Question: Is A WSM Without Water Pan a UDS?

[K-Barbecue]

I have a dumb question. I'm familiar with the WSM as I own one but I've never seen a UDS up close. Correct me if I'm wrong but does a UDS just have a fire on the bottom with the grill on the top without a water pan like the WSM? Therefore, would operating a WSM without a water pan make it act like a UDS? :confused:

[QansasjayhawQ]

I have a dumb question. I'm familiar with the WSM as I own one but I've never seen a UDS up close. Correct me if I'm wrong but does a UDS just have a fire on the bottom with the grill on the top without a water pan like the WSM? Therefore, would operating a WSM without a water pan make it act like a UDS? :confused:
I don't think it's a dumb question - I have had the same thoughts since I got my large WSM.
I believe the large WSM must be incredibly similar to a UDS, although I've never used a UDS - back at Christmas when I got my WSM, I thought about announcing it as the BDS - Beautiful Drum Smoker.

The biggest three differences I see are in the design of the bottom, the side access door and the water pan.

While the typical UDS design is flat on the bottom, the WSM is rounded like a musical steel drum. I'm not sure if this really provides any advantages.

If I built my own UDS I would be tempted to put an access door in the side, just like the WSM.

And removing the water pan should cause the WSM to cook a lot more like a UDS.

But other than the cash outlay, those three are about it

Good question.

[K-Barbecue]

I'm guessing then that using the WSM without a water pan (like a USD) would creat a different flavor because in addition to the smoke you'd be getting a "grilling" flavor effect because the meat drippings would be burning up in the coals like a regular charcoal grill does.

[bigabyte]

You wouldn't be able to use the lower rack, and frankly, the upper rack might be a bit low too but I don't see any reason it can't work.

[Boshizzle]

I alwasy thought the UDS was a home made WSM. When you look at the cost of a 22'5" WSM and compare it to the cost of the typical UDS, I think the UDS is a better deal, personally.

[SirPorkaLot]

Yes
Same basic cooking principles at work.

[jgh1204]

Mister had a drum smoker built with a door. Says it was a waste of time. You dont need it.

I would agree, a WSM without a water pan, is basically a UDS.

[Rich Parker]

The only thing I have ever done with the access door on my WSM is remove it for high heat cooks. It causes more problems with air leaks than it is worth.

[BBQchef33]

SAme basic principle... so i vote yes, especially the 22 inch WSM coooking on the top shelf.

[Moose]

So then the reverse would also be true - if you added an additional grate for a water pan on a UDS, you'd basically have a WSM, yes?

[whodeyQ]

I've got my UDS set up with a rack above the fire pit just so I can set a water /drip pan on. It gets too hot otherwise. It has much more capacity than my 18.5 WSM, I did 6 butts recently with no problems and the temps stay up longer. I find myself using my UDS far more than the WSM.

[swamprb]

I would say that if you used a WSM, Cajun Bandit, or even a ElCheapoBrinkmann without the waterpan, you would have the effects as a UDS.

Not that this is the definitive answer to your question-but read the description from the Big Drum Smoker homepage. http://www.bigdrumsmokers.com/

Personally, I love the drum and the flavors I get from the meats I cook on them. I've got four of them, 15, 55 x 2 , and an 85 gallon UDS's. Also have a 22" , three 18" WSM's and a Cajun Bandit kettle conversion.

I've used the big bullet and Cajun Bandit direct without the waterpan to cook chicken on the grate and with Rib-O-Lators and rotisserie baskets as well as on the UDS and felt the results were comparable, but for some reason enjoyed the drum cooked more.

Some people don't like the drum taste and add a waterpan or claypot base and make their drums an indirect cooker like a WSM and are fine with it-I know JD doesn't care for the taste, and I have eaten Chicken and Ribs he has cooked on on his drum that are every bit as good as what he cooks on his bullets!

We basically stopped using the drums in competition, because we started scoring higher cooking indirect. Negative comment cards from some judges kind of sealed their fate-and a few seasoned comp cooks around here asked me why we stopped using them and I told them why, and they told me that was the same reason they went back to using the pans in their WSM's!

Go figure?

[QansasjayhawQ]

. . . a few seasoned comp cooks around here asked me why we stopped using them and I told them why, and they told me that was the same reason they went back to using the pans in their WSM's!
I think that I can tell a big difference in taste when the 'drippings' fall directly into the fire versus the 'drippings' falling onto the (foil lined) pan.
The pan flavors are less bitter than the fire flavors - and the pan flavors taste a lot better than my offset where the 'drippings' don't get to the fire at all.

[swamprb]

I think that I can tell a big difference in taste when the 'drippings' fall directly into the fire versus the 'drippings' falling onto the (foil lined) pan.
The pan flavors are less bitter than the fire flavors - and the pan flavors taste a lot better than my offset where the 'drippings' don't get to the fire at all.

They use water in their WSM pans, but were referring to cooking chicken direct without the pan, vs indirect with a pan at a higher temp.

[FretBender]

I do, at times, use a pan in my uds with a variety of liquids depending on the cook, The UDS seems to have longer cooking times and keeps a temp with less fluctuations. If the same fuel were used in a WSM and a UDS at the same temps I don't think the resulting food would have too much difference in taste. WSM looks prettier and can easily be adapted for fan systems, never saw those being used on a UDS. I've heard negative comments about people using UDS's for comps only because they find them "crude" and "cheap", but that doesn't mean they can't cook well.

[K-Barbecue]

I've tried cooking chicken with my WSM with no pan and you get a different (but good) flavor. Seems to add another level of flavor kind of smoked and grilled at the same time.

[swamprb]

OK- so, I've Rib-O-Lator'd chicken on my Cajun Bandit and WSM and been in a couple situations where my timing was off and I had to get the meat cooked faster, and removed the pan to finish them direct- and yes you do get another layer of flavor. And if you want some killer Zebra skin grill marks on those chicken pieces it'll do that too.