UDS Burnout Question

Wade said:

 
The best joint to use is pork shoulder as it has the right amount of fat to keep it moist during long smokes and allows it to pull well. Even though it is called "Butt" it does not come from the rear end of the animal. The word Butt comes from the wooden casks in which they used to be packed in Boston - yes like "water butt".

You can buy them either bone in or boned and rolled. If rolled then snip the string and flatten it out before smoking. This will give you more surface for the rub and also a more even cook.

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Ade - Here is one of the boned pork shoulders I have bought for this weekends briquette comparison. It weighs just over 6 Kg (13.5 lbs). You can see how much fat marbling it has - which is what makes it so good for pulled pork. Butchers will usually sell these rolled and tied however I prefer to buy them flat. You would be surprised what some butchers try to hide in the middle when it is rolled - it is a good place for some to hide a lot of additional fat. Even if you do buy it rolled It is best to cut the strings and open it up before using.


A lump of shoulder this size will fit in the Weber (just) however I usually cut them in half - but you could cut them into smaller chunks which will make them more manageable to smoke.


This is now ready to be vac packed and placed in the fridge for 36 hours. 36 hours isn't a magic time - purely convenience. I just find that I usually pick the meat up in the evening on my way home from work and I start cooking early in the morning. If I bought it the day before and applied the rub that night it would only get about 12 hours. I therefore usually buy it 2 days in advance which which means that the rub gets a day and a half contact in the fridge.

Your basket looks great. I don't see any problem there at all. Good luck and don't forget the Qview.

Hello Ade.  I think I see your problem now.  The basket clearance looks great now.  Let's see if I'm right.  Did you load the basket and then dump the lit coals from the chimney on top??  If you did, with that narrow of a basket the only thing burning were the lit coals and a few that were maybe touching those.  The UDS works like a chimney.  the air comes in the bottom and the fire and heat is then drawn through the barrel and then out the top.  The more airflow the faster the surrounding coals ignite.  the hotter the UDS will get.  As they burn the ash falls through the bottom of the basket and allow other coals to ignite.  It's like lighting a fireplace.  You start a fire and then add coals to the fire.  What you had was the coals on top burning and the ash falling down on the coals you were hoping to ignite.

IF I am wrong and you lit the coals from the bottom, then you have an airflow problem.  Not enough air in or not enough out or both.  Just my opinion.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

Hello Ade.  Sounds like you had a long fight with a VERY short stick.  Looks like the shoulder turned out well though.  Sometimes you have a bad day and need to just cut your losses and head for the oven.  No shame in that.  We have all had 'em.  The rain started almost immediately after putting steaks on the smoker once.  I thought, what that hey; oven, aluminium foil, wood chips; how bad can it be??  All the windows wide open, front and back door open, this should work right?  DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!  Our house smelled of smoke for 4 days.     Glad all turned out well in the end.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

Hello Ade.  WOW!  Now you've put me "on the spot".  Can I phone a friend?  PLEASE!!  The truth is it could be one of two things in my opinion.  One is ok, the other is a problem.  If you don't now i would suggest you use a drip pan under your meat in a UDS simply because it's a pain to get that out of the bottom of the UDS.  IF; as I suspect, it is just the drippings from the meat:  "A" you are losing some good flavour you could pour back onto your meat, and "B" by not catching it you are making work for yourself cleaning it out.  Now the bad news.  If it is truly condensation, you have an problem.  You did have trouble getting Sammy up to temp..  I think we may have solved that with the way you build your fire.  Meat in your smoker will tend to "steam" if not up to temp and poor air flow.  It could be that because of poor air flow condensation is collecting on the lid of your UDS and then dripping back down onto your meat.  Your lid is flat which will allow the condensation to drip down anywhere.  Many folks use a domed lid on their UDS which sort of forces any condensation to roll down the side of the lid and barrel.  Your next smoke get 'er up to proper temp.  Then when you check your meat have a look at the lid.  If you see moisture on the lid then changes should be made.  It may be air flow, it may be the flat lid.  While seasoning on your smoker is a good thing, condensation dripping off that seasoned lid will add nasty flavours to your meat.  Well that's my best advice, maybe someone knows better.  Hope it helps.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

You might want to make sure and leave at least one of the valves open when storing the smoker, I leave two open for a cross draft to help dry out any condensation that develops between smokes. Also buy a cheap EZ up shelter, that should keep everyone including you happy while smoking in the rain. I have always had the flat lid and have not had the condensation problem with mine. I do have quite a bit bigger basket than you do. I don't know if that would be an issue or not anyway. What type of charcoal are you using by the way? I have heard it can be difficult to get good charcoal over there. Is it possible that your coal is damp? Have you checked your thermometer for accuracy? We need to get to the bottom of this. I noticed that you leave one plug in the top vents, have you tried it with everything open? It really is not rocket science but can be a challenge at first to get it running right and set correctly. I still go with an airflow issue. I built mine very simple with the most basic design and it worked flawlessly from the very first time. My lid is original and has a small hole and a large hole with threaded bungs for sealing it up. I have one ball valve and three nipples with caps for the air. I never have to have any of the caps off except to get it up to temp initially. I like to fire it up to 300 or more at the start to sterilize the grates and just get everything warmed up good, then I shut the caps on the nipples and close the ball valve a quarter of the way. It goes right to 235 every time. On very windy days I close the smaller hole in the lid as the temp will ride up with some draft caused by the wind. I am eyeing the lid and the way those elbows are maybe the culprit or maybe you need to add a few for more airflow. Also, I just dump a quarter of a chimney full of lit coals on the top so that should not be a problem Try some things different and don't give up. You will get it figured out. Happy smoking, timber.

Hmmmm, do they sell Kingsford Briquettes in England? It could be the charcoal I guess. I have not seen those brands here in the states but I swear by kingsford. I have heard wade and danny mention Heat beads before. My smoker does not get water in the bottom unless it is totally sealed up in wet weather for long periods of time. I have never had a condensation issue and it is quite humid where I live, likely the same or near same latitude as you. That said the next hot fire you get going in there should take care of that anyway. Soon enough, that UDS will get ugly from use but still put out some of the best food you ever had.



Another thing is do you use wood in there or just that lump? Lump doesn't add much in the way of good smoke flavor. Keep your eyes open for fruit trees and vineyards and maple trees, oak, or whatever else you can find over there. Some wood in there might help you get the temp up too. You can see my basket is loaded up for 16 hours of smoke in the top picture with some branches cut in chunks mixed around. Just some more ideas for you. 

Yes those are baby back ribs. I had way too many to fit in the smoker that day. (superbowl). I had to get creative to fit them all in there. Worked like a charm. I have since acquired A rib rack but I think I can still get more in there like that. Amazing what you can come up with when trying to fit more pork into your uds than humanly possible. Hahaha.....