Barrel smoker, charcoal basket, smoked meat, Smoked ribs, SmokerBuilder, Uds, Ugly drum smoker - December 06, 2019

The Key To Lighting A Fire In Your UDS Drum Smoker

What all pit masters need to know about lighting a fire in your UDS Drum smoker

I get a lot of questions about startup on all different kinds of smokers. One of my favorites smokers is the Ugly Drum, so let's start there.

First - how to light a UDS drum smoker. Later on I'll address temperature control and different scenarios that a person can get into whenever he/she has a fire they can't control and/or temperature fluctuations. So I'll try to split that up into about three blog posts. So, let's talk about charcoal...

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Barrel smoker, SmokerBuilder, Uds, Ugly drum smoker - September 27, 2019

Charcoal Basket Do's and Don'ts

Well, I tell ya... First of all we need to make sure that all the ash can render out without plugging up the air passages in the coal bed. I mean we aren't gonna have gaps between the coals but more like the powdery ash will have room to fall clear.

What Can A Simple Charcoal Basket Do?

Imagine with me for a minute.
You have a cup of coffee in your hand. It is a cool, crisp, spring Saturday morning. The sun is out, the sky is clear, the birds are chirping, and you remember how fortune found you last night...

On the way home from work you stopped at your local grocery store. You walked straight to the meat department and couldn't believe your eyes! You spotted a brisket... not just any old brisket... This brisket had the best marble you'd ever seen. You were shocked at the price! Someone must have marked it with the wrong price! Could this be true?! $1.79 per pound?! You bought the brisket and kept your mouth SHUT!

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beef tip, sirloin, smoked meat, tritip - January 19, 2019