The Can Man Can ~ A Lookback to Early Drum Smokers

[thirdeye]

This is a pretty cool article on drum smokers.

https://kansascitymag.com/bbq/drum-smoker-inventer-jay-vantuyl/

And here is a 2005 video of Jay “Snail” Vantuyl from the American Royal in 2005, about a year before I bought two BDS from Rocky Richmond from North Carolina after I read a Danny Gaulden review of the BDS either on the Basso forum or the Virtual Weber forum. A little earlier "Bigwheel" had posted about a bigger version of the LDS (little drum smoker) on one of the barbecue chat groups. But after 15 or 16 years, the timeline is kind of fuzzy :mrgreen:

https://youtu.be/ejpbwAXdKf0

This is an early drum smoker video with a hanging rack, which was the first mod I made to my BDS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuD6XuOy1MY

 

[4ever3]

That dude is AWESOME!!!

That being said, I bet a $1500 drum is a lotttt better…

:biggrin1:

 

[Inthewoods]

That was a good story! Makes me want ta by a barrel from him.

-D

 

[Moose]

Thanks for posting this great article, Wayne! I vaguely remember a YT video from way back where Jay was featured. His description of the taste of drum smoked meat is right on the money:


“There’s a flavor you don’t get with anything else,” Hathaway says. “It’s somewhere in between smoked and grilled and there’s nothing that replicates the flavor on the drums. It’s the craziest thing. It just gives it something a little bit extra. There’s something in that gap between the top of the firebox and the bottom of the grate—some sort of magic happens in that space.”


It was the epic UDS thread by Norcoredneck that ultimately got me hooked on this forum and led me to build my own UDS, which is now battle worn and retired. Here it is just after I completed it:





Nothing quite compares to building a homegrown customized cooker, and the pleasure that goes along with cooking on it. Reading this brought back a LOT of memories of my early forum days and learning the simple way of cooking on a can!

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

Yo Wayne, Talk about stirring up the old memory bank! I appreciate the post about Snail. I met him at the Royal back 30 some odd years ago when we were cooking next to each other. He is one of the most friendly competitors I have ever met. He happened to be here in the 'burg about 20 years ago doing a pinstriping job on one of my buddy's Harley and asked his client if he knew me. Snail gave me a call and we had a good long chat. Snail always made it a point to stop by and visit when he cooked at the Royal and I always stopped by his spot to see him. I have not seen him in several years. I was unaware until now that he helped make the drum smoker popular.


I do remember Danny Gaulden giving Rocky's UDS a good review on Ray Basso's Forum years ago. That review did help Rocky's sales as at the time as not too many people were not sold on the idea. My how times have changed. Good to see Bigwheel's name in your post too. That guy back in those days was quite the character. He and I had some go arounds on the internet, but it was all in good fun. I hope all these three of these guys still have the bbq fires burning............


Thanks for the memories!


Juggy

 

[Mike Twangzer]

That's amazing. Can't remember all the details but it had to have been in the mid 70's somewhere along the California Coast ... San Louis Obispo .... Cambria ... my wife and I were at a car show .... vendors of all sorts ... but there was this guy who was bbq-ing in/on a drum. Remember stopping and chatting ... was amazed the contraption .... there were chains on the grate so you could lift it up and down depending on how close you wanted it to the fire .... I thought what an odd cooker .... of course I wasn't in to any type of smoking at all .... but whatever was on the barrel smelled great. The cost at that time was $300.00 . Was tempted but no way to transport such an expensive cooker home.

Thanks for the memory jog !!!

 

[ModelMaker]

Yea, that's the guy in '06 that was developing the BDS and selling them as quick as he could make 'em.
As he mentioned he should have patented the general process, but since he didn't and he was kind enough to post all directions and dimensions, and I had a whole Model Shop full equipment, off I went to create the EDS (Ed's drum system). It was basic as his were but I put a firebox door and slide out firebox.
Cooked two contests, walked two contests. It was (and is) a great little inexpensive ($65) cooker. I'll see if I can dig up my post from back then.
Ed

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19764

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26625

 

[charcoalwilly]

BBQ is the mother of invention! Love the creativity of some of these guys. Funny how early 2000s is starting to seem like a long time ago.

 

[SmokerKing]

Popular Mechanics 1957

 

[Fooball]

Popular Mechanics 1957

An offset vertical! Yes sireeee! Good as a 57 Chevy. :mrgreen:

 

[Pitmaster T]

I am shocked there was any mention of Danny Gaulden in my absence on the brethren without a post of my timeless video, a brethren exclusive which premeired Here FIRST. Here it is on Tik Tok.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT869F3e5/

And on its original YouTube station

https://youtu.be/VY2RHz7CLfY?si=NDrDXyDcEUsX9vuT

Damn, normally my stuff is on my Popdaddy channel. I forgot about the old Pitmaster t one

 

[cowboyupbbq]

Drums

I remember seeing Mark Grieco from 4 Men and a Pig cooking on one about the same time frame. No way you could make awesome ribs in 2 hours…

This is a pretty cool article on drum smokers.

https://kansascitymag.com/bbq/drum-smoker-inventer-jay-vantuyl/

And here is a 2005 video of Jay “Snail” Vantuyl from the American Royal in 2005, about a year before I bought two BDS from Rocky Richmond from North Carolina after I read a Danny Gaulden review of the BDS either on the Basso forum or the Virtual Weber forum. A little earlier "Bigwheel" had posted about a bigger version of the LDS (little drum smoker) on one of the barbecue chat groups. But after 15 or 16 years, the timeline is kind of fuzzy :mrgreen:

https://youtu.be/ejpbwAXdKf0

This is an early drum smoker video with a hanging rack, which was the first mod I made to my BDS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuD6XuOy1MY