I had a smoke planned for today.

[mikedixon]

 I was planning on smoking sausage for breakfast this morning, then a butt and a chicken for supper, but I woke up to the sound of rain. I guess I'm cooking in the crock pot and the oven. I need a covered outdoor kitchen. I will have to work on that, but 1st, I need a new vehicle.

 

[richoso1]

Mike, sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I think there are many of us who'd love a covered outdoor kitchen. It's all good my friend.

 

[wildflower]

same problem here, every time I want to cook I have to check the weather station it see what is going to happen in the next few days   

 

[mikedixon]

 I over came the obstacle. I put the butt in the oven, and the chicken in the crock pot. I tried something new on them. I will let you know how it turns out. I was going to smoke some sausage for the wife and son for breakfast, but due to the weather, I ended up putting it in the oven too. I went ahead and did it like you would a fattie for the smoker,with cheese and rub, and then wrapped it in foil, and baked it for an hour and a half. It must have been good, there isn't any left. I couldn't taste it, dang sinuses. I need to move to the beach. I find that on the east coast of NC I have fewer sinus and allergy problems. If I can only hit that lottery!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

The covered kitchen as richoso1 mentioned, or smokin' sanctuary, as I call it, has been my savior of sanity for more than a year now. While mine is rather large for a semi-temporary structure (10' x 20', with 10' x 16' being covered), it has all the outdoor cooking amenities that I want. A 12 CF upright freezer, a 22 CF side-by-side fridge/freezer, multiple grills and smokers, large storage containers for supplies and gear, a large free-standing cabinet for essentials, fixed shelving, overhead hanging hooks for cooking tools, pots for heating water, 2 2-burner outdoor cook stoves for cooking/heating water, bins for washing utensils/pans/tools/accessory equipment, and numerous odds & ends I have gathered over the years for cooking are all contained under one roof, well protected from wind and precipitation, just waiting for my call to duty.

I was quite accustomed to dealing with the weather, standing out in -30* winter nights with strong gusty winds, and sometimes heavy snowfall, just keeping my smoker happy so dinner the next day would be just as good as if I were cooking indoors. And I had my share of upsets, and periods of frustration which nearly shut me down completely...for months. Smoking & grilling were falling at the wayside, and I wasn't a happy smoker at all. Then, it occurred to me that my dependence on good weather conditions could be eliminated, if i set my mind to it. I made a commitment to myself to make an enjoyable place to spend my days off work for cooking. Weather issues are no longer a thought when I start planning a good smoke. Heck most of the time now, I don't even plan my smokes...I just go with whatever I feel like doing at that particular point in time, and do what I feel is needed so it all comes together.

My suggestion for anyone who has been dealing with weather issues, especially when it causes you to cancel or postpone an outdoor cooking session, is:

1) determine what your most likely weather related issues are, or historically, what has caused you the most heartache (wind, rain, snow, cold)...prioritize these issues;

2) decide how large of area you would like to be able to protect (just one cooker and a chair for attending the cooker, etc);

3) determine what tools/equipment/skills you have at your disposal to create a more enjoyable environment to cook in;

4) determine how to best protect your cooking area from the weather issues you have listed as your top priorities, and remember to use existing structures if possible for the base of your protection (garage/house walls, roof overhangs, etc);

5) determine what your budget will be for this project, if necessary and price the materials so that you can have a general idea what you can accomplish before starting...keep it simple, and if needed, portable/temporary so that you can remove it and store it properly as needed...this should allow you to forgo any permitting issues with local government/homeowners associations, etc;

IMHO, there is no substitute for a place you can go whenever you like, and enjoy your passion for outdoor cooking. So, if you're really serious about smoking & grilling, follow your heart. You'll spend your time enjoying what you really are here to do, instead of trying to dodge the weather and find a day when your schedule will agree with mother nature's schedule...yeah, I've been there too. No more of that for me...I just cook the way I love to cook, and share it with family and friends without any worries. That's my idea of a great day of outdoor cooking...and I can do it anytime I please, which is actually quite often.

Happy smokes!

Eric

 

[scarbelly]

This is why I live where the days are mostly sunshine. I did Colorado for a few years for a job and retreated back to CA

As Rich says - it is all good

 

[pit 4 brains]

I usually smoke under my patio just for the shade. It also helps when it's raining buckets and i'm smokin away and tippin a cold one..

 

[mikedixon]

 I have had an outdoor kitchen in the back of my mind for a while. My brother has a barn we built, just to have parties in. It is 48x48, with a loft too. It has hvac, pool table, bigscreen,commercial reach-in cooler, flat top grill, stripper pole (it gets used sometimes too) a Jager machine, a 16' long bar and his and hers bathrooms. He has it decorated inside and out with all kinds of antiques and memorabilia, In his travels, hunting for all this stuff, he ran across an old diner of some kind. He is trying to negotiate to buy it, but the owner doesn't want to sell it right now. He is buying that for me to cook in, since I do most of the cooking for the events there anyhow. That has got my outdoor kitchen on hold for now. I only live 1/2 mile from him, and I do most of my big cooks for the barn functions , it wouldn't make much sense having 2 big kitchens like that. If this pans out, I may even start trying to push catering more. I already do a little, but working a full time job puts a serious damper on catering. Plus I figure if I do apply for a restaurant license, I would need a more traditional structure, what with inspections and all. If this diner don't pan out, I will probably build an outdoor kitchen soon. I figure a 10 or 12 by 20 will be plenty of room. There ain't much help when the work is going on, just when eatin' time comes, so I won't have to worry about tripping over anyone. I have 4 smokers, and I am building a bigger one to make 5. I have a huge charcoal grill, and the Blackstone Flat top too. I will have to build some cabinets and work tables though. I am in pretty good with the local scrap metal yard, I can probably pick up a stainless table pretty reasonable.

 

[mikedixon]

 By the way, my experiment worked. The chicken and the butt turned out great. I put onions in the chicken, along with some rub, then yellow mustard and rub outside the chicken. I melted 3 sticks of butter to use for my cooking liquid for my crock pot. I suppose it was good, not much left but a memory.

 As far as the butt, I had already put rub on it last night and left it in the fridge over night with the intention of putting it on the smoker at 6 this morning. I ended up with it in the oven for about 4 hours, rub on it, 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pan, two teaspoons of chicken bullion, about a teaspoon or two of granulated garlic, about 1/2 cup of Worcestershire, and some Franks red hot. Covered it with foil and put it in at 350`  Everyone says it was good.  I still can't taste. That happens every time I cook it seems.