New to smoking meat and using a UDS!

[jedro]

Hey Everyone! I recently built my UDS and have used it four times. The first cook was chicken quarters - no rub, no brine, just the chicken @ 230 degrees - and it was delicious! The second cook was pork spare ribs. I used a rub using a recipe out of Mixon's book...the ribs were so good! Third cook was a picnic shoulder. I used the same BBQ rub as the previous week... good grief what good eating! This past weekend, I did a pair of whole chickens rubbed with a another Mixon rub while sitting in a pan with apple juice. I have to say it was the best tasting chicken I've ever had! This weekend I plan on going back to the pork spare ribs, using the 3-2-1 method. Long story made short....I'm hooked. 

 

[smokesontuesday]

Congrats on your new addiction. It's a great hobby, especially the part when food comes off the smoker and goes on to a plate.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Congrats on your new smoker! Now we need to see some Q-view of you cooks and your smoker!

 

[jcollins]

Congrats on the smoker build, and welcome to the forum lots of great people with lots of great information, CAUTION Smoked meat and other things is very addictive.... also when you post dont forget to take pics of what you smoke.....or you may get 

 or 

 lol happy smoking 

 

[jedro]

I can absolutely do pictures! I'm liking this forum already! Doing ribs on Sunday....

 

[areallynicegirl]

:welcome1:
From Oregon! I'm building my uds as soon as the weather isn't so dry.

 

[jcollins]

It seems a lot of people want to / have / in the process of built/building a UDS (my self included) i guess its just hard to beat having a 400 dollar + smoker for less than half that in it. 

 

[areallynicegirl]

It seems a lot of people want to / have / in the process of built/building a UDS (my self included) i guess its just hard to beat having a 400 dollar + smoker for less than half that in it. 

That is so true!!! I barely have $50 in mine so far and that's because I have a friend from church who has a auto repair place that gets his oil in 55 gallon barrels. If he has an empty one, he said I can have it. Plus I am VERY patient lol, I waited out a Weber on CL for over a month before I found one I was OK with the price of ($25), I wanted free but the couple times they came up I couldn't get them quick enough. He had just replaced the grates on it so score for me! As far as I can tell, it seems some of these bigger, fancier smokers need a bunch of mods to be useful and don't seem to put out better enough food to justify the price for my family. Now if one fell from the sky I certainly wouldn't say no, just for my situation, being frugal is how we roll.

Oooh and talk about a multitasker! Coldsmoke, hot smoke, I've seen rotisseries on them! You probably could figure out a way to grill on it and I'm pretty sure if you wanted to you could bake in it!!!

 

[jcollins]

oh yeah grilling and baking both i plan on using mine as a 22" charcoal grill as well granted it will take some configuring but i use my 14.5 as a grill as is i just take all of the charcoal assem. from the bottom and put it where the bottom grate sits works really well so far i also take the access door off too 

 

[areallynicegirl]

So cool!! If you bake anything post a pic!! And a pic when you set it up to grill! Would love to see that!!

 

[jcollins]

will do as far as baking on the 14.5 i havnt done yet although i need to....