Check out this UDS!

I want to start smoking this summer. I love grillin out and have been doing ribs on my grill. Time to step it up. I was planning on building something but stumbled across this http://www.whitearcsmokers.com/.

This guy is local to me so I can pick it up. This seems like a pretty good deal considering what I get for $200 at Sears. I'm looking at the Deluxe Smoker 1 for $175.

I should jump at this right? Any issues you see with this unit?

JNye said:

I want to start smoking this summer. I love grillin out and have been doing ribs on my grill. Time to step it up. I was planning on building something but stumbled across this http://www.whitearcsmokers.com/.

This guy is local to me so I can pick it up. This seems like a pretty good deal considering what I get for $200 at Sears. I'm looking at the Deluxe Smoker 1 for $175.

I should jump at this right? Any issues you see with this unit?

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You can build it yourself at probably 1/3 the cost. But it is a nicely built smoker.

When I said I was thinking of building something I should mention it would be a ghettotastic offset converted Aussie grill. Something I would prolly end up trashing after 1 season. I don't weld and I wouldn't be able to paint an UDS if I did try building one. My time isn't free either. As long as its a good design I'll prolly go for it. I just want to make sure no one sees anything glaring I should know about.

JNye said:

When I said I was thinking of building something I should mention it would be a ghettotastic offset converted Aussie grill. Something I would prolly end up trashing after 1 season. I don't weld and I wouldn't be able to paint an UDS if I did try building one. My time isn't free either. As long as its a good design I'll prolly go for it. I just want to make sure no one sees anything glaring I should know about.

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Just saying that I built one, and it was uber easy. There is a member here, dataz, that sells the complete kits, sans the drum, for a lot less. I would rather see someone spend their hard-earned dollars in meat. Seriously, do a search for UDS kits, or dataz.

I saw that. $50 for parts. Then I have to source a drum. Build a big azz fire and burn it out. Then clean it. Now its uglier then sin cause I burned the crap out of it. The fittings will prolly leak cause I can't weld. No wheels. Does his come with 2 grates? For $125 more I can go pick it up. I know what you are saying and I appreciate the heads up, but for me, plug and play, or (load and smoke), makes alot of sense here.

JNye said:

I saw that. $50 for parts. Then I have to source a drum. Build a big azz fire and burn it out. Then clean it. Now its uglier then sin cause I burned the crap out of it. The fittings will prolly leak cause I can't weld. No wheels. Does his come with 2 grates? For $125 more I can go pick it up. I know what you are saying and I appreciate the heads up, but for me, plug and play, or (load and smoke), makes alot of sense here.

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You can get an unlined drum. Fittings are not welded. But you would have to fit the wheels on, although I don't see the utility. And 2 grates is really no help, as you would be too close to the heat and would have to remove the upper grate to to remove the burnt meat on the lower grate anyway. But that is IMO.
$125.00 plug and play sounds like a good deal.

I watched his videos last night. When i see the fittings aren't welded you are starting to win me over. I assumed everthing was welded, which I would like, but I don't think that is the case.
What is the lining typically made of?

I am the guy that reel mentioned is selling the kits. I am not going to try and persude you one way or another but if you have any questions at all let me know. Either about my kits or even just UDSes in general. I have built a few myself and helped friends with a few others as well as seen hundreds of different designs.

I am happy to just see another UDS built. In my opinion they are the best smokers for the money there is.

I've been doing a bit more reading on these today. Are you guys cooking your meat in these on racks as well? Thats what I was planning but in reading it seems this is not smoking in its true form. I'm okay with that so long as I am getting a good smoke flavor. My primary meats I want to cook/smoke are turkey, chicken, brisket, ribs, various pork parts.
They also seems to require a watchful eye as temp control can be touchy. How true is this? I'm okay with checking on it every 30-45 mins but standing next to it all day is not in my plans.

The thing that makes a UDS so great is the temp control. It can go for hours upon hours without needing to be tended to. I try to make sure to check on it every hour or 2 but more often than not it is perfect.

I don't really know whay you mean about not smoking in its true form. Do you mean since it isn't a stick burner?

I've been reading this book http://www.amazon.com/dp/159800302X/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20, according to these guys real smoking is hanging the meat and basically cooking it only after its been smoked. Of course if temp control is easy to control in the 175-225 range then I think you can meet both of those requirements with a UDS. Even though it wouldn't really matter to me, not being a stickler for "real", I just want some good juicy smoked meat. One thing I gathered was if you can't keep your temps low enough you'll end up with dry meat.

I think you are confusing "BBQ" with cold smoking. In cold smoking you are not cooking the food but just adding a smoke flavor to it while holding it at around 60-80 degrees. This is a completely different thing from bbq.

Are you looking to make cured sausages, bacon, and other cured meats or do you want to make brisket, pulled pork, turkey etc? All bbq (with a very few exceptions) is always cooked on a grate and cooked with the smoke until it is done.

They are both great but curing and cold smoking is somewhat more advanced and complicated than BBQ.

As Data said, it seems you are confusing the two types of processes. Smoke houses as described in that book are for cold smoking. Those meats must be cured prior to smoking to avoid spoilage.

For the meats you described, BBQ is the ticket. I love my UDS, and temp control is not an issue at all. It took me a couple of cooks to figure out how to get the coals just right (So it wasn't too hot or too cold), but now I can get it to hold a steady 225 all day long.

