# Smoking in Winter



## davet102 (Dec 1, 2011)

Being new to the smoking scene. Just having smoked 2 chickens, 3 sets of baby backs this summer, I am wondering how smoking goes during the winter??

I Live in Ohio, we do get snow and alot of cold.

My smoker is not the best, a vertical Brinkman. Cheap but nice one to get started with, without shelling out a lot of money. (I will definatley upgrade when the time comes)

Being a "Yankee", how do you smoke in the extreme cold and snow temps that we get around here??

Do I just have to wait till spring to start back up??

Bob


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## donr (Dec 1, 2011)

Dave,

Some here have insulated their smokers with welding blankets, Reflectix radiant insulation & other things.  The reflectix isn't rated for the temps a smoker runs at, but some have had luck with it.  I was thinking of building an insulated box to go around my Charbroil electric.  Plywood with insulation to be named later, a door that opens & vents on top & bottom.  

From on Ohioan to another, enjoy your lake effect snow.

Don


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## fourthwind (Dec 1, 2011)

Packing blankets work well and are available for cheap at harbor freight type places.  Get a couple of hand clamps to hold it to the smoker and your set.   A lot of us smoke during the winter.  My smokers have insulated fireboxes and 3/8 inch steel on the cook chamber.  Even with that we will put packing blankets over the top to help keep our fuel usage down.


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## venture (Dec 1, 2011)

Blankets as noted.  Wind breaks.  Maybe wheels so you can roll it into the garage?  As noted, fuel usage goes way up when ambients drop.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## steamaway (Dec 1, 2011)

Put on your coat and man up, lol. I am in NE Indiana, 20 minutes from the Ohio line so I feel your chill. Try and choose less windy days. When I was using my cheapo char griller I wouldn't smoke if it were to windy. But a nice sunny cold day you shouldn't have much problem. If you are really serious about smoking you can get a decent electric smoker that isn't effected as much by the wind.  See example below, notice my path shoveled through the snow to the smoker. I now keep my electric on my front covered porch.


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## roller (Dec 1, 2011)

Steamaway is that live trap to catch your supper in...lol 

I live in Louisiana and do not have much trouble smoking in winter...


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## smoke king (Dec 1, 2011)

Dave,

I agree with the guys above, the wind will probably be the most detrimental.....unless you are in the snow belt - then snow might be your biggest problem.  Just give it a try, learn was works and what doesn't and you might even consider taking notes.  Good luck!


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## steamaway (Dec 1, 2011)

Roller said:


> Steamaway is that live trap to catch your supper in...lol
> 
> I live in Louisiana and do not have much trouble smoking in winter...




yep, smoked Raccoon, smoked possum, smoked squirrel. Just joking. Was for a possum living under my deck. drove my dog crazy


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## flash (Dec 1, 2011)

If you use water in your smoker, you can try using playbox sand instead. It will allow you more consistent  and higher temperature. Use a sheet of aluminum foil over the sand to catch drippings.


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## wan2smoke (Dec 2, 2011)

I would be more than happy to post pictures of me grilling and smoking in shorts in January. I live in SoCal and am glad to illustrate for all of you what it is like to smoke outside during the harsh winter months here in SoCal. I do the same for cycling friends in the mid west and east as they ride indoors on their trainers for the next 4 months!


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## flash (Dec 2, 2011)

wan2smoke said:


> I would be more than happy to post pictures of me grilling and smoking in shorts in January. I live in SoCal and am glad to illustrate for all of you what it is like to smoke outside during the harsh winter months here in SoCal. I do the same for cycling friends in the mid west and east as they ride indoors on their trainers for the next 4 months!




 You just gotta tie the smoke down to fight those winds.


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## ecto1 (Dec 2, 2011)

I smoke all year long to tell you the truth love to smoke in the Cold Texas winter especially when it gets in the 50's.


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## wan2smoke (Dec 3, 2011)

ECTO1 said:


> I smoke all year long to tell you the truth love to smoke in the Cold Texas winter especially when it gets in the 50's.


We break out down jackets here when it gets that cold!


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## bigeyedavid (Dec 3, 2011)

I just put the smoker out of the wind and cover it in a welders blanket works well.But just like grilling winter adds time to your smoking.Good luck and happy smoking.


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## exhaustedspark (Dec 3, 2011)

Move the smoker inside. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Sorry i could not help myself.  I have a big chief smoker and it is rated at 400 watt i am going to convert it tomorrow to 800 + watts tomorrow and i will probably use a blanket to wrap it to keep the heat in. However if after i smoke it i have moved it into the house and used it without smoke of course to finish it.

works for me


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## oldschoolbbq (Dec 7, 2011)

Well, I'll be out in the cold this Winter too, as last year and the year before that and.....

The In-Laws got me a pop-up a couple of years ago and the JR. has a spare _Salamander_ I use. I set my tent right outside the Garage door about the middle. I had a 20' X 20' Plastic tarp, it is now 10'X20'(split it for Winter use), I tye the tarp to the top rail of the tent on 3 sides, stretch it to the Garage door frame and snap it to this with the handy snaps I found at the Petro fuel stop.

