New member, seeking advice on cold weather//wind cooking

[tiduba]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I live in the mountains at 8000 feet, and I'm looking for advice on the best grills and smokers for cold, snowy, and very windy conditions. Wind is a year-round challenge at our place. I've explored the website, including the great ideas for windbreaks that are shown in the "Cold Weather Grilling and Smoking" section. I've been using a Nexgrill (Home Depot) 4 burner gas grill for several years (it was left by the previous owner of the house). I am looking to supplement and/or replace the Nexgrill with a charcoal smoker/grill.

My primary questions:
1. Do the insulating properties of the ceramic cookers make them the best choice in this environment?
2. Do the thermostat controlled pellet cookers (Traeger, etc) offer any advantages in very cold and windy conditions?
3. How do insulated kettles such as the Weber Summit perform in cold and wind?

Thanks!

[kmhfive]

Welcome to the Pit! Great questions all. I don't live as high up, although we get some cold in Northern Illinois! I went with the GMG pellet cooker for my big smoker this year. I had used a Pit Boss pellet cooker before. The temperature control helps a little -- certainly can help with the wind issues. However, I got the GMG for 2 reasons: 1, it added an ambient air temperature switch that kicks up the pellet feed rate when the temperature drops below freezing. Second, I could order (and did) a custom blanket to wrap the cooking chamber in to help with colder weather -- I don't think I'll be doing a lot of overnight cooks on that in the dead of winter, but I could do some pork tenderloin or bacon or a rib roast maybe.

I don't have a ceramic cooker, but the next thing on my MCS list is the WSCGC, in part because of its "thick skin" to help hold heat longer.

Good Luck with your decision!

[FlaBouy]

Welcome brotha.. can't help on this one since I have lived most of my life at 12 feet above sea level.... or in my case, Gulf Level. My suggestion would be that it would be cheaper in the long run to move to warmer climates whereas the only white ground cover is beach sand... but thats just me. There will be plenty that follow me that are smarter and more experienced than I when it comes to cold... the only experience I have with cold comes outta my beer cooler. Welcome to the pit and good hunting..

[CaptainMike]

Welcome, from The Great State of Jefferson! I live at 4000' and use an older Traeger from back when they built them with heavier steel. I upgraded it to the latest digital controller and use their insulating blanket in the winter. Routinely cook in the low teens with no problems. We don't have a big wind issue and I probably use a bit more pellets, but temps and times run pretty consistent.

[Skip]

I have a Memphis Pro Pellet Grill that comes insulated already. It works well in cold weather. I also have a BGE Kamado that is good in the cold too. I'm sure there will be several more suggestions coming as well. Good luck with your decision.

[EdF]

New Englander here. Ceramic Kamado is a great choice for that kind of environment. I've used ours in dead cold of winter. That WSCG is getting great reviews too, but I can't speak to it personally.

[EdF]

My MCS is currently in suspended animation.

[FireMan]

Ya EdF, your suspended alright.

[TheCountofQ]

Steve B Ha!!

[fuzzydaddy]

Welcome to the Pit from Florida!

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to the Pit! While I might have a bias since I cook on a Big Green Egg, but I think a ceramic will solve the cold problem and a controller will solve the wind problem. If your cooker won't be covered you might invest in a smoke ware cap for your ceramic.

[RonB]

I can't help, but welcome to The Pit.

[HouseHomey]

Fantastic questions. I got nothing. Huntington Beach welcomes you!

[DWCowles]

Welcome tiduba

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana

[FireMan]

Welcome aboard, eat good & have fun. I have some advice but I have a lisp so I'll leave it to others to splain.

[Spinaker]

Welcome to The Pit! Thank you for the support. I cook in cold weather for much of the year. (Minnesota) I would say your best bet would be something like a Kamado. That would be the Broil King Keg, Kamado Joe, Big Green Egg, Primo Oval or the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill. These will all be excellent options. All of these can be set up with fan controllers to maintain temps and allow you to run pretty much unchecked.
If you are going to be using this in consistently windy conditions, I would make a wind break, as you are planning on doing. Kamados are very well insulated, as a result, they need a small hot fire that does not use a lot of oxygen so they can be susceptible to high winds. A controller will help this. It is certainly not completely necessary to have a controller in windy conditions, but it does make it easier.

Also, since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

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-Spinaker

[JCGrill]

How does the PBC work in the cold?

[Spinaker]

I use it all the time in the cold. it does just fine. Once you hit zero or below, it does chug a little bit, but it still runs fine. JCGrill

[jerrybell]

I have no experience with ceramic or insulated kettles. I have a pellet cooker and my advice is to do what you can (shelters, wind breaks, insulated covers) to help the cooker out in tough weather conditions. The cooker is going to do its best to satisfy the set temp but there's a limit. If you've heard the expression "busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest", that's the way your pellet cooker feels on a windy day. The wind speed and direction are changing way faster than the cooker can react. Cold weather (single digits) can be a challenge also. You'll want to let the cooker run on high for awhile before setting the temp back to your cooking temperature.