Bad taste creosote in UDS

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Predateur

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Hello

I have a problem with creosote in my UDS. I read a lot on this forum and I try different things and I still have my problem. My food taste bad and the inside for the drum and lid is covered with a gloss black stinky creosote.

this is what I do:
I full my basket with lump charcoal and 4-6 chunk of wood
I put half chimney of light charcoal on top
I open my 3 intake hole
When I hit 250 I close one hole and maintain at 275
I put my meat on when a have thin blue smoke
After 2 hours my drum make basically no smoke for the rest of the cook

When I do the same procedure in a WSM 22.5 the taste is fine and the smell is good.

I try different brand of lump charcoal and wood. The wood and the charcoal I use is always dry. I try a flat lid with 2" exhaust, a standard Weber kettle lid and a Weber kettle lid with 8 holes and no difference. I have a pizza pan for heat diffuser and use a drip pan so I don't have grease falling in the hot coals.

I don't understand why my food taste real good on the WSM and the food on the UDS end up in the trash.

I would appreciate your input.
 
maybe let the flames go down and the smoke subside more before you put the lid on and clean the smoker so the sticky stinky stuff doesn't mix in the air when it warms up.
 
Sounds to me like your intake holes are too small or you are shutting it down way too early.
 
My intake are 1" hole I have 2 with pipe nipple and one with 3/4 ball valve.
The last time I use my smokers I cook a chicken all 3 intake wide open at 350F and the meat still have the bad taste.
 
This is a picture of my drum and basket.

P1020986_zpsg3mmhkcl.jpg
 
Predateur said:
This is a picture of my drum and basket.

P1020986_zpsg3mmhkcl.jpg
Click to expand...

Huh.....only other thing I can think is your 2" at the top isnt doing it....I'd try the 8 hole lid and make them bigger.

Maybe with lump burning hotter you are hitting 250 but shutting it down way too early.
 
Seems you have already tested the intake and it breathes ok. Next, I'd shim open the lid a bit to let it exhale faster and see if that helps.
If that helps, you'll want to either add another vent, or try to seek out a fuel+wood combination that burns leaner.
 
The last time for my chicken I was using the Weber lid with 8 one inch holes on the top.

P1020987_zps73ucrljl.jpg
 
Sounds like you are doing everything right. I'm wondering if the flavor profile of meat cooked in a drum just isn't to your liking? Some folks love it, but some don't. I cooked some beef ribs yesterday on the drum, and it certainly had a very pronounced flavor that was different than if I had used one of my other cookers. Three of us loved them, but one of our guests felt it was too strong and overpowering.
 
I've been playing around with hanging meats in a WSM without a diffuser and even though I run the same clean fire the cooks have turned out with a heavier smoke flavor. If you are not using one I'd recommend using a diffuser or a pan under the meats to catch the drippings.

I plan on hanging a pork loin later this week and leaving my clay diffuser in, I like a lighter smoke profile.
 
HuskyJW said:
Huh.....only other thing I can think is your 2" at the top isnt doing it....I'd try the 8 hole lid and make them bigger.

Maybe with lump burning hotter you are hitting 250 but shutting it down way too early.
Click to expand...

I have the 2" exhaust like Predateur and have no problem, but his is nice shiny chrome. I do prefer the taste from my stick burner over the UDS. Creosote is from a fire that does not get enough oxygen. I would try cooking at 300F (148C) and see if that helps.
 
Maybe your drum wants to run at a higher temp and you are choking it down. Try taking the pizza pan out and leave the bowl in. It will catch the drippings, if that taste is something you don't care for. Nothing wrong with cooking 300-350.
 
Yair . . .

I've seen a tainted drum before.

Now its all creosoted up build a hot wood fire in there . . . like I mean real hot with flame out the stack.

Let it cool and wire brush it inside and hit it with a spray pack of olive oil or whatever and, as others have suggested, try cooking at 300 or so and, I'd suggest a couple of cooks with straight charcoal.

If it's okay, move on to cooking with smoke wood if you like it.

When you get it cooking right you can repaint the outside that probably blistered with the hot burn.

Cheers.
 
I have a PBC, similar enough to a UDS :-D I had a problem with uncontrollable white smoke and a heavy smoke flavor for a couple of cooks and tried all the fire management stuff I knew to do but didn't fix it. For me it turned out to be that I hadn't been cleaning the bottom of the drum and it was full of grease from previous cooks. I was smoking the grease under the coal basket and causing all kinds of nastiness. Cleaned up the drum and things are all good now.
 
Drippings will still burn on the pizza pan. Take drum to car wash and wash it, re spray with cooking spray, do all the same as before but run a water pan and see if its any different as drippings wont burn in water pan. You will have to add water every 3-4 hrs but I just poured thru the grates to refill mine.
 
TheMoth said:
I have a PBC, similar enough to a UDS :-D I had a problem with uncontrollable white smoke and a heavy smoke flavor for a couple of cooks and tried all the fire management stuff I knew to do but didn't fix it. For me it turned out to be that I hadn't been cleaning the bottom of the drum and it was full of grease from previous cooks. I was smoking the grease under the coal basket and causing all kinds of nastiness. Cleaned up the drum and things are all good now.
Click to expand...

This certainly sounds like one possibility. I personally love drippings smoke flavor, but fat slowly smoldering in the bottom...that would have to be bad news when it happens.
 
Thank you for your help
I will try cleaning my drum and use a water pan and see what happens.
 
I've cooked on my drum for many years, and your procedure sounds correct ...... except I think you are starting your pit with too much charcoal. Try starting it with 1/3 of a chimney. If you are running with a heat deflector (like I do), it could take possibly 45-60 to get to temp but you know that your rig is using only the amount of coal required to run and you are not choking it down.
 
mikemci said:
Maybe your drum wants to run at a higher temp and you are choking it down. Try taking the pizza pan out and leave the bowl in. It will catch the drippings, if that taste is something you don't care for. Nothing wrong with cooking 300-350.
Click to expand...


My sediments exactly.

On my old leaky UDS, if the conditions are just right, I can get it to cook at 275 or so all day but that is no wind and barely any humidity. If I try that on those days, YUCK! Creosote. On those days I run it up to where it likes to dial in at and that is 300-325.

I have the 2" bung hold on top and I have 4 3/4" openings as well. I open all of them and let it go.

Now all that said, What I am getting ready to say i might get flamed for but here goes...... IF I cook up a batch of creosote, I refuse to use the drum until it is 100% cleaned out. I will take simple green and scrub the inside of the drum as well as the lid and take my pressure washer to it. I then flip it up side down and let it drip out propped up on one side for air flow. I will then flip it and let the sun dry it and then I spray it real good with cooking spray and re season it for many hours.

Take all that for what it is worth. This is just what works for me.

I do have to agree with mikemci though. Maybe your drum wants to run higher. Each one has their own attitude and sweet spot.

Take care man!
 
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