'As Live' First cook on UDS.

For my first ever cook on an Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS) I thought it was a great opportunity to capture how it goes via an 'As live' blog.

I'll be writing this as things happen. Hopefully it might inspire or help others trying this for the first time. (...and hopefully won't put them off!)

8:40am

It's a chilly April morning (1st April in fact, but no practial jokes I promise).

The temperature outside is now around 5⁰ with a light breeze.

I've been debating whether to light the coals in my UDS fire basket using the 'minion method' or by simply lighting from a firelighter.

I have decided as it's my first time to take things extra steady, and use this opportunity to learn how the coals behave and the fire progresses during the cook.

I'm using Weber charcoal briquettes (about 4kg) into the basket with a firelighter pushed down one of the sides so I can light it through the grate. Here goes...

9:00am

After about 20mins I have 10 coals well alight giving off a good bit of heat. I'm dropping the fire basket into the drum and putting the lid on.

It's a good idea to have a digital thermometer. I have just attached one of the probes to the cooking grate to see how hot it is inside. I'll leave this for 30mins to see how it goes.

9:30am

I've just checked the temperature and my first bump in the road. The temp has gone down to 179⁰f. Ideally it needs to be up at over 200⁰-250⁰f to cook evenly.

I've removed all of the caps, covers and opened all vents to see what that does.

9.40am

While I'm waiting for the results of the adjustments. I am preparing the meat.

I have two pork joints that are rubbed in BBQ spices from the Sauce Shop. They already smell amazing. 

10:00am

I'm back at the UDS to check the temperature and it seems to be holding at around 210⁰f.

Ideally it should be higher than that but I'm guessing that the cold breeze is making a difference and perhaps the minion method might burn hotter? Anyway on with the meat, (I've stuck the second probe of my thermometer into the bigger pork joint) and I'll continue to adjust vents and see what happens.

11:15am

Temperature us holding well at 210⁰f and I had a quick peak. There is definitely something cooking. Smells amazing. 

Going to leave them for an hour and give them a 'spritz'. (Jack Daniel's, lemon juice and water mix, sprayed on using a spray bottle).

12:15pm

Things are moving along well now. The temperature is now up at 254⁰f as a result of the fat/juices dripping down to the coals below. The smoke smells amazing. A quick spray of JD & Lemon and lid back on.

12.45pm

The preset alarm on my Inkbird digital thermometer went off (it's linked via Bluetooth to my phone). This tells me that the pork has reached the 'cooked' internal temperature.

The internal temperature of the smoker is 277⁰f and will probably jump up a bit as I take the lid off.

As I'm aiming for pulled pork, I'm going to wrap it (along with some homemade BBQ sauce) and put it back on for another hour.

Yes - I did have a little taste, it is delicious. 

I also removed the skin/fat and have laid that out back on the grill to see what happens. Perhaps crackling?

I've just closed some of the vents to bring the temperature down to 200⁰ (ish).

1.49pm

I'm taking the pork off now. Don't want it to overcook. I'll leave it wrapped to cool then 'pull' it and add more BBQ sauce.

I've closed all the vents on the UDS to see how long it takes to go out and how much coal can be re-used. (Tomorrow?)

Looking forward to cracking these open in about 45mins.

2:30pm

The pork is amazing. A thick smoke ring and some juicy slices of well cooked meat. Due to the cut of the meat (supermarket) there seems to be a mix of loin and some 

shoulder, so I'm not getting all pulled pork but the slices look (and taste) brilliant.

3.10pm

All packed and stored away for Easter Weekend. A feast awaits...

...even managed to save some to vacuum pack & freeze.

The Verdict on the UDS

What a difference! The offset smoker I used to use was hard work. Keeping the fire going was a full time job. 

With the UDS, once it's up and going, it needs little attention (unless you are nosey like me!). The flavours are more rich and there is more sweetness in the meat.

I hope this has helped someone out there who is keen to give this a try. I can't wait to give it another go.