So I have a 13.5LB brisket to cook for thanksgiving lunch at 1:00 and i was planning on starting at 11 PM wednesday night. The issue is the temps are gonna be down in the teens at night and mid 20's durring the day. Should i be ok keeping the temps in the 220-250 range? I was planning on starting with a full chimney on top of a full load of unlit. Usually i start with about 20-30 brickettes but I am thinking i will need the extra for the cold temps. Any advice would definetly help!
Smoking in COLD temps with wsm for the first time
- Thread starter AdamKing
- Start date
ChuckO
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
From what I've read here, temps aren't an issue. Wind can be though. I can't imagine do a 13LBS+ on 20 to 30 charcoals. I would guess you'd need more than that, I know I do, and the coldest I get here is in the low 30's. I pretty much fill my charcoal ring when I do a brisket or a boston butt
TonyUK
TVWBB Gold Member
Adam.
ChuckO has called it. Wind is your enemy, not ambient temperature.
Fill that charcoal ring up. Then throw your lit coals on. You want to be minimising the time faffing about adding coals during the cook.
Whatever doesn't get burned, can be re-used.
I did a PSB yesterday on my 14.5" WSM. I took the meat off, but kept the vents open to see how long the coals would last. It was still quite warm to the touch at 08:00 this morning. Nearly 21 hrs later.
ChuckO has called it. Wind is your enemy, not ambient temperature.
Fill that charcoal ring up. Then throw your lit coals on. You want to be minimising the time faffing about adding coals during the cook.
Whatever doesn't get burned, can be re-used.
I did a PSB yesterday on my 14.5" WSM. I took the meat off, but kept the vents open to see how long the coals would last. It was still quite warm to the touch at 08:00 this morning. Nearly 21 hrs later.
Todd Phillips
TVWBB Pro
I've ran my WSM in -30 wind chill. Kept in out of the wind and ran like a champ. It just ate a ton of fuel. You should be fine. I ran a 20lbs brisket the other day when it was 13degrees out. Ran it at 300degrees. wrapped in 4 1/2 hrs. It was done 2hrs later. Save a lot fuel doing that and it was butter.
Todd Phillips
TVWBB Pro
Forgot to note. When it's below freezing, I never run a water pan no matter what I'm cooking.
Thanks for the advice im feeling more confident that i wont have any issues and the weather says the 30-40 mph winds are suppose to stop today and not pick back up so thats good! I think the plan is to inject and rub it in the afternoon and have it in the smoker by 11 pm, this should give me plenty of time to get it done for a 1 o'clock lunch the next day. Im gonna do a full load of fresh unlit with a half chimney of lit on top, 2 chunks of hickory and 2 chunks of pecan shooting for between 225 and 250. Even with the cold temps i should be able to get most of the way through the cook with this fuel right? One more question, Im planning on running just a foiled empty water pan after reading Todds comment above or are you guys suggesting no pan at all?
TonyUK
TVWBB Gold Member
Adam.
I personally never use water in the pan. Just foil the empty pan. It helps on clean up of the pan after the cook. And also evenly distributes the heat around the smoker. Also stops drippings hitting the coals.
In my 14.5 WSM I use a full charcoal ring and about 12-15 lit. Empty the lit coals into the tin can, then slowly lift the can to drop the coals into the donut. There are several Minion methods, but this one has always worked for me.
I personally never use water in the pan. Just foil the empty pan. It helps on clean up of the pan after the cook. And also evenly distributes the heat around the smoker. Also stops drippings hitting the coals.
In my 14.5 WSM I use a full charcoal ring and about 12-15 lit. Empty the lit coals into the tin can, then slowly lift the can to drop the coals into the donut. There are several Minion methods, but this one has always worked for me.
Dave Penn
TVWBB Fan
Did my turkey today in an unheated shed at about 10 degrees F. I use a BBQ Guru Smoker Jacket to insulate my WSM, but there are home-made systems that also work if you look in the "Modifications" section of this site. Adding some insulation will let you cook longer without having to add more coals, but as others have said as long as you're out of the wind you'll be fine. Just takes more fuel when it's cold.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I just loaded it to the max with unlit coals and put about a half chimney of lit on top with an empty water pan. The smoker ran for all 12.5 hours of the cook without running out of fuel and the temps held solid at 235-260. The brisket turned out great too. 
Geir Widar
TVWBB Wizard
I see that you've already have found out that the WSM works at "cold" temps. 
My record so far is a cook at about -22f, and the WSM still worked as expected. No worry, you need much lower temperatures before you'll have any problems.
My record so far is a cook at about -22f, and the WSM still worked as expected. No worry, you need much lower temperatures before you'll have any problems.
Frank C. in NY
TVWBB Member
I cooked in the cold today for the first time with a butt. I used water in the pan not thinking and I didn't see a temp over 235. I used probably 30-40% more fuel in the process. I also wrapped for the first time my two butts and had them out at 13 hours and 205*. I never thought of not using water in the pan for a higher temp in the colder weather.
Brisket looks yummy btw!!!
Brisket looks yummy btw!!!