Ugly Drum Smoker

UDS - How do U remove the grease?

Darn guys my 65 year old eyes gave away on me after reading about 2/3's of the way through all of these posts so I am just going to ask a stupid question that I am sure has been asked many times before and answered as much.

How do you get the grease out of these smokers after a cook? I see a lot of vent holes with ball valves, pipe caps, and other covers for air intake at the bottom of the drums but I have not seen a grease drain and I would think the grease drain would have to be right at the bottom of the barrel to be effective. Sorry for the ignorance but I have got to learn, thanks for the help.

Paul
 
wheelterrapin said:
Darn guys my 65 year old eyes gave away on me after reading about 2/3's of the way through all of these posts so I am just going to ask a stupid question that I am sure has been asked many times before and answered as much.

How do you get the grease out of these smokers after a cook? I see a lot of vent holes with ball valves, pipe caps, and other covers for air intake at the bottom of the drums but I have not seen a grease drain and I would think the grease drain would have to be right at the bottom of the barrel to be effective. Sorry for the ignorance but I have got to learn, thanks for the help.

Paul
Click to expand...


From my short experience most of the dripping vaporize when they hit the coals. there is some that goes to the bottom and mixes with the ash to make sort of a sludge. I scrap on it and then shop vac it out. Others modify some sort of scoop and get it out that way and still others put a "false bottom" like a pizza ban on the bottom and lift it out. Im sure aluminum foil would work as well.
 
Thanks, I appreciate the response and information. This clears things up a bit for me. I am getting ready to build one and just wanted to be sure and have all angles covered.

Paul


hath said:
From my short experience most of the dripping vaporize when they hit the coals. there is some that goes to the bottom and mixes with the ash to make sort of a sludge. I scrap on it and then shop vac it out. Others modify some sort of scoop and get it out that way and still others put a "false bottom" like a pizza ban on the bottom and lift it out. Im sure aluminum foil would work as well.
Click to expand...
 
wheelterrapin said:
Darn guys my 65 year old eyes gave away on me after reading about 2/3's of the way through all of these posts so I am just going to ask a stupid question that I am sure has been asked many times before and answered as much.

How do you get the grease out of these smokers after a cook? I see a lot of vent holes with ball valves, pipe caps, and other covers for air intake at the bottom of the drums but I have not seen a grease drain and I would think the grease drain would have to be right at the bottom of the barrel to be effective. Sorry for the ignorance but I have got to learn, thanks for the help.

Paul
Click to expand...

Garden hoe...:cool:
 
wheelterrapin said:
Darn guys my 65 year old eyes gave away on me after reading about 2/3's of the way through all of these posts so I am just going to ask a stupid question that I am sure has been asked many times before and answered as much.

How do you get the grease out of these smokers after a cook? I see a lot of vent holes with ball valves, pipe caps, and other covers for air intake at the bottom of the drums but I have not seen a grease drain and I would think the grease drain would have to be right at the bottom of the barrel to be effective. Sorry for the ignorance but I have got to learn, thanks for the help.

Paul
Click to expand...
Some things in life you just don't have to worry about. I remove my ashes every 60 to70lbs worth of lump and I never find any standing grease even though I do a lot of fat side down butts. No grease drain needed. Of course I don't have an ashpan either and I'm sure that fat that drips outside of the pan would cause a mess.
 
ok ive been reading and reading this and cant exactly find what im looking for, i know its in here somewhere but if someone can help id appreciate it!!! Im in process of making a uds with the ball valve and 3 nipple and caps. My lid is the eight hole design. I was wondering what is the best coal and wood combo and how much of each to hold to get the longest use out of... lets say i was going to smoke some brisket, how much would i use and at what temp would be best. Thanks everyone and i appreciate any help.. Ive been reading on this website for about a week and i just love how everyone is so willing to help others out
 
Just load up the basket with whatever it will hold. You can reuse on next cook. Add four or five chunks mixed in the basket and smoke on
 
second grate cooking

Howdy folks.

Have been thinking of adding a second grate to my UDS, but can't decide on a height for it.

The charcoal basket is 5-6" off the bottom of the drum, and is about 8" deep. The top grate is just about 24" from the bottom grate of the basket.

I'm intereste in cooking beans in the UDS - want all that good smoked drippings flavor from putting the beans under the meat on the top grate. If I plan to cook in a stockpot kind of utensil I will probably end up with a second grate that will be too close to the fire. Alternative is to use a foil pan for the beans (bought plenty at Costco) so that the second grate only has to be 4-5" or so below the second grate.

The second grate would then be about 20" from the bottom of the basket. Is that too close to cook some ribs or chops on there when I need the space? Would I end up spending alot of time flipping grates and such and then going crazy chasing temps?:eusa_clap
 
caliking said:
Howdy folks.

Have been thinking of adding a second grate to my UDS, but can't decide on a height for it.

The charcoal basket is 5-6" off the bottom of the drum, and is about 8" deep. The top grate is just about 24" from the bottom grate of the basket.

I'm intereste in cooking beans in the UDS - want all that good smoked drippings flavor from putting the beans under the meat on the top grate. If I plan to cook in a stockpot kind of utensil I will probably end up with a second grate that will be too close to the fire. Alternative is to use a foil pan for the beans (bought plenty at Costco) so that the second grate only has to be 4-5" or so below the second grate.

