Tips For Cooking In Cold Weather - What Are Yours?

Chris
I totally agree. I even have a special "smoking jacket" that I use. It smells like the inside of a barrel smoker, but it keeps me warm and has not caught on fire yet. Although I have had some sparks burn through all layers and hit my skin, that was fun.

I have gloves that I use because I will often use them to stir up ash, get charcoal, move grids - so I don't give a damn if they get dirty because I only use them for one thing.

I also keep a cooler out there so I have a place to sit if I decide to stay out there and drink while I listen to music/football on my phone. As much as I love egging in the snow, I cannot freaking wait for spring!

I have several ET-73's.Invaluable on lo-n-slows.The Thermapen is great on quick cooks.They have both saved WAY more cooks than their original cost.

Great post! Thanks for pointing out the positives! Pretty much, we follow the same theme...we do try to focus our cooks for the small (which is in the garage) as opposed to the large, which is usually snowed in on the deck this time of year. I've created a temporary winter cooking zone in the garage to make things easier. If I am going from grill to serving plate, I warm my plates in the microwave, bringing them out just in time. It is 14 degrees this morning and we have a storm coming. Most of you know I live in northern vermont and love snow. Unfortunately (yes I meant unfortunately) the southern part if the state looks like it will get most of the snow this time. :woohoo: :( If ya gotta be here, you might as well find a way to enjoy it :P

Try not to spill anything on the living room carpet. :laugh:

And bring your plate setter inside to warm up, even pre-heat it in your oven. I couldn't get much heat past that cold ceramic barrier in freezing weather. Frozen egg, frozen lump, frozen plate setter, frozen grid. Bring in what you can. Also, store one bag of lump in the house instead of the shed. Thanks for the tips!

Seriously, I really don't do anything different. Well, I might throw on a jacket if it's below 15° or so, but rarely a hat and never gloves. Otherwise, same cooks, same cold lump, cold CI grid, and if the platesetter happened to be in the egg instead of in the house where I sometimes store it, well, it's cold too. I don't turn the egg into or out of the wind either. I really don't notice any difference whether it's 99° or 9. Except at 99, I am miserable. At 9, I'm just chilled a bit.

Maybe it takes longer for the egg to get up to temp? Don't know since I don't pay attention to that anyway. When it gets there, it gets there. And once it does get there, well, 350 is 350.

I have to say though, that the idea of standing around outside in this weather, sipping a cold one that I grab from a snow bank, really does NOT appeal to me.

Use the cold to your advantage. Stick your beverages in the snow. If you have to marinate under refrigeration and it's 30f out, don't take up space in your 'fridge.

Say what? 30f? In January? Round here we use the cold to our advantage and save on FREEZER space, not fridge space. Marinating outside up here doesn't quite work...you'd be better off offering tips for urinating outside. You've pretty much blown the credibility of your "cold weather" tips if you're referencing 30f temps.

Wear shoes that you can slip on and off. You don't want to keep tracking in snow, mud and ice into the house.
You're right, 30F is flip-flop weather.

Mise en place (aka "mess in place").
Using fancy french words and trying to sound like a Canadian doesn't make one an expert in cold weather.

Don't forget YOUR comfort. This is fun, remember? Dress warmly and in layers. Wear a jacket/coat that you won't have a stroke over if it gets a grill stain.
Oh grow a pair, Mr. 30f. If you've got to add layers to head outside, you weren't wearing enough layers to begin with, and your furnace thermostat is set too high.

Forget tips about layers...nosehair trimming! Nosehair trimming is important to prevent the first-breath-sneeze. You know, when you step outside and it's so cold that you can feel your nosehairs freeze instantly...it's the most annoying nose tickle and inevitably causes a sneeze. And let's be honest, frozen snot on your face doesn't make for good food presentation.

Appreciate your environment. Grilling when snow is falling and everyone else is huddled inside is something special and peaceful. Don't think of it as a chore, enjoy the solitude.
Now this we can agree on.

But all kidding aside, good post, Chris.
I almost exclusively do long cooks in cold weather. I'd rather throw a chicken on the egg and leave it for an hour, than have to make multiple trips out to tend food, flip burgers, apply sauce, etc. Chickens, butts, ribs, etc. No stir frying. If I'm doing chili or stew, I'll do the sauteeing parts on the stovetop, and then move it to the egg for the braise. But then again, we're talking sub zero temps here, not 30f

Before the first snowfall of the year, I roll the egg across the deck, and place it right outside the sliding door. That way I can just step out (or sometimes reach out). It's nearly impossible to roll the egg over the snow, so if you miss your opportunity, the egg will have to stay where it is until the thaw. I have a pair of slip-ons I use to keep from tracking snow into the house. If the snow is deep, I'll go out with boots first, and tamp the snow down so it's packed firm and won't get into my shoes.

When I'm using a probe thermometer, I stick it (magnet ont the back) to the leg of my nest, so I can monitor temps from inside. Those remote jobbies are nice too.

I too have a "smoking jacket" for those really cold nights.

I've only had my dome freeze shut once, and it took two lighter-squares to free it up. I haven't had that problem this winter, since I switched to gasket on the bottom only (naked on top). I don't know if it will freeze like that. But I HAVE had the problem a few times if I leave the DFMT on when the egg cools, instead of putting the ceramic cap on right away. If the DFMT cools and shrinks, it can get stuck on...but then again, I'm one of the lucky guys whose DFMT doesn't fit his dome vent, so maybe most people don't have that problem.

But you're right about that last one (as long as it isn't REALLY cold or windy). The peace and quiet while the snow is falling is perfect. As my two year old says, "let it no, let it no, let it no"

Our winter has been surprisingly mild in Chicago. No extended periods of extreme cold, and no huge snowfalls (yet). I think you all have gotten more snow than us. We've got about 3 inches on the ground right now (following a couple days at 50 degrees that wiped out the 6 inches we had built up).

found a pic on line of what im talking about :laugh:

Lol - as someone who has frozen his nose hairs, I know exactly from whence you speak.

i just went out to run the shovel over the paths and clean them up, especially near the egg. i wore the shoes that were near the door. dress shoes, with a tee shirt on (yes, and pants) :laugh:. it's still snowing, and blowing, but i figured i'd only be out there ten minutes

it's the heat and humidity i can't stand. we were in atlanta for the '96 olympics, and people were starting their car, letting it run until the A/C had cooled it down, and then they'd run from the house to the car.

cold ain't so bad when you think about it.

almost took another pic of my bare footprints going out to get the paper the other day, but i already posted that once before.

so i guess my tip for egging in the cold weather is to keep a pair of slip on shoes near the door, calfskin lined if possible. and remember to wear a tee shirt

Wow! That is fun knee! :laugh: :laugh:

pants are always optional

I told my wife that as I grabbed the paper in my boxers yesterday morning...she was like what about the neighbors....

Told her the only one out and up would be the neighbor Paul as he plows during the storms...and if he's looking I've got bigger problems...

Seriously can't handle the heat, sweat like crazy standing still, but used to work the freezers at a food distributor in a T-shirt and shorts back when I was in College.

I pre Heat the plate setter, drip pan and grate in oven while BGE is getting up to temp