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Diamond State Smoker
Guest
i've been trying to locate one of those bottle openers. nice mod.
Hello brethren!
Finished the UDS yesterday. Decided to name her "Black Magic." The wife seriously thinks I'm insane now.
On to my question. Getting the baby lit. I've seen a few different strategies. Assuming I'll need a 7-10 hour burn at 225 degrees, whats the best way to get it started, using how much charcoal (and wood chunks)? Has anyone created a basic guide?
I'm planning my first burn with 5lbs of charcoal and a few wood chunks, but I can't imagine I light an entire charcoal chimney to start it.
Thoughts?
-Bastid
Hey Chip,
Welcome from another Wisconsinite.
Most folk with a UDS use the Minion Method to light their charcoal. Fill your basket with charcoal nearly to the top, and add about 1/2 to a full chimney of lit charcoal on top. Catch your temps on the way up (20 to 30 degrees shy of your target) and close down some of your intakes. I'm a WSM guy, and don't have a UDS, but they operate on the same concept.
Welcome to the best clubhouse on the web!
Thanks Chip!Hey Bastid, here is the advice I got in my Cattle Call thread and it's what I'm going to try later this morning.
Formula One race is over and now it's time to start cooking for the football games.
Cheers.
I'm gonna finish my UDS this saturday and i wanted to make dinner on sunday with it. We have a Pork Shoulder Roast in the freezer i thought i'd use. Now i like to build things but honestly I don't know much about cooking a roast. I had some questions.
Can anyone tell me what temp to maintain and for roughly how long on this?
What should the internal temp read when its done?
Should i do some kind of rub on it saturday or earlier or whats a good way to prepare this?
Is this type of meat going to give me pulled pork or do we just slice it and eat it?
Can this be my seasoning smoke or do i have to do a dry run first with it?
Please help a newb out :nerd:
Thanks Meat Burner/Mush Creek,Bastid, I would agree with MushCreek. Maybe 8 - 10 lbs of charcoal and only a 12-15 lit placed in the middle of the unlit. Make SURE you catch the temps short on the way up like Harbormaster mentioned. Also, if you leave the lid off for any length of time, you will have a major temp spike that may take hours to get back down. Good luck bro and keep us posted!!
Edit: Bastid, I actually start my drums 55-60 minutes early to make sure the temps are stable. 200 degrees on the side thermometer should be around 225-235 at the center of the grate.
I do have a question, HOW THE HECK DO YOU GUYS GET ROUND CHARCOAL BASKETS? The smallest I could get mine was about 17 inches and it looks like crap. So I built a square one.
I do have a question, HOW THE HECK DO YOU GUYS GET ROUND CHARCOAL BASKETS? The smallest I could get mine was about 17 inches and it looks like crap. So I built a square one.
Well got my first meal off the UDS today. I used "Stubbs" charcoal and hickory chunks. What a difference using a good quality charcoal and wood chunks. I have been smoking on a Brinkman electric smoker for about 15 years. I never wanted to use anything else, until I stumble upon this UDS thread. Took me two weeks to make one and WOW. I AM LOVING IT. I will admit I have some learning to do and look forward to enjoying the Q that will come from burning more charcoals. (I have no patients when I adjust the intakes I want to see results right then. That just aint happening when smoking.)
I had a leap of faith in my ability to use the UDS and invited my bud and his wife over for smoked chicken. Well he had the faith. I cook the chicken for about 3 ½ hours and they came out great. I kept the spices simple, salt, pepper, and a little butter. I also tried my hand at ABT for the first time, I’ll be making a lot more of them. Made a few with bell peppers for my wife (she don’t like no hot stuff) and they were good as well.
I have pron but my card reader is messed up so that means another post at a later time.
Thanks for all the good ideas and reading material. I could not have been successful without it.
J
I do have a question, HOW THE HECK DO YOU GUYS GET ROUND CHARCOAL BASKETS? The smallest I could get mine was about 17 inches and it looks like crap. So I built a square one.
Hey all,
Another question for you.
The barrel I bought is a bit shorter (34" height) than most. Consequently I don't have as much usable space in the drum. I built my cooking level at 7 inches below the lip, but after I had the fire basket fabricated -- I realized that the difference between the bottom of the fire basket is only 22" from the cooking grate. It seems that the experts maintain I need a minimum of 24" separation. So, I'm two inches short (insert joke here). This is further exacerbated if I'm using 15 lbs of charcoal that are 4-5 inches of height in the basket.
Will the missing two inches cause significant adverse effect? I wouldn't think 22 inches would be so much different than 24.
Thoughts?
-Bastid