Outdoor temperature factors

[yrddraiggoch]

Does anyone see much effect on cooking times with outdoor temps around the low 30s?

I have a 16 lb turkey that will be placed on the PBC hanger

thanks

[JeffJ]

I haven't cooked in my PBC in low temps yet. I do know that with a kettle, low temps don't affect cook times much. You will burn charcoal more rapidly though. Rain and wind are much bigger factors.

[Mr. Bones]

Nah, thirties oughta be a cakewalk...
Seems like wind always causes me more trouble than lower OAT's.
Have a good cook, an' a Happy Thanksgiving, amigo!

[Reds Fan 5]

I am not a PBC user but generally as long as it isn't windy temps in the low 30s shouldn't be an issue. You may burn a little more fuel. Wind, not cold, is the real enemy. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

[yrddraiggoch]

thanks for the info. No wind today so hopefully should be a nice smooth cook

[Troutman]

I have no idea, it’s 70 degrees here in Houston

[yrddraiggoch]

going to leave this photo of the finished bird here as I can't get logged in to the perfect turkey recipe page to lave a comment and pic

[Danjohnston949]

yrddraiggoch, 👍👍👍👍👍 I'd Eat That 🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃‼️
From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

[Troutman]

Pretty......

[FireMan]

I’d call that a homerun!

[Mr. Bones]

Fine Job, Mate!

[abandonedbrain]

If nothing else, it LOOKS phenomenal!!! Great job; Martha Stewart would be proud to have that on her table. Except she'd probably whine about the smoke profile, like "Oh, I can smell that you didn't use real rustic teak bark soaked in chamomile essence. Interesting."

[Spinaker]

I cook with my PBC all the time in sub zero temps. Never have any problems. Maybe when it gets down to -10 or so, then things start to get a little weird. But below 30 F, you still have a ways to go before things start to effect the cooker, in my experience.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Great looking turkey!

[RobertC]

There are three main ways that heat gets transferred: radiant, conductive, and convective. Barrel cookers are cylindrical, and hanging meats get cooked mostly by convective heat transfer. As long as the barrel is sealed against unintentional air leaks, it doesn't lose much heat via convection (and none by radiation). Cross-sectionally, cyclinders have the smallest surface area for the volume they encompass (spheres have an even better ratio, but you can't hang meat all the way out to the edge of a sphere, nor is it easy to build a fire out to the edges). So as long as there isn't much wind, a cylinder uses the heat relatively well without much excess loss. However, there is still *some* conductive loss through the sides of the barrel, and when it's windy the metal will conduct that heat away pretty well. That is, the fire will heat the air which convectively transfers some heat to the item being cooked but also to the sides of the barrel. Via conduction, heat gets transferred from the inside of the barrel to the outside, and the wind sweeps it away via convection. So, for a given pit temperature, you can reduce fuel burn and improve efficiency by sheltering your barrel from the wind in cold temperatures, either by keeping it in the lee of some windbreak or by using some kind of insulating (fire-proof) blanket. Bottom line, cold by itself isn't a very big problem, but cold-and-windy can be.

[Tax Man]

I have done a few cooks in the cold weather so far and will echo what others are saying. Wind has much more influence on temps than does cold weather. I also agree that it seems that charcoal burns faster-maybe because the cold air is drier? Hmm....

Tim