Question on Outdoor Temperature

Cold or snow doesn't stop me from grilling or smoking. Gas grill is buried in the back.
 

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On cooking for a serving time, i.e. having a party/dinner at a specific time, start the cook to complete the cook early, say 4-8 hrs finished before serving time. Wrap in a couple layers of butcher paper or foil. Wrap in a couple bath towels. Place on a couple towels in a large cooler and put another towel on top. I've done this even with butts and ribs and they remain hot enough to burn your hands even after the long rest. You can put a temp probe in next to the meat if you're concerned about getting below 140°F. I've never had issues with temps dropping too much.
 
I moved from Florida to Michigan in 2022. Did a cook on Thanksgiving in 2022 with the temp around 5 degrees not counting wind chill and snow storm. The hardest part was getting the PB fired up. Took forever to come up to temp. I set it at 250 to maintain 200 without any issues. But in temps like that I don’t think I would attempt an overnight cook. I babysat it the whole time (although not outside the whole time, I kept an eye on it with a Bluetooth thermometer).
 
I smoke all winter, Wind is a big factor. I try to position out of wind as much as possible. Cannot escape North Dakota cold though. Burns many more pellets than summer cooking. I look for sales and bulk up. Unfortunately, have not seen any $5 bag Bear Mountain at Lowes this year. Best price is currently about $12 and Pit Boss pellets $9 at Walmart and TSC
 
Doing a pork shoulder today. Mid 20s with a bit of breeze out of the north, 10-15mph. My 700 wasnt getting up to temp as normal. The back of my unit, where the exhaust holes are, faces north. I adjusted P setting and the temp compensated but was having large swings. I laid a moving blanket over the holes and the swings all but vanished. Had to readjust P setting to get temps back in line. Wind blowing into all the holes on back of barrel is the problem so i came up with a "deflector" that im going to make. Ill simply bend some sheetmetal and glue magnets to it. I had the cardboard on it for awhile and the temp swings stayed the same as when i had the blanket over the holes.

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Just a follow up on this. I should have started a separate thread. Didnt mean to hyjack......

Got a piece of sheet metal from Menards. Didnt have to cut anything, just bend, high temp silicone some magnets on and paint with some Rust-Oleum hammered finish paint i had on hand from a battery box project on my riding mower. If you want an extremely durable finish, this hammered coating is tough and hard. Its not smooth, but it is the most durable spray paint ive ever used....

Enough with the commercial, on with the show.....

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Smoked some deviled eggs today. Breeze out of the north, which is where the back of my 700 faces. Perfect cook with normal temp control. Im calling it a complete success....

Did half the eggs filled and on the smoker. Half will just get smoked filling. Last recipe had me smoke just the whites. Didnt care for the texture so i experimented. So far, the filled and smoked are a hit. The whites didnt get rubbery at all. Letting the filling go a little longer just based on mass. Stiring every few minuites. Ill let you know which i prefer when they are done....

Please stand by...🤣😂🤣😂

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Uhhhh.....

Just a small follow up.....

Im a man. I use what i need to get the job done. Aparently, my dear sweet loving wife wasnt thrilled with me using her cookie cooling racks to smoke these eggs but not too big of a deal. She did get quite upset when she saw the bowl after i took it off the smoker. Luckily, the black "tint" that adhered to the outside of said bowl came of with minimal scrubbing.....


FYI....get yourself your own "stuff" when experimenting with your smoker....

Happy wife, happy life is no joke....🤣😂🤣😂🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣
 
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