WINTER smoker tips - Weber Smokey Mountain (SNOW!!!)

[@patrickberkery8854]

Great info! I recently used old towels to wrap around the dome with a chip clip in a no-snow 32f sunrise (pretty cold for here) on new years day. Like you said, the normal setup doesn't cut it for the cold - it wouldn't get over 200. Anyway, the towels worked really well. 1000 points for the awesome doggos, too! Thank you.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Thanks for watching and for the bonus doggy points haha Protection from the cold wind and insulating the WSM (if possible) are key

[@RaceviceSmokehouse]

Nice work my friend!! Cheers!! Great pups too!!

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Thanks buddy! Smoking all year round! The dogs love the snow

[@bradleymackbbq]

Greetings from Winnipeg, MB. One tip I have is leave your water pan empty in colder temps and wrap it in tinfoil if you don’t have a cover. (Easier to clean.) The water regulates the temps to give you a cool smoke. Canada winters are already cold enough as you know, so the water in the pan defeats the purpose...unless you’re dead set on having that extra moisture for your meat. Your charcoal burns faster because it’s continuously trying to heat the water and can keep you below your desired temp. I’ll only use water in warmer weather. Give it a try and see what you think. Good luck.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Thanks for the tip on putting foil in the water pan. I do this when smoking a split whole chicken. Or sometimes remove it completely. My reason for charcoal burning faster however is accurate and a simple matter of combustion and thermodynamics. Charcoal will burn at a rate analogous to the contents of the smoker except as though contents affect the flow of hot air up to the top and out the exhaust vent. Cold air is more dense, more PPB of oxygen per volumetric unit of air, more oxygen means more combustion. In MB you guys get WAAAAAAY colder than we do in SW Ontario. Try the experiment. Totally empty WSM. Vents half open. Do the same in summer. Time how long until charcoal is gone. Virtual weber bullet (dot) com is a good source of experiment outcomes.

[@bradleymackbbq]

@@lifeOfBarneyMusic Excellent explanation. I have only been at this since Christmas when the Mrs. gifted me the WSM. I will try your experiment as suggested and see how it goes. TVWBB has been an excellent source of info. Keep up the great work and stay warm!

[@spacecowboy_1962]

Buy yourself a welding blanket. Wrap it around it. I use them on my kettle and small stick burner. Works great at helping to retain heat

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Great suggestion

[@Grimok780]

Thanks for the video! I'm struggling to break 200 on my 22 WSM. Even when the temperatures are decent I find it struggles with airflow, with an Alberta winter day trying to get more air in to combat that isn't going to cut it. I did a sirloin roast yesterday and I fought with it for 3 hours and I barely saw 175. I have a brisket that I'm gearing up for and I have no idea how I'm going to maintain ~240 for 6-10 hours.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Hey buddy. Your winters are far more brutal than mine. Do you have enough snow to build up a wind wall around your WSM? If you're hitting -20C outside it won't make much difference though... :( Something else to consider is if you're doing minion method (little bit of lit charcoal dumped in the middle of unlit charcoal...) you might need much more charcoal lit at the beginning. More heat = more rising air = more air pulled in (= more COLD air pulled in..... but there is a break even point somewhere...). There is also an insulator wrap you can buy for the WSM that helps insulate it in the winter. They think of everything, eh? Lemme know how the brisket goes

[@leo.girardi]

Once the water pan is frozen, it's just like dumping an ice cube tray. Way easy.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

LOL and it takes all the jibblies with it!!

[@mikelong9638]

God, you're hard core!

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Lol thanks Mike I guess. I'm just a newbie, filming the stuff I am learning about. Do you bbq and smoke in the winter?

[@TeoOktoberfest]

Nice video 👍📹😊📹

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Thanks very much!

[@senagangbe5804]

Oof, was planning on getting the weber for new years food. It's currently 29F, so I guess ill just give up that idea. No good for a first/second smoke.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Part of me wants to say "just do it!!!" .... Actually all of me wants to say it. Just do it!!! What food were you thinking? In my video it was windy and probably around -8C. What's the weather for new years where you're at?

[@senagangbe5804]

@@lifeOfBarneyMusic I'm in montreal. Seems like it's gonna be -1 on Sunday. I was thinking of doing some reverse searing some ribeyes/tomohawk to get that smoky flavor, then blasting it with my huge torch (I do this in the oven at 175F currently) and at the same time smoking some trout. For the next day, I would've done some ribs on there.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

@@senagangbe5804 if you are familiar with smoking foods then I say go for it. Grab a WSM, assemble, then run a bag of charcoal through it to practice setting the vents. 33% open for all 3 bottom vents and 100% open top vent usually = 250F-ish on a non windy, not cold day. So you might need a bit more than 33% on the bottom vents.

[@williamschlink987]

All these comments of snow, I live in California and I’m just trying to battle with 50 degree nights lol.

[@lifeOfBarneyMusic]

Lol!!!