Well, tomorrow morning I’ll be doing my first cold weather brisket. It’s supposed to be 38* and cloudy at my house tomorrow morning. I know...I know, all you Northerners are probably calling me a wimp, wuss and a weenie. 😂 I "plan" on lighting the coals at around 7am. I’ve never done a brisket at these temps before. I’ll probably be ok, just wondering if there’s any special things I should prepare for. Since I’m only cooking for one, I cut the flat off and am doing just the point. I’ll save the flat for another day. Here it is trimmed and seasoned for the night. I’ll be smoking it on my WSM and using the water pan, half full of hot water to start.
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Last edited by Panhead John; January 8, 2021, 07:58 PM.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
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My advice, should you choose to accept it, is don't start your fire at 7, start at 5 or 5:30. My typical brisket, wrapping after the stall, takes about 12 hours. Unless you want to eat at 7 or 8 or 9 pm, I suggest you start a wee bit earlier. But again, not a heavy, up to you. And yes, 38 is November or March temperatures in Michigan, so I'm laughing at you. But, 95° is miserably hot to me which is a normal afternoon for you! Have a good cook!
Yup, it might effect it a little, cuz the temp is a little cold.
And, we are laughing up here! 🥲😂🤣😅
Don’t ferget to wear mukluks & a hoodie, just sayin.
Last edited by FireMan; January 8, 2021, 08:54 PM.
Agreed, get the fire started early and move your cook temp up 20-30 degrees or so, put on some shorts and shove your beers in a snowbank.
No wimps, wuss's, weenies on this site....
Yer gonna be fine, there in th brutal, sub-arctic clime of Houston, amigo!
Count on runnin yer fire some hotter, as said above. Also count on burnin more coals to achieve /maintain temps. Make sure ya gots enough briqs on hand.
9 pounder, or not, it's gonna depend on thickness, an not weight, as to how long it takes to cook; leave yerself a margin of error, an rest it longer, if done early.
Have a great brisket cook!
Last edited by Mr. Bones; January 8, 2021, 08:41 PM.
Reason: r
bbqLuv Don't even get me started on Portland winters! I hauled liquid argon from Trail, BC to the Port/Van area for three years, 2007 - 2010. One winter the area was hit hard with snow, I would believe Houston is better prepared to handle snow than Portland. Took me three hours to get from Hillsboro to Troutdale. I had to chain up just to get out of the driveway of Intel. Insult to injury? Blizzard conditions through the Gorge to the Dalles.
You’ll probably be all bundled up in a heavy coat, gloves, and stocking cap too wimp. At 38, I’d still be tending the fire in flip flops and a t-shirt. It’s actually decent weather here this weekend at half that temp. In my experience wind matters way more than temp...not saying cold doesn’t affect things, but had more troubles at 40 with wind than 10 without.
smokin fool First off, Congrats on yer Retirement today, Brother! Hoistin a Sailor Jerry n CoCola, plus more Sailor Jerry Northward, to celebrate this Momentous Occasion, Brother!
Least when th wind is outta a ~general direction~, one can kinda tack / adjust th smoker, an work with it... easy, peasy, usually, regardless of ambient temp...
Likely th worst one I've fought in decades, mebbe ever, was th #stayincookout ; it was quite th struggle to maintain a steady fire...
Last edited by Mr. Bones; January 9, 2021, 08:33 AM.
Reason: s
Watch your back. 38F is prime hunting temperature for these fellows. Many Northerners from the San Antonio area have had to fend them off during their brisket cooks
I usually keep the pit temp the same all year round. I may have been wrong to do this, but since I don't know any better, it seems like a good idea. You will have to plan for burning more fuel in the "cold" But seriously 38* is "cold?" It's mid twenties here and it's being called "nice for this time of year" Next week we will get all the way down to "chilly" when lows hit the barely double digit range.
You guys need to think about this though. It’s not just our freezing weather here, but Houston has a big problem with penguins. They’re constantly disrupting brisket cooks city wide. This pic was taken last winter in my front yard.
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Last edited by Panhead John; January 9, 2021, 06:42 AM.
Humidity affects the transfer of heat. Cold weather, in general, has lower humidity.
I cold weather, below 40*F, a little affect on time, but not much. Happy hour yesterday on AR was about cold weather BBQing.
38...yikes! That’s pretty hardcore to bbq in that extreme weather! Even up here in the northwest corner it’s not that cold tomorrow ...maybe tonight, but not tomorrow...kinda rainy too . ​
Last edited by Red Man; January 9, 2021, 11:36 AM.
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