With that said though, you could still cold smoke in a UDS (or any container at all really, even a cardboard box). You just need a big can and a new soldering iron.

I'm not confusing them, I understand they are different processes. But in that book they clearly say smoking(even hot smoking) is done at a low temp. Cooking follows it. They define cold smoking as less then 85* which is not something I'll be doing. I think the confusion is I have never used a UDS and I am unsure of the temp range I can confidently hold, or even need to hold. As long as I am getting a quality product smoking/cooking at 225, that cool with me. Sounds like I can. Still unsure of what I'm gonna do though. I haven't found a 55 gallon drum on CL yet. I'll wait it out a few more weeks.
That book is seems a little hardcore in its definition of smoking.

I have done tons and tons of reading (never that book in particular) about smoking and bbq and I have never heard of smoking then cooking later. Only exception is people that have trouble holding temp in their pit and they will finish it off in the oven. That isn't very common and you will never see something like that in a competition.

A UDS can be used just as any other smoker and can hold temps from 200 to over 400 usually.

As far as finding drums try looking in some industrial areas and very often there are companies that sell them.

JNye said:

Still unsure of what I'm gonna do though. I haven't found a 55 gallon drum on CL yet. I'll wait it out a few more weeks.

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Here's a place in Chicago.

http://www.meyersteeldrum.com/

Honestly, there has to be dozens of places in and around the greater Chicago area. Just search "drum recycler chicago", "steel drum chicago" or any phrase similar and you'll find plenty.

I bought a couple of kits from Data without complaint. All of the parts are solid, packed well and he was very easy to deal with. I probably would have spent as much money per kit and had all of the running around time trying to source various materials. JM2C.

guy on craigslist in st charles is selling 55 gallon drum with a lid and locking ring for $20. I am looking to build a uds as well. I emailed him to see what was stored in the drums. He said nothing that he knows of. http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/bfs/2248421548.html

wegz15 said:

guy on craigslist in st charles is selling 55 gallon drum with a lid and locking ring for $20. I am looking to build a uds as well. I emailed him to see what was stored in the drums. He said nothing that he knows of. http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/bfs/2248421548.html

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You will still probably want to sand blast or burn it out though.

very nice. Thanks wegz15. Time to do some reading on design tonite. I'm syure you guys can get me started though,

1-should I cut a door on the bottom?
2-what is an easy fire box I can build without welding?

JNye said:

very nice. Thanks wegz15. Time to do some reading on design tonite. I'm syure you guys can get me started though,

1-should I cut a door on the bottom?
2-what is an easy fire box I can build without welding?

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1- a huge NO! That defeats the purpose of a UDS.

2- buy one from me! Ok just had to get that in there . Aside from that mose Home Depots carry a 2x2 piece of expanded steel for I think $20. You would have to have some way to cut it though.

I would buy stuff from you, but I have access to lots of free plumbing parts. Do you have a pic of your firebox? I'm not gonna buy it, just copy it.

Smoker was built friday finally. I had a day off work so i went and picked up a drum. only took about an hour. I had a scrap weber for the lid and grates. I had everything else in stock except the expanded stteel and a second grate. I think she turned out great. Thanks for encouraging me to do it myself. I'm into this thing like $70 bucks. Not bad at all.

Maiden smoke was today. Meat went on at 7 am. 2 brined chickens(one rubbed) and a rack of spare ribs, rubbed overnight. Applewood was used. I learned alot, timing between chicken and ribs doesn't work. I should have put the chickens on much later. Instead I took them off early and foiled them and let them wait. It dried them out. Ribs were fan-f-cking-tastic. Chicken needed BBQ sauce, still good though. This hobby is great.

JNye said:

Maiden smoke was today. Meat went on at 7 am. 2 brined chickens(one rubbed) and a rack of spare ribs, rubbed overnight. Applewood was used. I learned alot, timing between chicken and ribs doesn't work. I should have put the chickens on much later. Instead I took them off early and foiled them and let them wait. It dried them out. Ribs were fan-f-cking-tastic. Chicken needed BBQ sauce, still good though. This hobby is great.

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No wonder the chicken was dry and overcooked. If you take the chicken and put it in foil, the chicken will continue to cook in the foil. As an example, when we cook a bone in pork butt at a competition, we foil the butt at about 160* and put it back in the cooker until it at 185*. We then put it in a Cambro in the foil and let it rest. When we take it out of the Cambro it is usually 200* +/- 2*.

How long of a wait is that between 185 and taking it out? ANd what is a Cambro? Just a pan?

I know they still cook, but I did remove the chicken at 160. I was planning on cutting eating within a half hour. Ended up being 1.5 hours. Next time I won't wait. When the therm says it dinnertime, its go time, damned the wife/guests.

IrregularPulse said:

How long of a wait is that between 185 and taking it out? ANd what is a Cambro? Just a pan?

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a large plastic container to hold commercially sized steam table pans at temparature.

think large cooler with handles and wheels. Cambro is a company that does insulated plastic injection molding for food service. Carlisle is another company and I am forgetting the third that you see all the time...

IrregularPulse said:

How long of a wait is that between 185 and taking it out? ANd what is a Cambro? Just a pan?

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Usually an hour or so. When it gets to your target temperature open the foil so it doesn't cook any longer and place it back in the Cambro. We have held meat at temperature in a Cambro for over 4 hours at a contest. If you don't have a Cambro, a well insulated cooler will work also.

Here is a Picture of a Cambro we have used: