Ugly Drum Smoker

I have three 3/4" exhaust holes. Never had the need for more exhaust holes.

Have three 3/4" intakes and normally only need two open when cooking.



Have a 9 lb butt on it now. Started at 4:30 this morning. The UDS temp hasn't moved but 5 to 10 degrees all day. Amazing how well they hold a temp.
 
DMP said:
I have three 3/4" exhaust holes. Never had the need for more exhaust holes.

Have three 3/4" intakes and normally only need two open when cooking.



Have a 9 lb butt on it now. Started at 4:30 this morning. The UDS temp hasn't moved but 5 to 10 degrees all day. Amazing how well they hold a temp.
Click to expand...


I am truly amazed at the flavor and the speed of the Q that comes off the UDS...It is my and my wife's favorite smoker over our others Pellet and Propane and charcoal. :thumb:
 
Is anyone grilling on their UDS? I've read a couple of places about it, but haven't seen any photos. I just built a new fire basket and I started thinking about how I could grill on my UDS. I set the fire basket on the bottom grate and set the top grate on top of the fire basket. I can't put the lid on at this height, but it looks like I'll just have to add some bolts so I can lower my bottom grate as needed. Or get a cheap kettle lid if I can find one.

Another thought I had is that I can flip my fire basket over and get the coals very close to the grate if needed. The fire grate sits about 4.5" from the bottom of the basket right now.

image.jpg
 
1st uds

Picked up a food grade 55 gal drum that had blackberry puree in it for my 1st uds. Burned it out, used a grinder with a wire brush, high temp primer, high temp semi gloss black. Went with 4 3/4" nipples and 1 ball valve. Made a thermo port out of threaded lamp rod. Garage door handles. Weber charcoal grate with expanded metal and pizza tray attached for ashes. Went with 2 cooking grates 4.5" and 11" from the top. A diffuser will go on the 3rd weber rack above the charcoal basket and will use a pizza pan or pizza stone. Picked up 3 weber kettle exhaust dampers for the lid. I over burned the lid a little and it warped a little. Anyway to fix it?





 
I have sat my charcoal basket on my second rack down for grilling before. My basket is just short enough that I can fit my top grate back in place the way it is supposed to be. It works great.

Now that I have my Big Poppa Smoker Drum, if I know I am going to be doing some reverse searing or grilling at all I will go ahead and use it instead of my other UDS.
 
rtg said:
I am truly amazed at the flavor and the speed of the Q that comes off the UDS...It is my and my wife's favorite smoker over our others Pellet and Propane and charcoal. :thumb:
Click to expand...

It's the smoker that the other smoker manufacturers hope you never learn about.
 
elkhorn98, you might get lucky and beat it back in shape with a rubber mallet. Or get it pretty hot again and lay it on top of the drum to cool.
 
You can use a large pizza pan. We use a 17"/43cm one and it works fine. Surely you can get them that size there.

Matt
 
Kakhuis said:
I have a narrow basket (diametor 37 cm). It is really hard finding anything wider here in Italy. My problem is the fat dripings. Driping on the basket is fine, but when the grill is full it drips on the outter edges. After a few cooks there is quite a bit of liquit at the bottem.
Any Ideas ?
Thanks
Click to expand...
I use the ashes left over from the cook to absorb any grease drippings. Might work for you. Pretty hard to get a good photo down at the bottom of the barrel.


 
Kakhuis said:
Hi. That is what I am currently doing. But after a few cooks it gets mess and thick down there. Maybe I should not be so lazy and clean it say after 2-3 cooks
Click to expand...

Yeah I found if I let it go for 2-3 cooks, I have to scrape it to get it loose. For me, I now always clean after each cook or before setting up for the next one. Much easier on me in the long run.
 
One has to appreciate the subtle irony of an Italian not being able to score a large pizza pan in his home country.

Kakhuis, I wish you luck. Can you find a big sheet of metal that you can just snip in to size?
 
Something else you could do/try, use a cheap aluminum drip pan under your food on your second shelf. Cover the aluminum pan with foil to make easy clean up. I do that a lot depending on what I'm smoking. The drippings make fantastic gravy base.
 
Kakhuis said:
Funny is it not. Pizza bought in the super market and then made at home is frown apon here. :crazy:
Was thinking of that, but then problem is that my basket is a bit narrow and the fat drips just out side that and will "puddle" on the sheet and then when I lift it to take it out, it will lean to one side and then the fat will spill down to the bottem anyway. Maybe if I just sprinkle ass untill it absorbs it then try and lift the metal out ??
Click to expand...

Is there enough room on the your sheet to add a couple of handles for easier lifting?

If not, you could do what bv suggested and make a ash catcher the size you need out of sheet metal (not galvanized) and put some handles on that.

Matt
 
Looking for ideas on meat to smoke for two people, fiancée doesn't eat pork or anything off the bone. I did a small 4 lb brisket awhile back and it wasn't bad. Want more options. I'm using an uds.
 
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