Time to get a smoker...

[Great-Kazoo]

With the spring like weather but still snowing off and on today, I fired up the smoker to do a pork tenderloin and a beef Pikes Peak roast. It's Mrs. Hummers birthday. I'm still an amateur at this but they came out wonderful.

Pic at the beginning. Smoked for 30 minutes on top rack with apple chunks, then on the grill for a little longer.

Accompanied with a nice Palisade Cabernet Franc.


Attachment 81122

Nice. I see pictures like this .
Then read a thread on some cooking forum, the so often asked. How cold does it have to be before you don't use the smoker?
Of course someone from the great white north or Ak says Never. With a picture of a path shoveled out to the grill..

[Aloha_Shooter]

Just found out yesterday via Nextdoor that Colorado Springs declared a burn ban effective 17 Apr 2020, 1200 MDT. Yeah, lovely to find out 5 days after they passed the ban and just before I was about to light the smoker. I understand the reasons for the ban (I think it's a little bit of an overreaction but I also understand not wanting to have FD resources stretched further by unnecessary fires) -- this may stretch PD resources in going to check out reports of people violated the burn ban but ... bottom line, I still want to cook the racks of ribs I've had rubbed down for the last couple days. May have to do them in regular oven and then finish on the gas grill for now ...

[00tec]

Just found out yesterday via Nextdoor that Colorado Springs declared a burn ban effective 17 Apr 2020, 1200 MDT. Yeah, lovely to find out 5 days after they passed the ban and just before I was about to light the smoker. I understand the reasons for the ban (I think it's a little bit of an overreaction but I also understand not wanting to have FD resources stretched further by unnecessary fires) -- this may stretch PD resources in going to check out reports of people violated the burn ban but ... bottom line, I still want to cook the racks of ribs I've had rubbed down for the last couple days. May have to do them in regular oven and then finish on the gas grill for now ...

I dont believe that ban restricts outdoor cooking.

[Hummer]

Nice. I see pictures like this .
Then read a thread on some cooking forum, the so often asked. How cold does it have to be before you don't use the smoker?
Of course someone from the great white north or Ak says Never. With a picture of a path shoveled out to the grill..

I should have posted in the other smoker thread, but....yesterday the temperature was around 50F with fairly calm wind, so the smoker didn't have a problem building and maintaining high temps. I used the smoker only a few times this winter because with temps ~20F and below, it was sometimes difficult to keep 200-250F with winter winds even with it covered with a welding blanket.

I bought a large welding blanket from Harbor Freight for $30 which made a heavy double layer around the Smokey Mountain Smoker. The blanket isn't ideal because it's doesn't hang easily over the tall bullet smoker, and still maintain open access to the feed door and the top and bottom vents. I may need to do some creative modification. Now wish I'd bought a dedicated heat blanket for it.

[Great-Kazoo]

Just found out yesterday via Nextdoor that Colorado Springs declared a burn ban effective 17 Apr 2020, 1200 MDT. Yeah, lovely to find out 5 days after they passed the ban and just before I was about to light the smoker. I understand the reasons for the ban (I think it's a little bit of an overreaction but I also understand not wanting to have FD resources stretched further by unnecessary fires) -- this may stretch PD resources in going to check out reports of people violated the burn ban but ... bottom line, I still want to cook the racks of ribs I've had rubbed down for the last couple days. May have to do them in regular oven and then finish on the gas grill for now ...

smoker & grill on your property / in the city does not fall under that ban That's for open fires / ditch weed control .

[Gman]

Yeah, smoker is self-contained fire.

[ANADRILL]

Get a used green egg off of craigslist with a custom built bench.

[Gman]

Get a used green egg off of craigslist with a custom built bench.

Depends on how much fire tending you want to do.

[wyome]

Not much tending on BGEs....
Who was it that had bought pellets by the pellet, and had a few for sale here last year? I'm running low on pellets again....

[Aloha_Shooter]

I should have come on to update the post but I verified with CSFD that the smoker was okay (I knew it was safe but the wording of the burn ban said "No" to "Recreational Fires" which is what outdoor cooking using something other than propane falls under. Specifically, they said

You are okay with a smoker, grill, or even a fire in a container fire container or outdoor fireplace (with a screen/spark arrestor if burning wood). The link bellows has a guide that provides a bit more info.

https://coloradosprings.gov/sites/de...041620_web.pdf

We appreciate you checking and enjoy dinner!

The original link from COS on Nextdoor that I looked at seemed to have an overbroad definition of "recreational fire" which did not explicitly exclude grills or smokers. It may have been a retired page but it was what led me to send them an inquiry and post here. The PDF linked is pretty explicit as is the page at https://coloradosprings.gov/fire-dep...ing-guidelines.

I put the ribs on the smoker the same night: