Would you spin a turkey in zero degrees?!


 
TonyS T-Bone

TonyS T-Bone

TVWBB Super Fan
My (Chicago) weekend menu is (was?) planned to include spinning a 14 pound bird and roast a prime tenderloin, and numerous veggies etc. on my gassers. Now Mother Nature is bringing Snowmageddon and below-zero temps in on Thus-Friday. Wife says I’m nuts and I need intervention from tvwbb!! Thoughts?
 
Keep in mind that at those temps if your grills are LP,, you may have issues keeping them up to temp. When it gets that cold the LP does not "boil off" that well in the tank and then flow is reduced. Couple that with low temps and high wind (and just like a human) wind chill does matter to a grill. If you're on nat gas you're good. You will just need more of it. Try to keep them out if the wind as much as possible. One other thing I have had happen trying had happen. Because you're trying to keep temps up the flavorizer bars get hotter than normal and beware of grease fires. I know it sounds weird, but I've had some of my worst gresae fires under just those conditions. Otherwise good luck
 
TonyS T-Bone said:
My (Chicago) weekend menu is (was?) planned to include spinning a 14 pound bird and roast a prime tenderloin, and numerous veggies etc. on my gassers. Now Mother Nature is bringing Snowmageddon and below-zero temps in on Thus-Friday. Wife says I’m nuts and I need intervention from tvwbb!! Thoughts?
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IMO your wife is correct. :unsure:

My plan was to spatch a 13 pound turkey for Christmas on the UDS looks like even here we will be from 19-34 so will play it by ear going to be clear and if we are not eating till 4pm means I don't need to be ready to go until about 1pm meaning get it up to temp starting at noon.

I have to admit would not even try it on the gasser might as well use the oven with your temps.
 
I would...and do...but, well...Canada. Propane can be problematic....natural gas, if it comes from inside the house first...works if your line is not too long, but even then sucks more than summer. Heating pad on the propane bottle will help a lot.

The Summit Kamado burns more fuel (charcoal) to come up to temp, but then works great....and un-insulated charcoal cooker burns a ton more fuel.
 
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Nat gas won't be affected. Never thought of the heating pad given enough time to warm the fuel up a little should work
 
I've got a natural gasser with rotisserie and an open fire rotisserie and would be fine using either one regardless of temperature. On a still day, the open fire would get the nod, otherwise, the gasser. As others have stated, LPG can present problems at lower temperatures and add extra challenges. I don't mind cooking outside in freezing temperatures but don't want to be outside babysitting the cooker. You'll find me in the house with a Bourbon bottle close by.
 
GaryP said:
I would for sure. The wife would support me but secretly have a backup. Would wrapping a heating pad around the LP cylinder help? Allow for some extra time and bust out the barrel proof. I love a challenge.
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I like your wife. :)
 
Thx for input everyone, I thought about keeping the LP tanks indoors until ready to cook, but at zero degrees…ugh. I may butcher the turkey and cook the breast over charcoal on my new 22. If brutal weather, i have 2 ovens in the kitchen and an air fryer. It may be time to give the outdoor kitchen a rest. Let’s see what happens. Freakin blizzard and zero degrees. 🥶 Not a big fan of polar vortices.
 
Could be worse....move to Edmonton. It's -34 C outside right now (-29 F). I'll take -15 F happily...that's "average" for our winter months. We get 3 months of it!
 
I burn charcoal in both my grill and my smoker, and the smoker is darned near utterly unaffected by ambient weather conditions. It has no problem maintaining temps at well below 0 F, so I'm gonna be using both all winter long. Will be grilling lobster tails on Sunday.
 
I would do it anyway but, then I am looking at the same temps here and since the menu was dictated by the rest of the family, I’ll do the slow cooker ham thing for the protein and fire the oven for most everything else. I’m taking the easy route this one.
 
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