The second grate would then be about 20" from the bottom of the basket. Is that too close to cook some ribs or chops on there when I need the space? Would I end up spending alot of time flipping grates and such and then going crazy chasing temps?:eusa_clap
Click to expand...

I think that 20" height would work. The only thing I would worry about is that the heat get hot enough to start burning the beans. To avoid this, you would need to remove the top rack and stir the beans often, this would then lead to that problem of going crazy chasing temps. Maybe a diffuser under the second grate would help deflect the heat. I even thaought about some kind of cross bar strong enough to hang a DO from but even then, I would worry about scorching and burning and either way it makes being able to stir em a pain.
 
BobBrisket said:
I think that 20" height would work. The only thing I would worry about is that the heat get hot enough to start burning the beans. To avoid this, you would need to remove the top rack and stir the beans often, this would then lead to that problem of going crazy chasing temps. Maybe a diffuser under the second grate would help deflect the heat. I even thaought about some kind of cross bar strong enough to hang a DO from but even then, I would worry about scorching and burning and either way it makes being able to stir em a pain.
Click to expand...

Never thought about possibly burning the beans. I guess a cheap pizza pan on the charcoal basket might work as a diffuser.

If I place the beans off to the side and position my hinged weber top grate appropriately, I might be able to sneak in a quick stir without causing too much commotion.

Would a pizza pan diffuser change the cooking time for ribs significantly or would 3-2-1 still hold?
 
caliking said:
Never thought about possibly burning the beans. I guess a cheap pizza pan on the charcoal basket might work as a diffuser.

If I place the beans off to the side and position my hinged weber top grate appropriately, I might be able to sneak in a quick stir without causing too much commotion.

Would a pizza pan diffuser change the cooking time for ribs significantly or would 3-2-1 still hold?
Click to expand...

I have only been playing with the diffuser idea for the new drum that I'm almost finished building. I haven't actually use done yet, but want to give one a try. Hinged grate idea should work perfectly. It will allow you to stir em good enough. The only thing I've heard about using a diffuser is that you will use up a bit more fuel than normal, but times and temps stay the same pretty much, you may just need to crack the intakes open a bit more to get the temps where you want em.
 
I'm having trouble with temps on the UDS. It will cruise along between 225-250 and then all of a sudden it wants to go crazy and spike. Then it will go down to 200 and ride a bit there and then go back to normal. What's going on with this thing? Also, my fire died out after ant 14 hrs this past smoke. Basket was full of coals when I dumped chimney on it. Any suggestions?
 
MariettaSmoker said:
I'm having trouble with temps on the UDS. It will cruise along between 225-250 and then all of a sudden it wants to go crazy and spike. Then it will go down to 200 and ride a bit there and then go back to normal. What's going on with this thing? Also, my fire died out after ant 14 hrs this past smoke. Basket was full of coals when I dumped chimney on it. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...


Did you bump the drum to shake some ash loose? The ash may have been choking the fire. I bought some sort of lawn sprinkler adjusting rod from HD for $2... slim enough to slide in throught the intake and wiggle the basket. Or just stick anything through the intake and shake the basket a bit.
 
MariettaSmoker said:
I'm having trouble with temps on the UDS. It will cruise along between 225-250 and then all of a sudden it wants to go crazy and spike. Then it will go down to 200 and ride a bit there and then go back to normal. What's going on with this thing? Also, my fire died out after ant 14 hrs this past smoke. Basket was full of coals when I dumped chimney on it. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Are you burning lump or briquettes? I have found I make far more ash with briquettes and they require de-ashing.

I can get 20 hours on one 10lb bag of Royal Oak no problem.

For the spikes and drops get the UDS at the temp you want then just watch it, don't open it or adjust anything, let it even out and see if it stays at temp. After 30 minutes at a temp you can make adjustments. My problem was fiddling with the intake to much and not just letting it do it's thing.
 
The new intake JD is messing with, is there a need for air flow on the opposite side of the barrel, or is the slider intake adequate by itself ? Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
pigdog said:
The new intake JD is messing with, is there a need for air flow on the opposite side of the barrel, or is the slider intake adequate by itself ? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I am using the Big Green Egg draft vent on one side only. I have only done two cooks on it so far, but so far, so good. The burned coals were very even.
 
pigdog said:
The new intake JD is messing with, is there a need for air flow on the opposite side of the barrel, or is the slider intake adequate by itself ? Any ideas would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Probably only need the one. When I cook only one intake is open on my UDS. I think having more would be nice if you wanted to get it hotter than say 300 or so, then I have to open a second intake.
 
I've never seen an egg up close, is the air intake similar to jd's?
 
AJP said:
Are you burning lump or briquettes? I have found I make far more ash with briquettes and they require de-ashing.

I can get 20 hours on one 10lb bag of Royal Oak no problem.

For the spikes and drops get the UDS at the temp you want then just watch it, don't open it or adjust anything, let it even out and see if it stays at temp. After 30 minutes at a temp you can make adjustments. My problem was fiddling with the intake to much and not just letting it do it's thing.
Click to expand...

I'm actually burning briquettes. So it would better to use lump? Is lump more or less expensive? And of I get lump can you recommend one for me? Never used it before and don't know the INS and outs of it.
 
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