Best smoker for cold weather?

[josephbnowak]

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum. I recently began smoking meats using the indirect method on my charcoal grill last summer and I never looked back. I made some good Meats but I want to cook with something better.

My only issue is I live in northern Wisconsin and our winters can get bitter cold. Teens, single digits, etc. I can easily smoke when it's 35-40 degrees however. I need something where I can throw my coals and wood in and I don't need to babysit the thing.

I am an employee of a primo dealership and I can get one of their grills for a very low price compared to retail. I have no problem purchasing it but the price is high enough where I may be influenced to consider other options.

I love the offset smokers and that's what I am considering if not the primo. Maybe an Oklahoma Joe? My cousin has one and he loves it.

My biggest concern is heat retention because I want to smoke year round. Thanks guys

 

[gmc2003]

Joe,

 I live in Vermont and use my WSM 22 during the winter months. Granted no overnigther's, but plenty of 5 to 8 hr cooks. Runs really well in the cold. Just have to keep it out of the wind. Coldest cook - ribs at near zero to a little below zero degrees.

chris 

 

[gr0uch0]

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum. I recently began smoking meats using the indirect method on my charcoal grill last summer and I never looked back. I made some good Meats but I want to cook with something better.

My only issue is I live in northern Wisconsin and our winters can get bitter cold. Teens, single digits, etc. I can easily smoke when it's 35-40 degrees however. I need something where I can throw my coals and wood in and I don't need to babysit the thing.

I am an employee of a primo dealership and I can get one of their grills for a very low price compared to retail. I have no problem purchasing it but the price is high enough where I may be influenced to consider other options.

I love the offset smokers and that's what I am considering if not the primo. Maybe an Oklahoma Joe? My cousin has one and he loves it.

My biggest concern is heat retention because I want to smoke year round. Thanks guys

Welcome aboard.  I too battle the frigidness of the Bay of Green, and seldom do I come out on the winning side of the ledger this time of year.  If you're looking for something where you can "throw my coals and wood in and I don't need to babysit the thing," a cheap offset stick burner isn't going to do it.  OK Joe was bought out in 1998, production transferred to China, steel gauge and (IMHO) quality greatly diminished.  What used to be a tank made of quarter-inch steel is no longer.  You're going to battle with it this time of the year, especially if you're looking at this end of the smoker spectrum.  My advise is to spend more up front, get a thicker gauge steel that will stand the test of time and will hold heat a heckuva lot better than what you'd mentioned.  Old Country, Horizon, Yoder all come to mind readily:  don't be sucked into the "bargain" of the week at Menard's/HD/Lowe's, as I think you'll find yourself having to do a bunch more babysitting--especially this time of the year here--than you care to.  Buy quality, buy once.  My $0.02.

 

[801driver]

Might not be what you want to hear or think about, but I got away from the charcoal and wood tending.  I put on a 14lb pork butt last winter in my Smoke-it #2 electric, (the pre-electronic heater on/off control early version,)  in the early afternoon at 30' as the temp was going down to a 4' night set at 225.  I put about 2 oz of hickory chunks in the smoke tray at the start, and added about 2 oz about two hours later.  We like extra smoke, more than most people, so I usually double up.

Watched a couple football games with a few beers and went to bed and got a great night's sleep. 

My smoker is protected from the direct North wind on my deck, and as usual, my beeper went off about 20 hours later the next morning when it reached 198 IT.  Just another normal smoke for me.  I could not tell the ambient temp made any difference. Most likely the heater was on more than usual.  We like plenty of bark to chop in, so we do not wrap even with dry winter air.  Couple hours in the cooler and it was ready to pull.

We usually do not have temps that cold in Oklahoma, but it was a time that fit the schedule and I wanted to see how it would do.  It worked well for us, just set it and forget it, with few moving parts. 

Hope you find something that works well for you also..

 

[ab canuck]

   You should swing this over to Roll call and introduce yourself to everyone. There will be some opinions on this, I can't give you anything that would help as I currently don't have a stick burner.

 

[hb99]

I wrap my WSM in a welding blanket.  You could make a windbreak by hinging a couple pieces of plywood together...

 

[geezer]

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum. I recently began smoking meats using the indirect method on my charcoal grill last summer and I never looked back. I made some good Meats but I want to cook with something better.

My only issue is I live in northern Wisconsin and our winters can get bitter cold. Teens, single digits, etc. I can easily smoke when it's 35-40 degrees however. I need something where I can throw my coals and wood in and I don't need to babysit the thing.

I am an employee of a primo dealership and I can get one of their grills for a very low price compared to retail. I have no problem purchasing it but the price is high enough where I may be influenced to consider other options.

I love the offset smokers and that's what I am considering if not the primo. Maybe an Oklahoma Joe? My cousin has one and he loves it.

My biggest concern is heat retention because I want to smoke year round. Thanks guys

If I were you and could get a nice price on a large Primo oval I'd jump on it and not think twice about it.

Hard to go wrong with a kamodo cooker, for grilling or smoking. 

 

[josephbnowak]

Hello everyone. I ended up going with the primo. So excited. Thank you all!!!

 

[geezer]

Hello everyone. I ended up going with the primo. So excited. Thank you all!!!

Nice. A buddy of mine has the large Primo oval and loves it. Uses it for everything. Enjoy!