Breaking in the UDS - Lot's O' Pron

Mason Dixon Bowhunta · 01-05-2013, 04:54 PM

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!

Pitmaster T · 01-05-2013, 04:55 PM

GREAT JOB.. Hold on to your patents. I am finishing mine myself!

smokemaster1 · 01-05-2013, 05:07 PM

Perfection! That's a cooking machine!

Johnny_Crunch · 01-05-2013, 05:10 PM

Nice pr0n!

smokeyokie · 01-05-2013, 05:31 PM

I dont know about all the patents Pitmaster T is talking about

. But the UDS is an awesome rig!!! I love mine! I used to have abig stickburner and I am not so sure I wouldnt put my UDS up against it?

Pitmaster T · 01-05-2013, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smokeyokie

I dont know about all the patents Pitmaster T is talking about

. But the UDS is an awesome rig!!! I love mine! I used to have abig stickburner and I am not so sure I wouldnt put my UDS up against it?

I am willing to bet you are right. I have two other stick burners, The Brazos and the Meat Mama 3000 - both quite famous and large..... but this UDS I am building my give me back my desire to cook for myself. Its a hassle cooking 70 or so briskets at once. I need to have a good piece like the UDS to experiments some more.... or just burn some meat at a low cost. The efficency and the long burn w/o the hassle.

smokeyokie · 01-05-2013, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitmaster T

I am willing to bet you are right. I have two other stick burners, The Brazos and the Meat Mama 3000 - both quite famous and large..... but this UDS I am building my give me back my desire to cook for myself. Its a hassle cooking 70 or so briskets at once. I need to have a good piece like the UDS to experiments some more.... or just burn some meat at a low cost. The efficency and the long burn w/o the hassle.

I have seen on here your mammoth cookers! they are awesome!!! I had a large RF stick burner and decided that cooking for 100+ people was more than I was ready to totally commit too( got a 16 yo and an 11 yo), so I committed the cardinal BBQ sin and sold it. I built myself a UDS and have been totally surprised at the ease of use and the quality of food produced on it. I am in the process of building an isulated cabinet smoker under the same principle of a UDS, for larger cooks...

1911Ron · 01-05-2013, 06:02 PM

Outstanding, looks good from here!

Teamfour · 01-05-2013, 06:10 PM

Nice job!

Bludawg · 01-05-2013, 06:29 PM

My UDS is my Goto Butt Burner, best 60 buc investment I ever made!

Mason Dixon Bowhunta · 01-05-2013, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bludawg

My UDS is my Goto Butt Burner, best 60 buc investment I ever made!

True that! Considering that over half of my cost was the thermostat, not a bad investment.

davefan360 · 01-05-2013, 07:32 PM

Looks nice to me. You will love your new uds. Enjoy it will cook nice in the snow too. Try wrapping it in a wellding blanket too keep it warm.

bluetang · 01-05-2013, 07:41 PM

Kick arse chicken there!

t_ron99 · 01-05-2013, 09:38 PM

Looks good. I should build me one of those.

BobM · 01-05-2013, 09:42 PM

That is one fine looking cook, great job!

Bob

01-05-2013, 04:54 PM	#1
Mason Dixon Bowhunta Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 12-24-12 Location: Up a tree somewhere in MD Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Breaking in the UDS - Lot's O' Pron 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! __________________ Romans 8:28

01-05-2013, 04:55 PM	#2
Pitmaster T is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 04-03-11 Location: Dickinson, Texas Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	GREAT JOB.. Hold on to your patents. I am finishing mine myself! __________________ The Greatest & Funkiest Movie about BBQ Ever! Or Click The Edict. PITCOOKER T - TRUTH ABOUT THE PBC "The Pitmaster T Video Page is Great" Adam Perry Lang -- 10-15-2011 Pitmaster T on Facebook

01-05-2013, 05:07 PM	#3
smokemaster1 Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 10-11-09 Location: Germany. I'm not German. Just live here. Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Perfection! That's a cooking machine! __________________ IMBAS Certified MOINK Baller. WGA, WBS, 2x - UDS & WSM on Wheels,

01-05-2013, 05:10 PM	#4
Johnny_Crunch Babbling Farker Join Date: 04-03-10 Location: Cypress TX Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Nice pr0n! __________________ J Crunch

01-05-2013, 05:31 PM	#5
smokeyokie is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 04-26-11 Location: Vinita, OK Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I dont know about all the patents Pitmaster T is talking about. But the UDS is an awesome rig!!! I love mine! I used to have abig stickburner and I am not so sure I wouldnt put my UDS up against it? __________________ open brick fire pit weber smokey joe with homemade WSM 2 weber kettle maverick ET 732 1 really, I mean really UGLY Drum Smoker super fast RED and BLACK thermapens _____________________ Billy"Smoke on Brothers and Sisters"

01-05-2013, 06:02 PM	#8
1911Ron is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 04-09-12 Location: Ft. Mudge, Az Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Outstanding, looks good from here! __________________ It all started with a Redhead! 22" Redhead OTS 22" Blue OTS22" Grey 3 wheeler, Ethel (62-63) 18" Grey 3 wheeler18" Black OTS X2 18" Black Jumbo Joe,Mini-WSM,Smokey Joe 22" Blue Platinum OTP,22" Black OTG (on sale for $99) British Racing Green Thermapen More grilling stuff than what i know what to do with

01-05-2013, 06:10 PM	#9
Teamfour is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 07-13-12 Location: Sterling, VA Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Nice job! __________________ BWS Party \|UDS\|Great Outdoors Propane Vertical\|Bar-B-Chef Offset \|Maverick ET-73 \|Maverick ET-732 \|Super Fast Orange Thermapen \| BBQ Guru DigiQ \|Two 100 QT crawfish boiling rigs \| LEM Meat Grinder \| Grizzly Sausage Stuffer KCBS CBJ

01-05-2013, 06:29 PM	#10
Bludawg Babbling Farker Join Date: 07-04-09 Location: Jonesboro,Tx Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	My UDS is my Goto Butt Burner, best 60 buc investment I ever made! __________________ I never met a Cow that I didn't like with a little Salt & Pepper! Certified PORK-A-HOLIC

01-05-2013, 07:32 PM	#12
davefan360 Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 10-25-11 Location: Warren MI (dreaming of sitting in a treestand) Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Looks nice to me. You will love your new uds. Enjoy it will cook nice in the snow too. Try wrapping it in a wellding blanket too keep it warm. __________________ http://www.facebook.com/PyroBbq

01-05-2013, 07:41 PM	#13
bluetang Quintessential Chatty Farker Join Date: 08-06-10 Location: Stuart, Fl Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Kick arse chicken there! __________________ Homegrown 120 Gallon Reverse Flow, Homey, the Homegrown Kettle, 3 UDS's, 3 Stack Pro Q Excel 20, 18.5" Elderly(but not retired) WSM, 150lb Capacity Homegrown Electric and a CA gasserrrr Bicycle Fast Polder Thermo, Indisputably Fastest Purple Thermapen, SAI Satay Grill Thanks landarc for the avatar!

01-05-2013, 09:38 PM	#14
t_ron99 Found some matches. Join Date: 06-15-07 Location: Rockwall, Texas Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Looks good. I should build me one of those.

01-05-2013, 09:42 PM	#15
BobM is Blowin Smoke! Join Date: 02-16-12 Location: Long Island, NY Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	That is one fine looking cook, great job! Bob __________________ "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin \| Weber 18 1/2" & 22 1/2" WSM, 22 1/2" & 26 3/4" OTG, Genesis S-330 \| \| BBQ Guru CyberQ WiFi \| Maverick ET-732 \|