Smoking in Winter, I feel the need for a hot butt!

[Bobbert]

Since I only have only done about 8 butts and many pounds of brisket I am still learning the best way of using my DBS 4 rack.

So with the current temperature in Wisconsin of about 10 degrees!!  Is there any issues or tricks to using my Bradley in the middle of winter??  Besides doing it in the basement which my wife informed me would be the cause of my death!! Kidding!!

I am open to all suggestions and jokes!

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Smokem if you gottem!

[FLBentRider]

Keep the smoker out of the wind.

Expect it to take a while to heat up/ recover.

Add a couple of foil wrapped bricks that you pre-heat in the house oven to say, 500F

[classicrockgriller]

Keep the smoker out of the wind.

Expect it to take a while to heat up/ recover.

Add a couple of foil wrapped bricks that you pre-heat in the house oven to say, 500F

Replace the Bradley water pan with an 8x13 disposable cake pan (larger volume of heated water)

When heating your Bradley up ... Turn it up all they way, and when your cab temp starts to reach
your idea smokin temp (after you have put your "smoke" in it) turn it down as needed.

After the smoke period ... close your vent down a little.

After the smoke period, if you feel like you want to ... Put that "smoke" in the oven and stay warm!

Good luck and Have a great smoke!

[Bobbert]

Thanks for all the help!  Here is what I ended up doing (I will take pictures of my solution and post them)

I built a cabinet out of plywood, just your basic box with a door!  Then I vented my DBS out the top of the box with a piece of 4 inch round pipe (I may go to a bigger diameter pipe to prevent the condensing of the smoke on my pipe.

I also added a BIG pan of boiling water and my pork butt turned out great (17 degrees F overnight!!)

The box did a great job of keeping the the wind off my smoker.  I also tried a new way to mop my butt.  I put a aluminum pan with holes in the bottom.  I then poured my mop into the pan through the vent on the top of the smoker!!  It worked out great! I added moisture to the the butt and never had to opening the door!!!

Again I will take some pictures of my box and a of my mopping setup!

Next is a brisket without the boat!!  The big ass pan of water seemed to do the trick!!

Thanks all!

Pictures coming!!

[classicrockgriller]

I want to see them!

[Tiny Tim]

Always in the mood for a hot butt....2 outta the 3 kinds that come to mind anyway. ;D

[Bobbert]

I will get hem posted in the next day or so!

[Pachanga]

A mop shower!!!

Nice.

Good luck and slow smoking,

Pachanga

[KyNola]

I'm liking the idea of the mop shower.  Will be interested to see the pics of that.

[squirtthecat]

Ditto!

[SnellySmokesEm]

Post the pics!!!! We want to see! ;D

[Bobbert]

You asked for them here they are, well all LOVE pictures!!

The box is very simple, I went to my local home depot and had them cut a 3/4 in sheet of plywood to my sizes and nailed them together!  I even put a door handle on it with a magnetic latch to keep it closed.  I use 4 hinges, since I over engineered the box.  But it does the job of keeping the wind off the smoker and it gives me a nice place to store the smoke when not in use.  Next steps is to put wheels on the box, but that is for another snow storm.  I just made mine so I could cut the plywood in a way to use 1 sheet, ( i am cheap, the sheet cost me 9 bucks, the hinges and latch cost me 5 busks, the top and bottom where from some scrap plywood I had, and I had a 18 inch piece of 4 inch duct for the vent!!

My box is about inches wide, 21 inches deep (which for the math impaired (KIDDING) that is 48 inches so we just ripped the plywood down the middle) and then cut them to the height! and I made mine 40 inches high, it did not want to deal with the draft of the smoker.









I hope this heps.  I know this is not pretty but it worked great on a very cold night@


Oh and here  are some pictures of my baster setup  all I did was take aluminum pan and poked holes in it. it started out with very small holes but the mop would not drain through them so I increased the holes until my  mopped drained.  I set theholey  pan above my butt and when I wanted to add my mop, I used a squeeze bottle through the smoker vent and squeezed my mop into the pan which then dripped onto the butt without opening thedoor and causing massive heat loss in the dead of winter!   It may not be pretty but it worked really well.  The wife said it was the best butt to date  NO comments please otherwise HR will have to get involved! ;D

Hope this makes sense, but the pictures tell the story!!  But you will have to test the size of the holes with your mop!


Also standing in for my butt is my old way too small drip pan, but it is just for a reference, this would not work if you are doing lots of butts, but for one big one it works great!

[ArnieM]

Good idea and I like the shower.  Just out of curiosity, where's the smoke generator?

[squirtthecat]

Low Tech Brilliant!   I have a stack of those little Weber pans myself...   Hmmm.

[OU812]

Nice set up Bobbert, it dont have to be perty to work.

The main thing is it worked.