Smoking meat is all about cooking the meat slow and steady, unlike grilling where burgers and meats are seared at very high temperatures. If you are truly serious about barbecue and smoke flavored meat, then you need to learn a bit about it.
Smoking meat is part skill, part experience, and part machinery. If someone is new to meat smoking, asking others about primary things one needs to learn will really help.
Most pit masters won’t share secrets about their recipes, but they will share the basics of what to do. One can look on the Internet for recipes and some of that great taste. The longer someone smokes meat, the easier information and secret recipes will be learned.
One of the best ways to learn some of the more detailed aspects of Smoked Barbecue is to visit the various BBQ Smoker Forums that are out there.
Two of the best Smoked Barbecue Forums out there include:
The folks on these forums are very helpful, and it’s always OK for you to ask questions. You’ll find tips on how to build your own barbecue smokers, great BBQ recipes, and more.
In general, you should search through the posts that are already on each site, as repeat questions can become a bit tiresome.
However, don’t sweat this too much. Look around for a while, and if you don’t see your question addressed, go ahead and post yours in the appropriate forum topic area.
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I love talking about DIY BBQ smokers, and as such – I recently posted on the Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS) and it being a great wood fire grill DIY project to start with where BBQ Smokers are concerned. This post is a follow up with some more specific construction information. Yes – I consider this smoker a wood fire grill as well as you can easily fuel it with the hardwood of your choosing and grill lid off – style. There’s so much you can do with the UDS. As crude as it can look, it has a certain universal presence about it. Almost like “The Force.” In fact, I think that Darth Vader might also cook on an Ugly Drum Smoker.
Locate and Buy Your Drum
The first thing you need to find when you’re building your UDS is the drum itself. Look for food grade 55 Gallon Steel Drums.
Local businesses that deal in food grade products are likely to have some steel drums handy, and will most likely be willing to sell them to you for cheap. There are also several online sources for 55 gallon steel drums.
Be sure to burn a load or two – whatever it takes – to get the inside of the grill clean should there be anything suspect in there. You want to be sure you don’t have any off-putting tastes floating into your meat when the smoking begins.
Build Out the Grill and Charcoal Setup
Create a resting spot for your coals
Let’s start from the bottom up. Air fuels fire. So, you need to be sure that the charcoal sits several inches above the bottom of the barrel. Not only will this make sure airflow can come under the coals, but it will also provide space for the ashes to fall.
One way to situate your burn basket in the right spot is to find an old grill grate or buy one from a supply store that will sit nicely inside the drum. Bolt this in place and you should be good to go.
Build a charcoal burning basket
You’ll need to craft a basket for your charcoal so that it stays in an efficiently burning pile. A basket can be made from anything you can find – including heavy gauge metal mesh, or maybe a piece of cut and spread sheet metal from your local scrap yard.
Your Ugly Drum Smoker charcoal basket can either be a single set size, or you can build a couple different charcoal basket sizes to accommodate varying burn times.
Create Holes to Regulate Air Flow
As with any smoker, the air flow in the UDS needs to be regulated in order to control the burn of your charcoal. There are several ways to handle this. Here are two methods you might look into.
Method #1: Lower airflow holes covered with magnets
One of the easiest ways to adjust the air flow is just to punch out three or four holes in the bottom of the smoker - perhaps by using an electrician’s knockout punch tool. A very cool way I’ve seen folks handle the hole plugging is to cover them with magnets. This makes for easy work when you need to regulate the airflow.
Method #2: Smoke stack and ball valve approach
Some of the Ugly Drum Smoker configurations you’ll see use a smoke stack approach to regulate air flow. For this to work, you’ll need to find a 1 to 2 inch gauge piece of gas pipe. Configure it to bend upwards use a ball valve for air control. If you’re not a welder, no worries. You can secure the pipe with a cement compound.
A great example of this method can be seen over at the Stealth Survival Blog, so be sure to check that out!
Fit the Grate in Place
The last thing you need to do is to fit the grate in place. You have a couple of choices. If you use a flat top to your smoker, you may be limited to using a single grill or space a couple out evenly, but with limited head space.
If you can find an old Weber kettle grill top that fits your drum, this might provide you with enough space to fit a turkey or rack of ribs on the top. Determine your desired configuration, place four bolts at each desired grate resting level, and you’re ready to roll!
Your First Cook – How to Come Out Swangin’!
To make sure you season that tri-tip or brisket just right, consider one of the fine rubs put out by our friends over at C-Dub’s BBQ Rubs.
Of course, if you’re of the mind that all of this DIY BBQ Smoker stuff is too much for your hectic schedule, I’d recommend looking into of the many electric BBQ smokers on the market. They’re efficient and remarkably easy to use and maintain!
Want news about other items purchased by member of the BBQ Smoker Site community? Be sure to check out our Popular Barbecue Books, Videos, and Accessories page.
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