Winter


 
F

Fred BW

TVWBB Fan
Just curious how cold outside some of you have used your Smokey Mountain. I realize wind is the biggest enemy when it really gets cold. I did up some ribs yesterday in the lower 40's. I honestly couldn't tell much difference,in where I had to keep the vents to hold temp. So I am planning on still smoking stuff when it's really cold as long as the wind forecast says relatively calm. The biggest problem I see is cleanup. I wash my stuff off with oven cleaner and a garden hose. The garden hose won't really be an option soon.
I wonder if Santa Claus has a smoker at the North Pole. :D
 
We hit a low of 16 degs Sat so I put away all my hoses and connections:)
Best advice I can offer on winter smoking, is if you can handle the cold, then the WSM can also.

A good wind break is the key on windy days. I work outside and it could be zero with no wind and sunny and it's not bad.
Add a little stiff breeze to it and I'll call it a day.

I always do HH smokes in the dead of winter.

Tim
 
Our climate here should about match yours and I use my grills and WSMs all winter long.
I've never felt the need to wash them or anything in them.
If the wind blows I just close the bottom vents down tighter, if it cooks hotter, or needs more fuel, then so be it.
 
Wow. Looks like -25 in the link above is in the lead. When it's that cold outside I ain't even gettin out of bed :D

I am a grate/rib rack/water pan cleaner when it comes to smokers. Not so mush on BBQ grills because you can burn the crud off the grates. But cleaning grates outside is a lot easier,and less messier than in the house. But in the winter i might need to rethink my 'cleanliness"
 
Fred BW said:
I am a grate/rib rack/water pan cleaner when it comes to smokers. Not so mush on BBQ grills because you can burn the crud off the grates. But cleaning grates outside is a lot easier,and less messier than in the house. But in the winter i might need to rethink my 'cleanliness"
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I run with an empty foiled pan so cleanup is just tossing the foil. Take the grate and set it on the charcoal chamber and let it burn off any crud, brush it and you're done.
If you use water you can burn out any residue also.

Tim
 
I've smoked down to single digits in MA. Temperature has never been an issue, it is the wind that can be a problem. Solved that with a wind block, and all systems go in any temperatures. I'm amazed at how well the WSM works in all temps, from zero to 90's, it's produced good results.
 
Kirk A said:
I've smoked down to single digits in MA. Temperature has never been an issue, it is the wind that can be a problem. Solved that with a wind block, and all systems go in any temperatures. I'm amazed at how well the WSM works in all temps, from zero to 90's, it's produced good results.
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Same here. Not as hearty as I used to be, but the wind would have a lot more to do with whether or not I'd venture out in the winter. A calm winter day can be a treat. A clam winter night is special. Add wind and it goes down hill quickly - not only for me, but for the smoker as well.
 
Personally, I don't even get out to shovel the snow until it hits about the warmest temp of the day.

That's why I smoke extra pork butts and freeze them for the winter months.
 
I smoke more in the winter than I do in the summer! I also prefer overnight smoking to during day time. Overnight allows me to finish up while it's light out whereas if I start in the morning I always end up finishing in the dark. I've smoked in minus 10 temps. As it's already been stated, the wind is more difficult to deal with than cold. If you can find a way to keep the wind away from your smoker you can use it in just about any temperature that you can stand yourself! I keep my WSM on a large rolling plant platform so I can wheel it around to different sides of my garage and get it out of the wind.
 
I'm giving it a run in the morning. 17 pound brisket going on at 5 AM, and we'll have six fresh inches fallen / falling by about then. WSM 22.5 will probably be more stable temperature-wise than I will.
 
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