What do you call your Smoker?
The Silver Slugger
How was your smoker built?
I built this Ugly Drum Smoker myself from a used 55 gallon drum and some parts from the local hardware store.
What kind of Capacity does it have?
The drum has 2 22" cooking grates that can cook a 15 pound brisket and 2 10 pound pork butts at the same time or 8 racks of ribs at once.
Won any Competitions? When and Where?
This UDS has not been used in any competitions yet, as I only made it this season, but come next season it will get a lot of use.
What Style of Smoker is it?
An Ugly Drum Smoker is your typical vertical smoker. It is a drum with 3 exhaust vents on the bottom, a custom made charcoal grate, 2 cooking racks, a thermometer, a mandatory bottle opener and a lid with 8 3/4" exhaust holes.
What kind of Fuel does it run on?
My fuel of choice is Stubb's charcoal briquettes. They don't give off any foul smell or flavor and have a long consistent burn. When doing a look cook, I use the minion method, which is filling the charcoal grate with almost a full bag of unlit charcoal, then adding about 10 lit charcoal briquettes to the pile of unlit charcoal briquettes. I also throw on about 4 chunks of hickory for that smokey flavor. Using this method can give me up to 20 hours of cooking time.
Tips and Tricks
- When I cook, I never let the temp in the UDS get over 225 degrees. Slow and Low makes for great barbeque. I don't use a diffuser in my drum because the drippings from the meat drip onto the coals and give the meat an extra kick of flavor. If I have room on one of my racks, I try to add a small waterpan to keep moisture in the drum.
