How to Use Electric Smoker in Winter
It may be quite challenging for some people to use an electric smoker in winter as ordinary people need a temperature of 250 F to 400 F in the smoker to cook meat. In contrast, in winter or when it is cold you may find it a little difficult to cook your food. This is due to the reason that the internal temperature of the smoker depend upon the external temperature. When the weather is cold, you may have to spend some more fuel to prepare the meal because your smoker need more energy to reach to the set temperature.
When using an electric smoker in winter, you generally have to consider controlling the wind, temperature, and fuel amount. Here you will find some ideal tips that will help you out using your smoker in winter with the same efficiency as in other seasons.
Using Electric Smoker in Winter-Tips
Here are some worthy tips you need to follow in order to optimize smoking your food in Winter.
Avoid Door Opening
Usually, when we are smoking some meat, we are more likely to open the smoker’s door and check the meat. However, you don’t need much to keep checking the meat all the time. You should be knowing some average temperatures and cooking time of the meat you are planning to smoke, and you’ll only have to check the meat when the average time reaches.
To avoid opening the door now and then, I’ll recommend using a wireless thermometer. It will be beneficial to check the temperature from the comfort of your couch.
Suitable Location
The next thing that you need to consider for smoking in winter is to choose a location that isn’t bad for smoking meat. It is better to smoke in a walled area instead of an open space in winter. Here as a precaution, it is suggested to make sure the smoker isn’t near the walls.
Smoking in a covered area will provide you with a little more external temperature for smoking than smoking on open ground. Always make sure to chose a place where there is the least risk of getting everything into the fire. Also, it would help if you prefer using only that smoker who gives you a better way to control the smoke.
If you haven’t an ideal place at your home, you can use an enclosure too.
Insulate your smoker
One of the best things you can do for better smoking in winter is to keep your smoker insulated. There are various jackets that you can find in stores for covering up the smoker. Just make sure to use only those jackets that are not flammable to keep everything safe and sound. Covering the smoker in some layers is very beneficial in controlling the smoker’s external temperature.
Apart from jackets, you can also cover the smoker with other alternatives like furnace insulation.
How to make a homemade insulator for an Electric Smoker
The best thing that I want to add is that you can make your insulator cover the smoker without spending a crazy amount of money on expensive insulators. Just go to a local hardware store to get inspiration about the best suitable items for making an insulator.
You can also make cement board act as an insulator. Certain chemicals in the cement reduce the amount of heat loss from the interior and thus keep the smoker warm.
Preheating Time
In winter mostly it is difficult to get the smoker heated in less time. So I recommend giving a little more time to preheating the smoker before getting into the primary process. During this time, you don’t need to put the wood chips inside. Heat up the smoker for at least ten minutes before placing the wood chips.
Before starting, you should also check the smoker’s manuals, which will give you an idea about the ideal kind of wood chips to use in the smoker.
Try some Simple Recipe
I won’t suggest avoiding cooking your favorite dishes in winter. However, I will recommend going for some more straightforward dishes for as long as you properly learn smoking in winter. There are dozens of recipes out there on the internet. You can chose some simpler dishes like smoking a brisket in an electric smoker.
You can try out smoking fin fish, black cord or turkey breast, etc.
Patience
I want to tell you that it’s totally fine if your smoker is taking more time to smoke during winter. You need to be patient and let the smoker prepare your spicy dish for you. Just prepare all the prerequisites for smoking, open up the vents, start the smoker, add the meat and have some patience to get your favorite meal prepared.
Wind Level
You also need to smoke in an area where the wind isn’t bad for smoking. If the wind is blowing at high speed, you are more likely to lead the smoker and the meat into trouble. Similarly, if the wind is too low, you won’t be able to make the flames work without oxygen. The main thing to consider is always to smoke at a place where the wind is suitable for smoking meat.
You can also use an electric smoker in a large store having some windows or ventilators if there is more wind outside.
The Final Words
To prepare your favorite meal by smoking in winter, you should always care for certain factors before and during smoking. These include temperature, weather, moisture, and other factors. However, if you ask me about the best thing that you can do to get most of your smokers in winter, I will suggest trying simpler dishes initially and later on going towards tricky words.
The next thing that you need to consider is patience. You should admit that it may take time to smoke in winter. So never try to make everything early, as there is a chance you may put everything in danger. You can add something better in the comments as well.
