Hey guys,
I'm just finishing up my build of an Ugly Drum Smoker and I'm looking for some advice about how to best use it as I'm cooking for the reception following my son's Christening in a couple weeks. We're having about 40 guests and there's a lot on the menu. My wife is cooking trays of baked ziti and some chicken parm, but I'm also planning on cooking some barbecue as well, probably two boston butts and maybe a brisket too if I can borrow my friend's drum.
So my question is... if I load my UDS smoker up with two boston butts how long should I allow to cook it? I know an exact prediction is tough and every smoker is different, but I'd like to at least get a better ballpark idea. I'm not an experienced cue guy and while I'm planning on testing my drum out once before the party it will likely be with one butt on and not two.
My drum smoker has two cooking grates, one is an inch from the top (I'm using a weber kettle lid) and another seven inches down from that. I'm thinking I'll also use an 18" pizza pan as a diffusion plate and will likely foil the meat after five hours or so. If I can borrow my friend's smoker I might do a brisket at the same time on his drum smoker.
Any help or advice you can provide to a newbie bretheren would be greatly appreciated.
I'm just finishing up my build of an Ugly Drum Smoker and I'm looking for some advice about how to best use it as I'm cooking for the reception following my son's Christening in a couple weeks. We're having about 40 guests and there's a lot on the menu. My wife is cooking trays of baked ziti and some chicken parm, but I'm also planning on cooking some barbecue as well, probably two boston butts and maybe a brisket too if I can borrow my friend's drum.
So my question is... if I load my UDS smoker up with two boston butts how long should I allow to cook it? I know an exact prediction is tough and every smoker is different, but I'd like to at least get a better ballpark idea. I'm not an experienced cue guy and while I'm planning on testing my drum out once before the party it will likely be with one butt on and not two.
My drum smoker has two cooking grates, one is an inch from the top (I'm using a weber kettle lid) and another seven inches down from that. I'm thinking I'll also use an 18" pizza pan as a diffusion plate and will likely foil the meat after five hours or so. If I can borrow my friend's smoker I might do a brisket at the same time on his drum smoker.
Any help or advice you can provide to a newbie bretheren would be greatly appreciated.