SMOKING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

[SteveBird]

Hi Folks,

We just moved to Dumont, Colorado and our house sits at 9200 feet above sea level.

Anyone familier with smoking at higher altitudes?

I used to smoke my BBRibs @4 hours, at 200-210, back in Vermont.

I can always experiment but was hoping for a lead.

Thanks.

SteveBird

[IKnowWood]

That is a tough and at the same time interesting discussion.   with the higher altitude the boiling point and overall pressure is so much lighter.  I know from experience, that at tmy Parent's house, at about 6,000 feet things get done faster.  Where I am now at about sea level things do take longer

And do not do things to hot.

So I wouuld stick with the time but stick more to the 200 degree mark. and give it a try.

Also you might consider closing your vent a little more, but not closed.  

Heck that's a toss in the air.

[iceman]

At sea level, the boiling point of water is 212 degrees F (100 degrees C). As a general rule, the temperature decreases by 1 degree F for every 540 feet of altitude (0.56 degrees C for every 165 meters). On top of Pike's Peak, at 14,000 feet, the boiling point of water is 187 degrees F (86 degrees C). So pasta or potatoes cooked at sea level are seeing 25 degrees more heat than pasta or potatoes cooked on Pike's Peak. The lower heat means a longer cooking time is needed.

Pressure cookers work in the opposite direction. A pressure cooker raises the pressure so that the water boils at a higher temperature. A typical pressure cooker applies 15 pounds of pressure, so the boiling point of water rises to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C) at sea level. The higher temperature means that foods take less time to cook.

[bsolomon]

Steve,

You're practically a neighbor - I'm in Evergreen at 8000'.  I haven't noticed any appreciably longer cooking times here than for any of the oberserved timings at lower altitudes.  I set the slider to get 200 degrees and everything is done when it's done [:D]

I don't think you need to worry about the altitude as much as the wind, which is more problematic than just the cold outside.

[SteveBird]

Thanks, All, for your help.

Hey bsolomon!  I know what you mean about the wind.  Yikes.

I use a thermometer on everything except my ribs.  I've done enough of them back in VT to know that the 4 hour mark is when they are done.  I then FTC them.  I've found that really makes them fall off the bone good.

I've yet to smoke anything up here.  Hopefully soon.

Thanks again.

SteveBird

[gary_CO]

Cool, I'm only a few more miles away in Golden. But will soon be in between BlackHawk and Rollinsville.

Currently, I'm fortunate that I have a landing to a basement that I can use as a windblock. But I've wondered how hard it would be to contruct a box as a windblock. With the fire danger around these parts, I'd probably line it with cement board, or maybe even part of a welder's blanket.

Here's a boiling point calculator for altitude:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html

I run everything at 200 degrees...

[Habanero Smoker]

Though I am no expert, and live at a location 640' above sea level; this topic has often come up. In researching this (excluding baking)most sources state that you only need to be worry when your main ingredient or cooking source is water. Such as making pasta, braising, soups, stews etc. High altitude has very little if any effect when using hot air to cook, which you are basically doing with the Bradley.

[Foam Steak]

One thing you will notice quickly is that it is DRY out here.  My Kielbassi recipe allways ends up being sort of a dry product like salami or Summer sausage.  Wich bothered me the first time, until I tasted it.  Now I don't think that is much of a problem.  Back in Cleveland you could only get the dry stuff in the winter, here it is year round baby!