Help a Southerner out - Cold Cooking Tips?

[Swine Spectator]

This may sound dumb, but I spent most of my life South of I-10. I used to joke that I liked the fact that the climate spotted me the first 100°.

I have cooked in cool temps (~40's) and used my WSM when temps were in the 30's.

However, I have never used my Shirley when it was below freezing. Tomorrow I am planning to cook my turkeys on the Shirley, but the forecast is calling for mid-20's in the morning.

Is there anything I need to know or any tips the Brethren can provide? Any concerns about bringing the pit up to temp when it's that cold? Do I need to plan a longer cooktime?

 

[KClandcruiser]

I love cooking in cold/snow. Only thing I'd account for is give yourself an extra 30 minutes to get your pit up to temp and needing to use a little more wood than expected.

I've never run a shirley, but am used to smoking on a 500 gallon pit in sub freezing temps. With your reverse flow, it may be more fuel efficient than a traditional flow

 

[1MoreFord]

Actual cook time should be the same but account for added time to get the cooker up to temp. Once up to temp it should be the same except for a bit more fuel as mentioned above.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I've cooked in 20-30 degree weather quite a few times and didn't notice many issues at all. With a Shirely I doubt you'll notice much of a difference at all, but something to consider is the drafting of the smoker. If you notice that you're having a hard time getting the cooker up to temp you might want to try reducing the flow of air a bit by adjusting your damper on the smoke stack.

In super cold weather with a super powerful draft it's possible to actually pull in too much air across your firebox and into your cook chamber. The concept here is that unless your fire is huge it may not be able to fully warm all the air coming in, and therefore you'll get cooler air getting into the cook chamber. I had this happen to me on a traditional flow smoker, but never on a reverse flow. Just something to keep in mind if you do find that you can't get your temps up.

As far as extra time I agree with @KClandcruiser in that giving yourself an extra 30-45 minutes just in case is a good plan. Good luck with your cook!

 

[rque]

I’m smoking a small pork shoulder (plus a few other things) on my 1969 right now. Started the day at 28F with snow and ice on the smoker. It took a little bit of extra time but eventually the ice melted, water evaporated, and now holding 275F without issue. Just let the steel warm up fully before putting food in and you’ll be fine.

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I would rather build a bigger fire in the winter than to try and go smaller in the summer.

Here in Kansas wind is the enemy.