Cold weather cooking

DMDon

DMDon

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Any tried and trued advice to helping a smoker retain more heat on a cold and windy day? I plan to cook on Sat and the forecast is low 30's and windy. I know enough try and block as much wind as possible. I was thinking of covering the smoker with a hot water heater blanket or something fireproof or cooking in the garage close to the open door and running a fan to blow the smoke out. I will be cooking on a Country smoker whole hog and using just one side. Andy,Bentley,Ray feel free to offer some advice. Thanks
 
My UDS is nearly faultless in those conditions.
 
When the temp drops down to the high 50's around here I pretty much just put a sweater on and off we go.
 
My gear is far from insulated... running a hotter fire is needed in low temps due to heat loss.
 
I did pork last year for wedding in December. Remember that snow storm we had on the 23rd of December? That was the day.

I put up the easy up with sides and that was it. It ran great all night. Used a bit more pellets but ran fine.

If I did it agian, i would get a water heater or welding blanket and give that a shot.

I've cooked in the cold a couple of times. :biggrin:
By that way, that a frozen lake I'm standing on.:eek:
DSCF2993.jpg
 
Ray...Did you make the stand for the backwoods or can you buy something like that?
 
Welders bankets. Bought two 5 by 5's off the internet. Sewed them into a cozy that snaps on. I have a big stick burner smoker but it saves me a lot of money in fuel and helps on the product I think.

Bought three more so I could also have it hanging on the trailer... the side openings on the deck I set the smoker on are roughly 5 or so feet across and up. I block these sides, not all the way, but enough to block the wind a bit. Theres plenty of air that leaks past but just enough to get the smoke out.

I can leave the door open in the commissary and heat the entire 21 feet or so of kitchen and bedroom/head and such. Pretty comfortable until you get to about 20 degrees.

People always think I am hanging canvas over my smoker or on the trailer.
 
You can use a moving blanket and definately use an EZup with sides. Wind is what kills you. It will use a little more pellets than normal, but not much, unless you cook really hot. Once you get it dialed in, you will find it behaves much the same as usual... just with a little bit more feed dialed in. :)
 
The Ho is right.. I meant to add that covering my trailer to guard against cold winds entering the smoke deck actually did about as good as covering the whole thing. Plus your blankets don't get smoky and stained.

You can see the area to cover in this shot with the smoker on the deck rails.

So yeah... wind blocking does pretty good.. at least until it gets REAL cold.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
i'd say get an egg or other ceramic. cold weather is where they excel. they don't care if it's cold or windy. i'm looking forward to this winter and smoking a lot of butt. :biggrin:

are you cooking for yourself or a 'for others' thing?
 
You can always use a water heater blanket from the home depot. They are insulated and come with tape to hold 'em to the barrel.
 
Rick's Tropical Delight said:
i'd say get an egg or other ceramic. cold weather is where they excel. they don't care if it's cold or windy. i'm looking forward to this winter and smoking a lot of butt. :biggrin:

are you cooking for yourself or a 'for others' thing?
Click to expand...

Panther5150 said:
You can always use a water heater blanket from the home depot. They are insulated and come with tape to hold 'em to the barrel.
Click to expand...

Ditto on both counts...:p
 
BBQ_Mayor said:
I put up the easy up with sides and that was it. It ran great all night. Used a bit more pellets but ran fine.

If I did it agian, i would get a water heater or welding blanket and give that a shot.

I've cooked in the cold a couple of times. :biggrin:
By that way, that a frozen lake I'm standing on.:eek:
View attachment 20946
Click to expand...

Mayor, What is that white stuff on the ground? Salt? I don't think I have ever seen it out here in So cal.:mrgreen:
 
Rick's Tropical Delight said:
i'd say get an egg or other ceramic. cold weather is where they excel. they don't care if it's cold or windy. i'm looking forward to this winter and smoking a lot of butt. :biggrin:

are you cooking for yourself or a 'for others' thing?
Click to expand...

I am catering a tailgate for a night football game. ribs, brisket and beans.
 
BBQ_Mayor said:
I did pork last year for wedding in December. Remember that snow storm we had on the 23rd of December? That was the day.

I put up the easy up with sides and that was it. It ran great all night. Used a bit more pellets but ran fine.

If I did it agian, i would get a water heater or welding blanket and give that a shot.

I've cooked in the cold a couple of times. :biggrin:
By that way, that a frozen lake I'm standing on.:eek:
View attachment 20946
Click to expand...

This would be a good to still have that backwoods.
 
Harbor Freight stores usually have the best prices on welding blankets. Many sizes to choose from. Steve.
 
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