Overnight cooking - risky?

[Crotonmark]

I've done a number of low and slow cooks starting in the pre dawn hours
All went fine
Ive never cooked overnight

Is it really safe to do?

 

[pjtexas1]

Depends on your cooker. Is it possible for hot coals to fall out? Are you on concrete or grass or a deck? Do you have any electronics to warn you of temps getting too high or too low? I don't like leaving a fire unattended. Not saying I haven't but it is hard to sleep with that in the back of your mind.

 

[Springram]

+1 to what Paul said above.

 

[LYU370]

Yep, as has been said, depends on your cooker and how you feel about what may or may not happen. I've cooked overnight on my deck with a Cookshack electric and on my FEC100 without any concerns. Will also cook overnight on the Big Joe once I get some more experience with it.

 

[Westx]

Like the rest have said it really depends on the cooker. I cook overnight on my Humphreys without a thought in the world. Normally get 6 to 7 hours of good sleep and meat is good to go. The only time I had a problem was when I had the exhaust closed to much and the temp dropped but my Maverick woke me up and I fixed that in a hurry and went back to bed for another couple hours. Meat turned out just fine, just took a couple hours longer to cook then it should have.

 

[Crotonmark]

thanks
I am cooking on concrete using a weber summit
I have a Maverick to wake me if the temps go wacky

 

[hdrolling]

thanks
I am cooking on concrete using a weber summit
I have a Maverick to wake me if the temps go wacky

I would think you should have no issues with the location of your smoker, since you brought it up what concerns are you worried about?

Were my WSM is located and my Maverick monitoring the temps I never thought twice about it.

 

[Crotonmark]

I have no real concerns - just didnt want to go off the deep end

 

[hdrolling]

I suppose you can never be too safe, do you have any pets outside that might knock your smoker over or keep a water hose close by?

As long as you can see your temps from the inside you should be able to tell if your smoker is doing okay.

My last brisket stayed at the same temp all night after I got the WSM set up where I wanted it to be.

What are you planning to smoke?

 

[mattmountz94]

Heck with a summit i would cook overnight! I have cooked numerous times with my kettle overnight and it always worked out fine. Just prepare yourself for not sleeping well. You will be constantly thinking about what's going on. Or at least i did.

 

[Crotonmark]

I suppose you can never be too safe, do you have any pets outside that might knock your smoker over or keep a water hose close by?

As long as you can see your temps from the inside you should be able to tell if your smoker is doing okay.

My last brisket stayed at the same temp all night after I got the WSM set up where I wanted it to be.

What are you planning to smoke?

no pets - doing a brisket

 

[KevinJ]

Having a concrete patio myself I would have no problem with doing an overnighter using the WSM and the Maverick for monitoring. That being said I've gone from low and slow to hot and fast, brisket and butts are usually done in under 7 hours so no over nighters for me. :mrgreen:

 

[electron_si]

Almost anytime I do a butt or brisket it's a overnight cooking on my Traeger. I have a Savannah stoker with auto relight so there is really nothing I have to worry about.

I willl have a thermoworks smoke in a few weeks too as added insurance.

 

[Ag76]

Keep in mind the possibility of a grease fire. I would think the Maverick or the Smoke would alert you as to that if it happened?

 

[aawa]

If there is a fire going, I am awake.

One of the many reasons why I learned to cook hot and fast, so I didn't have to stay up to baby sit a fire on overnight cooks.

 

[Crotonmark]

If there is a fire going, I am awake.

One of the many reasons why I learned to cook hot and fast, so I didn't have to stay up to baby sit a fire on overnight cooks.

How do you do brisket hot and fast?

 

[aawa]

Get cooker to 300-325 degrees.

Rub meat and put on cooker fat cap towards fire (weber summit put it fat cap down)

After 4-4.5 hours wrap in foil or butcher paper

At 5.5 - 6hour mark probe thickest part of the flat for doneness. It should be tender so when you probe it, it feels like you are sticking it into a stick of butter left out overnight.

If it is not tender, put back on cooker and check again 30mins later. Repeat until done.

Take brisket off. If wrapped in butcher paper, you can just put it in a cold oven and it will keep in there. If it is wrapped in foil, open the foil for 15-20mins to stop the cooking process. After the 15-20mins put in cold oven and it will keep in there. If you don't want to hold it in the oven, you can put it in a cooler or cambro. If you use a cooler fill up the empty area with blankets/towels/balled up newspaper.

When I have a service for lunch. I'll prep everything the night before and get the fuel loaded in the smoker. Then I wake up at 4am and light off the chimney and get the smoker going.

If I have service for dinner ~6pm I can wake up at 8-9am and have everything done way before dinner.

 

[hdrolling]

Keep in mind the possibility of a grease fire. I would think the Maverick or the Smoke would alert you as to that if it happened?

That's why you have a max and min temp alarm set with the thermometer, if you have a grease fire the temp will rise and set off your alarm.

 

[sleebus.jones]

I've done several overnight cooks with pellet smokers. Never worried about it.

 

[HawgHeaven]

Done a bunch of overnighters with my WSMs when I was competing. No problem, other than the aforementioned sleep factor... always worrying, checking temps...