Mason Dixon Bowhunta
is one Smokin' Farker
After reading thousands of posts about building and cooking with a UDS, I decided to try to build one myself over the holidays. I salvaged the cooking grate, charcoal grate and lid off of a 22.5 Weber that I found on Craigslist and I bought a 55 gallon drum from a local salvage yard for $10. I followed the directions on the How a Redneck Would Build a UDS thread and was surprised at how easy the thing was to build. I decided to break it in today since the weather was fairly mild here in MD. I spent about an hour or so messing around with the vents and getting used to raising and lowering the temperature. Here is a photo of my new UDS. The Weber lid fit the top perfectly:
I found some chicken wings and boneless chicken thighs in the freezer and decided they would an easy cook for my first UDS bbq. First step was to marinate them for a few hours and then rub them with some homemade rub:
After that it was onto the smoker at 230* for about 2 1/2 hours. I smoked them using cherry wood (my favorite for pork and chicken). The smell coming from the drum while they cooked was unbelievable. The hardest part was not lifting up the lid to peek while they smoked.
The UDS held the temperature like a champ and really didn't need any attention once I got it to the temp I wanted. The last step was to raise the temp to crisp up the skin on the wings:
The thighs came out perfect! After using the UDS I now understand the rational for not using indirect heat as the juices that drip off the meat help to create steam and keep everything moist. Here are the finished thighs:
The wings were good but could have used a little more time at high heat as the skin was still a little rubbery.
The family rated the meat as an 11 out of 10. Not bad for the fist time. Can't wait to cook some ribs on it!
I found some chicken wings and boneless chicken thighs in the freezer and decided they would an easy cook for my first UDS bbq. First step was to marinate them for a few hours and then rub them with some homemade rub:
After that it was onto the smoker at 230* for about 2 1/2 hours. I smoked them using cherry wood (my favorite for pork and chicken). The smell coming from the drum while they cooked was unbelievable. The hardest part was not lifting up the lid to peek while they smoked.
The UDS held the temperature like a champ and really didn't need any attention once I got it to the temp I wanted. The last step was to raise the temp to crisp up the skin on the wings:
The thighs came out perfect! After using the UDS I now understand the rational for not using indirect heat as the juices that drip off the meat help to create steam and keep everything moist. Here are the finished thighs:
The wings were good but could have used a little more time at high heat as the skin was still a little rubbery.
The family rated the meat as an 11 out of 10. Not bad for the fist time. Can't wait to cook some ribs on it!
