Anyone Ever Smoked in The Rain?/Overbrining a Turkey

[citizendan]

Hey guys…I am new to the board and new to smoking meat. Great site!

I have some questions I was hoping I could get some help with before my planned smoke tonight.

I brined a turkey breast this morning about 8 am, with plans to smoke it tonight around 6 or so. The weather was perfect all week, but now the forecast calls for thunderstorms all through the night until tomorrow. I use a small to medium sized New Braunfels smoker with an offset firebox.

1. If I wait until tomorrow to smoke, the turkey breast will be in the brine around 24 hours. Will it take on too much salt? Could this ruin the meat?

2. If I pull it from the brine and rinse it, then leave it in the fridge overnight, will it dry out?

3. Have any of you ever tried smoking in the rain? I have no canopy or covering to keep the smoker dry. Do you have any tips/tricks that I might be able to use? What are the biggest challenges in doing this?

Thanks.

Dan in Austin

 

[jlloyd99]

Howdy Dan and welcome to SMF. So glad you found this great site. In answer to some of you questions. Go ahead and pull the turkey from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Then rub it down as you would any other meat you smoke. For poultry I keep my rub simple just some Olive Oil and Old Bay seasoning. Then put it in a large ziploc bag in the fridge overnight. I won't dry out this way and will be very juicy after smoking. We have smoked in the rain before but we've pulled the smoker into the garage when that happens so we have cover. If you brave the elemnts keep close tabs on your temps because the wind and rain will wreak havoc on them. You might try covering the smoke box with a moving blanket, I hear this helps. Good luck and welcome again.

 

[bluefrog]

Dan,
I smoke in the rain when nessesary. It helps to have someone to hold a large umbrella over you when you open the smoker but a rain jacket with a hood works also. You will have to pay closer attention to the temps. Down here in South Florida the rain is not so cold as to lower the temp very much but when Ilived and Smoked in Atlanta in the winter it could make a real differance.

Scott

 

[blkgost]

my first smoke was in a light downpour. It wasn't fun being out there to check the gauge (at the time I only had the stock good/ideal/hot gauge). The hens still came out alright though

 

[Dutch]

Dan, since I do cooking demo's with Dutch Ovens, most places I do demo's at have no shade so I purchased an EZ Up awning. When I was at the old place and it looked like rain was a possibility, I'd put up the EZ Up and move the smoker under it. Now that I'm at the new place, Both my smokers and my grill are under a covered patio so it can rain all it wants. The only thing I have to contend with now is the wind and a wind screen helps out in that regard.

 

[reflect]

I hit the garage sales and bought a patio unbrella and base. If it rains I get it out and it works perfect. In high winds I tether it down with a 10lb weight.

Take care,

Brian