How cold does it have to be for you to not BBQ?


 
Christopher H

Christopher H

TVWBB Fan
All,

Just taking a quick poll of how cold it has to be for you to not use your smoker.

I am itching to use mine again here in Michigan. I don't use it not because it's too cold but because I live in an apartment that doesn't allow charcoal or grills on the balcony but I am moving to a house next week and can't wait to break it out!
 
Well, it was 14*F Sat when I dried some jerky and buckboard bacon so... 13*F must be the lower limit so far.
 
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Cold temps don't slow me down, heavy rain, winds, and snow do. I've smoked in minus 10 temps, grilled in single digit temps. Charcoal doesn't know what the temperature is. I say go for it, grilled or smoked food tastes great no matter what time of the year it is or what the temperature outside is!
 
well , im not a big fan of hanging out in the cold , but if I can get a little shelter over or around me I will go out to my garage when its cold. having a little roof over your cooker is huge to me. even one of those little pop up shelters are helpful. but if the wind is howlin and the sleets slanting down? im in the house , brother !
 
the cold isn't so bad but the wind and snow are a bugger......

usually at -5 and wind/snow I will say no go........we already have 160" of snow this year and a ton more to go. The wind is brutal but plain old cold isn't bad....the wind is a bugger.


chris
 
Nothing is too cold. Just more bundling up. I have a covered patio so I'm good when it rains or snows. If I am chilly ill hang out in the garage or my shed.
 
I have to admit that I'm a fair weather smoker. I have used my WSM in very cold weather (one New Years Eve around zero), but I don't like it. I do have a covered porch that gets me out of the wind and rain/snow so if there's a special reason to smoke in the winter, I'll do it. Otherwise, I try to stock up on pulled pork before the weather gets to nasty. I do grill year round, but for me, that's lighting my gasser and standing inside while it heats up and while the food cooks. I don't really like the cold but I do like grilled food.

Bottom line though is that if I was you and was coming into a new place where I could use my smoker, cold would not stop me. When I've done it, it was worth it. Also, looks like it will be in the 30's next week so it might not be too bad.

Hope it goes well for you. Will you new place have any shelter from the elements? Before I had my porch, I would stand just outside the garage door under the cover of the overhang. Only problem with that location is that it faced the prevailing wind.
 
Last week I smoked on my kettle at -28c. I think the coldest I've ever done was -38c. I have the cooker right outside my back patio doors.
 
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body temperature?

:)
 
Being a SoCal native, I would turn this around and ask "How hot would it have to be for you to not use your smoker or BBQ? Just thinking.
 
I think the lowest I've gone is about 20 F. But that's about as low as it gets here. I do seem to burn a lot more charcoal in the WSM.
 
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