Ugly Drum Smoker

[lowmanonladder]

no door and 18 pounds of charcoal went 21 hours at 250

[DaQueensQ]

I tried to do a pork butt last night with my new UDS...... I started it at midnight and walked away from it with the temp reading 225*and set an alarm for 3:am so I could wake up and check it real quick. To my surprise at 3AM the temp was over 400* and the meat was already at 202* internal....... I had one 3/4" pipe and the 3/4 ball valve open.... And I have a nice tight seal on my lid which has eight 3/4" holes... Any idea why it took off like that and burned the pork?

[DaQueensQ]

Looking back at Norcoredneck's build instructions from 2006, (thanks for that amazing tutorial by the way Norcoredneck!!) it seems that I should have used 1/2" exhausts on the top..... A little math tells me that a 1/2" hole has an area of .196" Sq, and a 3/4" hole has an area of .422" Sq....... I have to believe that makes quite a difference, as it's more than double the spec'd amount.... I guess I can cover up half of them and try again..
Another question about the use of the charcoal briquettes... I have cooked twice on my UDs so far bot times using Kingsford. Both times I got this acrid bitter taste which I would guess is the creosote I've rad about here so many times. Does anyone know if that bad taste happens with too much heat? I'm thinking that lump charcoal might not have the same problem...... Thanks in advance.

[jgh1204]

I always let my UDS settle in for at least an hour before I walk off and leave it for any length of time.

I use a Weber kettle lid and that only has 4 holes and that provides plenty of draft.

I use kingsford almost exlusively with about 2 cups of wood chips scattered throughout the charcoal.

[jgh1204]

I remember when this thread was approaching 1000 posts. I thought that was incredible then but now as it approaches 10K, it is just amazing the information and fellowship through out the thread. I have not read the whole thing in a quite awhile.

[jgh1204]

DaQueen, that green paint reminds me of UDS#1. It lasted 5 years which is not bad for a free 55 gallon drum. I saved all the hardware from it and it is on UDS#2.

[jgh1204]

Just trying to think about all the cooks I have done on my UDS since the beginning. I think my favorites have been the shoulder clods I did last year. It is about as close to true Texas pit bbq you can get without the bricks.

[jgh1204]

It is also great to see how Mista has progressed over these years. I remember him sweating out some finance certification for his new job. He left that behind and now needs more help in his BBQ business. I would have to say it was Mista who inspired me to build my first drum smoker.

[jgh1204]

Originally Posted by jgh1204

ADMIN NOTE:

This is the mother of all UDS threads. All information you will need to build a UDS is in this thread. use this, and a search of the forum for UDS and you will find a wealth of information.

**************************

I recently scored a free food grade 55 gallon drum. I bought a weber replacement grill and some misc. hardware. I need to go buy a handle and some hardware to make an access door.

Any advice on air flow hole placement. Size of hole? I was thinkin about getting some roofing caps to use as closures for the holes in the lid.

With my minimal metal working skills, this is not going to be pretty, but hopefully it will be effective.

And this is how it all started. I think I explained at one time the name Ugly Drum Smoker. It was a take off on the Big Drum Smokers that were/maybe still are being made back then. When I tell friends and family about this thread they all say I should patent/trade mark the name. Way too late for that and if anything, the name belongs to the brethren for without them, there never would have been a UDS built in the first place.

[jgh1204]

Cannot say enough about Phil and this great site. The BBQ Brethren has grown so much over the years. Members drift in and out, I know I have but it is always a place to come back and share some great experiences.

[sparky66]

Fark, I thought I would be 10k. this thread is crazy long. I had to stop reading for a while at page 125.

[SmokinAussie]

^^^ Missed it by THAT MUCH!...


That is farken EPIC!

10,000!!!!!!

WOW!

Cheers!

Bill

[jgh1204]

You were the 10000th reply

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

[elyhill]

Awesome thread, they work wonderfully. Some ribs I did a few days ago.

[SkinnyVinny]

WOW 10k posts woot!

I unfortuantely haven't had a chance to use my drum in over a year, which is why I'm back here!

going to have some friends over for some ribs, but was wondering what ppl's thoughts on in regards to cleaning your drum? Besides the grill and ashes, do you wash it out? I was thinking of using some degreaser, wash, and then season it with pam. Is that overkill?