Overnight smoking?

[TomKnollRFV]

These are all good suggestions. Good to know that there are actually quite a few different options I can explore. Going to try some of them out over the next year and see what clicks. Thanks again!

Just remember as Sonny says...eat your failures and none will be the wiser!

 

[Bearcarver]

I don’t smoke overnight, the potential for a fire should things go south.

Like Murray & others I never run my MES while I'm away or while I'm sleeping.
It is an electric smoker, but I know of an MES that had it's door go up in flames.
That wouldn't work too good at my house because my Smoker is on a wooden stand, on my All wood front porch, next to an all wood front wall of an All Wood House.

I guess if I had a Smoker that could run on it's own, from far enough from my house that if the Smoker lit up, it couldn't possibly get to my house. Everything I own is in that house, and it just isn't worth it just to smoke over night.

Bear

 

[jcollins]

For butts i always smoke them overnight but i also dont like foiling my meat unless i have to, which is definitely an option you could use to insure the meat will be done in time. Its just a personal thing about not using foil. Like whats said above a WSM and an MES will do good for overnight cooks. i have the little 14" WSM and can easily get 8hr+ out of 1 load of coal as long as the temp stays around 225-250 degrees.

 

[ravenclan]

I have done many overnight smokes with all of my electric, propane, pellet and wood smokers, But I also plan ahead and make it a get together with my buddies making sure the smoker is full and also extra for us to nibble on thru the night. I also have them bring meat for me to smoke for them. On the back patio on a great night drinking some beer listening to some good tunes and some snacks makes for a great time. We also have fold down chairs so we can take a "nap" if we feel the need and this has kind of turned into a tradition for us during the summer and spring time plus it fills the freezer with some smoked food ready for a party or camping or out on the boat.

 

[xray]

I smoke my pork butts overnight as well. When I don’t foil, they all tend to take about 19 hours.

I use a propane smoker with the needle valve, it holds steady temps.

What I usually do is start around 5pm, that way I could get a good 5-6 hours of smoke on it. I’ll go to bed around 1am and wake up at 6am.

My smoker is in my driveway away from the house and cars. I’m also setting my high and low temperature alarms on my thermometer in case the fire goes out or it catches fire.

 

[texomakid]

I always cook briskets overnight. Put them in the pellet cooker and finish them off the next day. Typically I set the cooker on 220 for the overnight part and to get a good smoke on the meat early then I start increasing temp the next day as needed to finish out. They turn our great and I've had no issues at all with close to a dozen all-nighters' in the Yoder YS640. I wouldn't be too concerned trying it in my WSM 22"? That thing runs pretty smooth as well when set up correctly.

 

[schlotz]

You do not have to smoke a butt overnight if you don't want to. Planning a 6pm dinner and leaving naked in the smoker, it goes on at 5am, if doing a wrap/assist it goes on around 7am. Lately we've been setting the temp to 250º. See the Butt recipe in the sig below for a guide.

 

[Bearcarver]

These are all good suggestions. Good to know that there are actually quite a few different options I can explore. Going to try some of them out over the next year and see what clicks. Thanks again!

If you're going to smoke overnight or while you're away from the area, make sure your smoker is no where near your house, or anything that can catch on fire if your smoker goes up in flames.

Bear