain/snow, etc. I keep meaning to buy one of those.

And use lump. Far more heat, lasts way longer. I've gone well over 20 hours with one initial filling and still had enough heat.

Just cutting the wind seems to be enough. A Kamado would be wonderful, but this is fine - I just wish I had the 22" with more room and a usably large door. Why did I listen to the Forum advice not to buy the 22" because it uses too much fuel? My charcoal expenses are nothing compared to meat.
 
Thanks @Karl Vacek. Sounds like we are pretty similar (chicago suburbs). Maybe I'll just smoke the turkey for a little and then switch to the oven or the genesis. It's only a 7lb breast so I'm not too worried about wasting fuel and it won't be a long smoke by any measure. Hopefully I can get the temps up above 300. We'll see.
 
Again I had no trouble getting the WSM 18 up to 275 (even had to close 2 bottom vents to keep it there as it was rising past) at night in below zero weather (with some wind) here in Canada a few nights back. I was using Weber Briquettes...I am sure lump would be even hotter.
 
Vents will be fully open. We normally roast the turkey at 450-500. Doubt I'll reach those temps, but anything above 350 will have me happy. I can always throw the skin onto the briquettes at the end of the cook if needed to crisp up.
 
What a timely post - I just read the "standard" method Timothy posted/reposted. I'm glad I did. I am using an ATC which is a major cheat, but I also have had issues running much over 275F in my 22" WSM even with the ATC. I'm going to try the standard method and use my Thermoworks Billows and see how it goes. I picked up the turkey today and will be starting the wet brine tomorrow.

My experiences on undershooting temperatures has been mostly related to not lighting off enough charcoal to begin with. If you want to run 300+ you definitely have to start off with a large Weber Chimney, mostly lit. And definitely use a charcoal you're familiar with! Don't experiment with charcoal when the pressure is on right? Like when the in-laws are over ;).

I should have calm winds and 55 F here in St. Louis so hopefully I won't be worried about the weather too much. I'll definitely share a few pics with the group. I hope everyone else does too! :wsm:
 
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