A few weeks ago I went to Iowa with my family to celebrate Christmas. It had been ten years since I had last visited my Dad's family farm. I was excited to be with family for Christmas, and I had come to grips with the fact that my smoked meat habit was going to be on break for a week.
When we arrived at the farm Grandma mentioned that she had set aside a 14 lb boneless prime rib, and she wanted me to help her cook it for our Christmas dinner! Of course, I said I would help and then started making a mental note of all the people in our family that lived in the area and might have a smoker. Long story short, a cousin who lives about ten miles away had a Green Mountain Grill. We were able to borrow the smoker for our feast.
Cold Weather Prime Rib
I prepped the prime rib the morning of the feast by adding mustard to the surface of the meat and then generously sprinkling a rub from the Savory Spice Shop all over the surface. I wanted the rub to soak into the meat for a little bit, so I didn't get the grill started until I was done adding the rub. That's when I realized we might face a few challenges. The temperature outside was hovering right at 15 degrees below zero!
Despite the incredibly cold temperatures, the cook went well, and the meat was delicious!
If you're planning on grilling or smoking in cold weather, here are a few things you can do prior to and during the cook.
Tips for Smoking or Barbecuing in Cold Weather
Plan - The principles of smoking meat in cold weather are similar to those in warm weather. It doesn't matter if it's 80 degrees outside or 15 below zero, you should always plan ahead. I'm sure that you've heard the term, begin with the end in mind. Always follow that advice. ALWAYS.
Table of Contents
Best Practices for Cold-Weather Smoking
Dress the Part - I know you know this, but when it's cold outside, you need to dress a little bit warmer than normal. Shorts and a T-shirt are not proper winter attire, even when you're barbecuing.
Site Preparations- Is there snow on the ground? Shovel the snow away from your grill, and make sure the area you will be walking is clear too. You don't want to slip and fall, or even worse, track snow and mud in the house and get the wrath of your significant other.
Also, try to put the smoker in a spot that blocks the wind.
Look Up - Is there an awning or tree branch above your grill? Move the grill away from the tree or awning before you start the cook. The last thing you want is a big pile of snow to fall on your smoker in the middle of a cook!
Maintaining Temperature Stability
Keep the lid closed - Another principle that always holds true is to keep the lid closed as much as possible. Every time you open that lid, you let precious warm air out of your smoker! Keep the lid closed!!
Smoker Insulation- Depending on how cold it is out there, your smoker may struggle getting up to temperature and holding it. You may want to consider using a welding blanket or smoker blanket. This will also help save on your fuel.
Fuel Management-When it's cold outside, your pellet smoker will go through more pellets than usual. Be prepared and have extra pellets on hand so you don't have to run out mid-cook. During our prime rib cook, I had to pick up an extra bag of pellets because the burn rate was much higher due to the cold temps.
Helpful Equipment for Smoking in Cold Weather
Water Pan- If you are having a longer cook and the conditions are dry, you may want to consider a water pan to help with moisture and humidity. Using a water pan can help prevent flare ups, heat distribution, and can help the meat from drying out.
Buy a blanket - You can alleviate some of the challenges of cold weather smoking and reduce your pellet burn rate by investing in a good pellet smoker blanket. Most of the major pellet smoker brands sell blankets that custom-fit their smokers.
Buy a Good Meat Thermometer - I've talked about this plenty, but it's worth repeating. A great bluetooth meat thermometer is worth its weight in gold. This always helps take the stress off of monitoring your cook and watching for any drops or rises in temperature, etc. Plus you won't have to go out in the cold as often since you can monitor from the house.
Wrap-up
So there you have it, my tips for smoking meat in cold weather. Plan ahead, have extra pellets on hand, keep the lid closed, and buy a blanket! Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean you can't enjoy some delicious BBQ from your pellet smoker. By following these tips, your next cold-weather BBQ experience should be great!
Do you have other recommendations for cooking on your pellet smoker when it's cold outside? Leave them in the comments!
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I have a Green Mountain smoker. When I inquired at the store about a blanket the sales rep told me to buy a welding blanket as it was a lot cheaper.
I did and it works well.
That's a good idea! Thanks for sharing and reading Bruce!