"Weather" or not...

[Rudy Radelic]

Here I had planned to do my 9+ pound pork shoulder overnight, starting in a few hours. But the weather forecast has gotten progressively worse. Wind? Cold? Some light rain? Yeah, I can deal with those individually. But it appears that here in Michigan, we are getting a little nip of the western edge of Joaquin (the hurricane), as we're supposed to be getting winds ~25 mph with gusts to 40 from the northeast (which essentially hits me square in my barbecuing area), and rain, not to mention temperatures in the 40s and 50s.

So it looks like I do the shoulder Monday or Tuesday. I'm still perfecting getting the WSM methods correct in good weather, so I don't need three variables to deal with.

At what point do any of my smokin' cohorts here decide to put off a smoke? For the veterans, have any wild stories about battling the elements because you just cant wait for the weather to get your fix?

I do want to smoke a few things in winter, but that might be pushing it.

 

[Steven Paul]

Chris has a great sticky thread up top about all types of inclement weather cooking tips and tricks etc. I think you'll find everything you need there. Good luck if you decide to go ahead with your cook, I'm sure it will be fine!

 

[Rudy Radelic]

I started it overnight--it's in the upper 50s/low 60s, cloudy, with no wind whatsoever. The weekend was too miserable to bother.

 

[Charlie L]

At what point do any of my smokin' cohorts here decide to put off a smoke? For the veterans, have any wild stories about battling the elements because you just cant wait for the weather to get your fix?

I do want to smoke a few things in winter, but that might be pushing it.

I don't consider myself a veteran but in the few cooks i've done, i've had to deal with weather. Our work and family schedule doesn't have a ton of down time so when i plan to do a long cook, barring some serious serious rain or snow, its going forward or being rescehuled indefinitely or scrapped altogether which knock on wood hasn't happened yet.

Here are two notable cooks that dealt with weather:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/first-kettle-turkey-14006/msg140010/#msg140010

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?57630-First-Run-on-new-WSM-in-Perfect-Weather!

Being in Michigan, i am sure you can deal with some cold weather and still get it done. Those southern boys have it easy with warm weather all year, but if it was easy it wouldn't be fun!

 

[Kirk A]

I've smoked in weather ranging from single digits to over 90. Fortunately my smoker is under a covered deck, and I have fabricated a 3 sided wind break. These two things allow smoking in any type of weather. I smoke when I can, and don't change due to weather conditions. Us New Englanders are tough, dumb, and/or crazy that way. Take your pick which.

Last winter I smoked while the snow was piled up >3' around the deck area. Having fresh pulled pork or ribs in February is awesome.

The two most difficult parts of winter smoking is having enough light to see what you are doing and not being warm enough to enjoy a beer while inhaling the smoke. Feels like the sun is up for 2 hours a day.