Then I place my smoker 1/2 way to the back of the tent and to the left side of the covering. This alows me to have my smoke stack out of the tent ( the metal at that end doesn't get hot enough to hurt anything) and the salamander at the walk thru door so vapors go out to the air. I stay warm and cosy, but it looks like a Gypsy Camp.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Oh, well. My intrest are in the BBQ , not a fashion design for the BYC smoker...
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





.

Have fun and...


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## tjohnson (Dec 7, 2011)

Roller said:


> Steamaway is that live trap to catch your supper in...lol
> 
> I live in Louisiana and do not have much trouble smoking in winter...




I was thinking the same thing!!

LOL!

I use Harbor Freight moving blankets

Todd


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## SmokinAl (Dec 7, 2011)

Glad I live in Florida!


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## johnnie walker (Dec 7, 2011)

wan2smoke said:


> We break out down jackets here when it gets that cold!


Shoot wan2smoke when it hits 50 I'm outside in a tee shirt. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bob, the wind will kill you quicker than the cold. Figure a way to block it and keep on smokin!


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## sprky (Dec 8, 2011)

I smoke year round here in Kansas. I use a propane fired smoker and that helps some. But as the others have said block the wind. I am also pondering the insulated box idea to go around my smoker. It's just in the thought stage for now, but when and if I do build 1 I'll do a post on it.


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## mballi3011 (Dec 8, 2011)

Lat me start this with saying that I love Florida. Ok now you can use a welding blanket or get some insulation blankets. They will help keep the heat in during your cold weather smoking.


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## smokegoddess (Dec 8, 2011)

Winnipeg, MB, Canada - we are cold and I still smoke. No winter blankets and no special boxes, I pull the smoker in the garage and make sure the doors are open, just to get it out of the wind. FYI - I'm talking -30 with the windchill.


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## freedem (Nov 13, 2016)

Is it possible to smoke cold during winter by minus outside?

I know about the wind etc. but what about the sweat inside the smoker because it is outside wormer then the inside even cold smoking isn't much warm at all yet still warmer and the oven sweat a lot the meet gets wet and the smoke don't go in the meet this way.

So what should I do to keep the inside dry the meet dry and not getting frozen during outside smoking.

There has to be some ways to be able to smoke cold during winter time, isn't there any? and how?

Thanks for any great advice. I don't live in Florida but in cold communist Germany where prices constantly going up as Merkel steel all our money without ever asking us. Now times getting so bad it is better to support our self by try to as much as possible on our own to save as much money as possible, besides it is fun and taste better.

Thanks Frau Merkel and real thanks to anybody who real have a great idea to help me succeed.


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## 801driver (Nov 13, 2016)

I use a Smoke-it 2 Electric year round in NE Oklahoma on my deck that is a little protected from the Noth wind but still has swirls.  Put a PB on when it got down to about 10 one night and it worked well. 

Great insulation suggestions here.  Also how about a sheet of plywood for wind brake or moving it to the down wind side of the house to keep as much as the raw wind off of it?

Good luck to you.


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## gearjammer (Nov 13, 2016)

Sometimes I have to pick my days,

but I smoke all winter long.

It can get to -25 or -30 F here without any windchill figured in.

I use a wireless thermometer so I don't have to stand out there very long.

Dang it's going to be 55 here all week, pretty crazy, but very nice.

  Ed


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## wade (Nov 13, 2016)

It is all a balance between the heat produced and the heat lost. You just need to try to minimise the heat loss as much as you can. Sheltering from the wind is the most important hut if you have somewhere more sheltered - like a well ventilated outhouse/shed - then that is even better.


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 14, 2016)

Our prevailing wind is from the NW, so I keep my MES on the deck on the sheltered side.  This winter, I'll be investing in a welding blanket and modifying it to fit.

Gary


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## remsr (Nov 15, 2016)

I live in Minnesota where the weather is constantly crapy, it blows and pours rain in the summer and is often hot and muggy. 
In the winter it blows and snows with temps often below 0 and in the -30's and colder. 
I love smoking, but I'm not going out in minus weather for any reason if I can help it. Unfortunately I have to remove snow from the drive way but then I'm done with it. My truck sets outside the garage year round but it has auto start and even turns the heated seats and steering wheel on when I start it remotely that's how I deal with the cold. That being said. I smoke lots in the summer and vacuum pack for winter when the weather is good and have just gotten into cold smoking in the winter when the weather is good. Here again I can monitor my smoke on my phone in a warm house so I spend as little time in the cold as possible and won't even attempt smoking if it's windy or below 0.  I can't drag my smokes into the garage because they are in the back yard which is a 10 foot slope from the front with a walk out basement to the patio. it would be hard to move either of my smokers from back to front in the summer without 2 or 3 feet of snow to deal with. 
Sorry about that I think I just needed to wine about the pending cold that I greatly dislike here in Minnesota.
Randy,


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