Smoking in the snow

[MrJaba]

So even with the horrible weather, I had to test out some new things I had read about so here is my 3rd attempt at a BBQ chicken.. spatchcocked with my new meat shears (had to remove the spine!), brined for 24 hours, refrigerated uncovered for 12 hours and then cooked for about 2 hours at around 280f.. really needed to be 300+ but it was *damn* cold!

Warming up!


Result!



Skin not as crispy as I'd like, but not bad considering I couldnt get the bbq to the right temperature. Shoulda added more fuel to start with... still learning

Anyone else do some cooking in the snow?

[Eddie]

There nothing more pleasing then cooking BBQ in the winter. salivating as I type. Looking good fela

Eddie

[keith157]

Try weighting the chicken down with a foil covered brick to crisp up the skin....

[MrJaba]

With the skin side down I assume? Sounds like an interesting plan! Will give it a go

[aris]

The brick doesn't really affect the skin - it just makes the chicken a more uniform thickness all around ensuring a more even cook.

[keith157]

The brick doesn't really affect the skin - it just makes the chicken a more uniform thickness all around ensuring a more even cook.

It ensures more of a spatchcocked chicken touches the grid and evens up the crispness of the skin. It's a well established technique going back decades, possibly even longer "chicken al mattone " from Italy for example.

[Riverrat]

To get the skin crispy you will need higher temps, I cook spatchcocked chicken every week and cook it indirect on the OTS with a temp at the top of the dome of 400f (grate temp would be a little lower but have no idea how much?) A six pound bird will be done within an hour and a half (usually!!) and nice crispy skin. Did you remove the breast bone? I always do as it helps everything sit at the same level on the grill.

PS. Skin side up!!!

[robgunby]

I love to cook in the snow. I think there's something really rewarding about winter barbecue. In fact, other than the pain in the backside of cooking by lantern, I think I prefer it on the whole to summer barbecue!

I used to use an old dressing gown wrapped around my ECB to keep it warm on *really* cold (-8) nights, but one night I dozed off, the gown slipped down a little until part was touching the floor, and a spark from the fire landed on it - whoosh. One destroyed gown and nasty plastic fibres melted onto the outside of my smoker.

Nowadays I just use a hotter fire (no minion method on cold nights, just a full bowl of lit coals) that i restoke more regularly, perhaps every three hours or so.