The Bullet Smoker Braves the Winter Chill

There's nothing like stepping into a Brisk morning air and catching the aroma of a Hickory Smoked Pork Butt.

This was my first over night cook in freezing weather. Temps were in the teens through the night. I put Mr. Pork Butt on at 7 p.m with a full ring of "K" using the minion method (20 Briquettes lit). In a short time it was obvious the Bullet was going to need more O2 than normal. With all 3 bottom vents open about 25%, temps were steady at 235 until I went to bed at 11 p.m. By 6 a.m, the smoker was loafing along at 190 with very little fuel to spare. Mr. Pork Butt was at 158.

I added the remainder of a 20LB bag (partially lit) to the mix, but by 10:30 a.m with the vents fully open, temps were dropping again! So, Charcoal bag #2 comes open and in goes another 3/4 chimney lit! Now, there's plenty of lit, but vents had to be fully open to drive and hold temps at about 238. This last bit of fuel was enough to get this 7LB Pork Butt up to 190 by 1230 p.m

A 17.5 hour smoke. I should have gotten my Butt out of bed around 3:00 a.m to check on the smoker.