Built my husband an upright barrel smoker from a kit for Christmas. Since the weather is warming up I was wondering if anyone had any expertise with using one of these type smokers that could lend a “ things I wish I knew first” kinda vibe for when we begin. We’d love to do pork ribs first so any tips would be appreciated.
New to smoking and want to do it right!
- Thread starter Kristina114
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kruizer
Master of the Pit
In my opinion it seems that drums tend to settle in the 275-300 degree range and that is fine. My advice would be to see where your drum likes to cook and adjust your cooking plans from there. Fighting with the cooker to get it to stay too low doesn't sound like a fun experience.
Welcome aboard. You should be able to get plenty of tips on drum cooking, they are actually quite easy to cook on. I've had a pair of drum smokers for 12 years or so and ribs are a pretty easy cook. Did your drum kit come with a rack for hanging meats, or just a cooking grate? Which type of ribs do you guys prefer, loin back or belly (spare) ribs? And lastly, do you want fall-off-the-bone ribs, or just barbecued ribs with a little tug? Any way you look at it, you can cook plenty of ribs on a drum.
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Welcome from iowa, lots of great knowledge here. Can't help ya with the drum smoker but would recommend getting some kind of temp probes, a controller with at least 2 probes, one for meat and one for smoker temps. I use a smoke made by thermo works and an IBT- 4xs made by inkbird. Probes can be checked for accuracy in ice water and boiling water. Alot of thermometers aren't real accurate. Good luck and have fun!
Ryan
Ryan
Inkbird is running a special on the IRF-4S. Highly recommended.
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You built your husband a smoker? I like you already LOL!
I know squat about drum smokers but plenty here do.
Welcome to the forum!
Dan
I was kinda thinking the same thing Dan. You think she might have a like-minded sister? As with a couple others here, I know diddly about using a UDS but your comment just needed a bit of elaboration on my end. That's kinda my nature so please don't take offense
All in good fun,
Robert
No harm no foul :-)I was kinda thinking the same thing Dan. You think she might have a like-minded sister? As with a couple others here, I know diddly about using a UDS but your comment just needed a bit of elaboration on my end. That's kinda my nature so please don't take offense
All in good fun,
Robert
- Jun 4, 2015
- 554
- 254
although i dont have one i help one who does.. he hangs his, not layed flat, but hangs length wise not vertical or top down. if he is doing multiple racks he has to cut for length and puts the cut ends to end when doing multiples. seems to smoke more even but to each there own
Best thing to do is to run some test fires in it and see how difficult it is to control the temp. If you have problems keeping the temps down or can only run one inlet a micro amount open, then you most likely have leaks.
Get the leaks sorted first before you cook anything with it. Red RTV and UDS smokers go very well together :-)
This is mine. I had to seal up some micro leaks right where the pipes come out of the bottom of the drums.
Conversely if you have some difficulty getting temps UP and the wind is quite still, consider adding a temporary piece of pvc pipe on top to increase draft for those very low wind days
If you have any questions here or going forward, post them in this thread and I, and other UDS owners will be happy to help!
Edit: I should mention that I had just fired up the unit in the 2nd picture. That's why the smoke is colored the way it is. Notice the smoke coming out of my block pit in the back? That's the color you're looking for :-)
That one had been running all night prior.
Get the leaks sorted first before you cook anything with it. Red RTV and UDS smokers go very well together :-)
This is mine. I had to seal up some micro leaks right where the pipes come out of the bottom of the drums.
Conversely if you have some difficulty getting temps UP and the wind is quite still, consider adding a temporary piece of pvc pipe on top to increase draft for those very low wind days
If you have any questions here or going forward, post them in this thread and I, and other UDS owners will be happy to help!
Edit: I should mention that I had just fired up the unit in the 2nd picture. That's why the smoke is colored the way it is. Notice the smoke coming out of my block pit in the back? That's the color you're looking for :-)
That one had been running all night prior.
Welcome from ND
Not knowing what your smoking experience is, this may be beneficial.
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The search forum on the Home page is full of info, or just ask. These people are a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Not knowing what your smoking experience is, this may be beneficial.
5 Day Smoking Basics eCourse
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rsopnco1
Newbie
- Mar 23, 2020
- 6
- 1
Don’t have a drum, have has a vertical cabinet style. From overall experience, clean and Burn smoker for impurities, let cool to touch, season with lard or other high temp oil in side and out (prevents rust) crank up temp to bake oil in check for leaks (Make note), seal with FOOD GRADE RTV or gasket depending where the leak is after smoker has cooled. When smoking food, make sure the smoke is thin and almost transparent (blue smoke) and enjoy the cook b
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