Want to buy a BBQ smoker

[Savonarola]

My "smoker" is just my gas grill.  I don't think the walls were particularly thick.  Temperature wasn't too far from freezing in the early morning, but probably came up to 10-15C by mid-afternoon.

Lust is probably right here; you either need to adjust the heat up or plan for a longer smoke time.  Smoking in the winter/early spring in the north is tricky especially if you don't have a proper smoker. If you're in that situation again just put it in the oven for a couple hours at 120 C.

[Caliga]

Unless I am missing it you didn't tell us what temp you tried to do the smoke at so... what temp did you set your grill at?

[Barrister]

Unless I am missing it you didn't tell us what temp you tried to do the smoke at so... what temp did you set your grill at?

Well I used to have a nice thermometer I could just put right on the grill to measure... but I couldn't find it.  So I was using the thermometer built into the top of the grill.  It was showing around 250-280, which is hotter than I would want it, but I was pretty sure that since heat rises the top was hotter than where the air actually hit the meat.

[Caliga]

Yeah man, you need to get a probe-style thermometer and stick it right into the pork butt.  The dial thermometers just won't work for something like a smoke that is low and slow.  I have one that has a wireless receiver and two probes, and I put one into the center of the cut and the other one I clip to the grill surface to measure ambient temp in my BGE.

[Barrister]

Yeah man, you need to get a probe-style thermometer and stick it right into the pork butt.  The dial thermometers just won't work for something like a smoke that is low and slow.  I have one that has a wireless receiver and two probes, and I put one into the center of the cut and the other one I clip to the grill surface to measure ambient temp in my BGE.

Well I did have a probe thermometer in the meat.  It's just I couldn't get a temperature for the grill and was eyeballing it.

Okay, so if I try again I'll do it more in the summer, and I'll be sure to have a proper thermometer.

I know, I know, a BGE would be awesome.  My dad has one and I'm jealous.  But it's just not super practical for the handful of times per year I'd ever get to use it.

[Habbaku]

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[Caliga]

Okay, so if I try again I'll do it more in the summer, and I'll be sure to have a proper thermometer.

Smoking in the dead of winter should be fine as long as you can get the temp to 200-250 (I ordinarily smoke pork butts at 225) and hold it there.  I do it year-round.  Of course, it's not nearly as cold where I live, but I think you should still be able to do it.

[Barrister]

Okay, so if I try again I'll do it more in the summer, and I'll be sure to have a proper thermometer.

Smoking in the dead of winter should be fine as long as you can get the temp to 200-250 (I ordinarily smoke pork butts at 225) and hold it there.  I do it year-round.  Of course, it's not nearly as cold where I live, but I think you should still be able to do it.

I proudly grill year round, but trying to grill when it's, say, -20C is very challenging.  The differential in heat between the middle of the grill and the edge, or from on the grill to above it, becomes huge.  I would not even attempt to smoke something here in the winter.

[Caliga]

Come to think of it, it might be kind of tough if you don't have a smoker made of thick ceramic like a BGE or another kamado-style smoker.

[MadImmortalMan]

The CharGriller isn't ceramic but it works great even in the cold.

Before I got a proper smoker, I actually found lower-temp cooking easier in the winter on the regular grill. The ambient cold keeps the temp from creeping up too high. Unless it just flares because it gets too much air. It's hard to control that if it's windy here. Which is often.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Well I used to have a nice thermometer I could just put right on the grill to measure... but I couldn't find it.  So I was using the thermometer built into the top of the grill.  It was showing around 250-280, which is hotter than I would want it, but I was pretty sure that since heat rises the top was hotter than where the air actually hit the meat.

250 - 280 is fine, assuming your grill thermometer was accurate.  I usually shoot for 275.

The big problem with gas grills is airflow.  Smokers and charcoal grills create convection currents that help cook the food faster at a given temperature.