Cold Weather Smoking

[teerhardy]

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  I am supposed to smoke a pork butt this weekend (Friday night) for a family party Saturday afternoon.  The low Friday night is going to be in the mid to lower 30s so this will be my first cold weather smoke.

How much extra charcoal will I need to start off my smoke?  How quickly will I need to replenish the basket?  Is this really a good idea?

Any answers or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[MartyG]

Hey Teer - I've done a similar smoke, and you do have to watch the fuel more closely. How big is the butt? A heavy shoulder can take forever in winter! Maybe even split it into two smaller pieces if it's a biggun. I can't recall if you have a WSM or will be using a kettle. Either way is doable. If it's a kettle I would lay in a 2X2X1 snake all the way 'round, and light seven or eight coals to get things going. Easy to add to the tail of the snake as needed, and the temps should stay level if there's not a lot of wind. Same for the WSM, but I would just do the normal minion and leave the vents open. You will have to add coal from time to time, but not for five or six hours at the most. If it was me, I would start things up Friday morning to avoid the all-nighter when the temps really take a nose-dive. Last thing you want is to wake up to a cold smoker. Been there. Find a way to protect the kettle from wind if you can, or insulate the whole thing somehow. It's on my list to build a box of some kind this year for just that reason. You have my permission to take the day off Friday and get 'er done! No harm in reheating pulled pork the next day.

[Ted B]

I ran four 18 wsms at 6 degrees outside temp. My pork butts froze the night before sitting in my enclosed porch. The porch is a three or two season porch. It had aluminum sides and roof with windows that close on three sides.

I did this on multiple weekends with the outside temp never over 20°. I started by filling the charcoal ring flush to the top. I then hollowed out an indentation in the center for the lit coals. All the smokes were over night. I would start it around 9 or 10pm. At midnight I carefully rack the coals and added enough charcoal it get the ring back to full.

The wsms ran right at 250. Now granted I had them in the porch with all the windows open. They were protected from a large majority of the wind and I'm sure the porch warmed a little, but not much. Each smoke took a good twelve hours with four 8lb butts on each smoker.

I smoked 500 raw lbs this way.

I say go for it just have wind protection.

[teerhardy]

Thanks guys!  I'll be working on an 18.5" WSM. Should have protection from the wind on my patio. I'll be sure to fill the ring up and fill the bowl with piping hot water.

[1buckie]

"Is this really a good idea?"

Yes, pulled pork is a really good idea.........


I'm not a WSMHead, but maybe consider not using water under these conditions.......
could be that the extra moisture will be supplied just by the outside air flowing thru the cooker @ that temprature

It'll go fine....not only is it a Weber, but you have folks here to check in with for feedback.............

[1buckie]

High Wind Warning from 12/10/2014 9:00:00 PM to 12/11/2014 2:00:00 PM
...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM WEDNESDAY TO 2 PM PST
THURSDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A HIGH WIND
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM WEDNESDAY TO 2 PM PST
THURSDAY. THE HIGH WIND WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
* WINDS: SOUTHEAST 30 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS 60 TO 70 MPH.



Time to fire up some kettle...................

[addicted-to-smoke]

Wow Ted, 4 WSMs smoking, that's awesome. But hey, couldn't you have used two? Won't the 18.5" hold two 8lb butts?

Sorry for the threadjack teerhardy. I agree the recipe is plenty of available charcoal, some prudent monitoring and YES wind protection.

[1buckie]

Wow Ted, 4 WSMs smoking, that's awesome. But hey, couldn't you have used two? Won't the 18.5" hold two 8lb butts?

Sorry for the threadjack teerhardy. I agree the recipe is plenty of available charcoal, some prudent monitoring and YES wind protection.

A-to-S.....Ted's not whistlin' Dixie here:

"twelve hours with four 8lb butts on each smoker. "

[Ted B]

Wow Ted, 4 WSMs smoking, that's awesome. But hey, couldn't you have used two? Won't the 18.5" hold two 8lb butts?

Sorry for the threadjack teerhardy. I agree the recipe is plenty of available charcoal, some prudent monitoring and YES wind protection.

Each smoker had four 8 lb butts on it. Each rack held two.

[MacEggs]

A low in the 30s is not really that cold. Wind is surely a factor ...
Follow the advice given, and your butts should cook just fine. 

[teerhardy]

Thanks everyone! I will be sure to post updates throughout tomorrow evening.

[teerhardy]

And here we go.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and fat fingers

[teerhardy]

9 hours later it's in the cooler wrapped up and resting. The smoker ran really hot around 12 or 1 AM. After I got that under control it was smooth sailing. Pictures to come after it rests.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk and fat fingers

[MartyG]

Good job Teer! How big were the shoulders? When you say "ran really hot" what kind of temp are you talking about?

But the real question: Any left?