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.

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 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.

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!

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Kamado Style BBQ Smokers are still fairly new to a lot of you.  Perhaps the most familiar unit is the Big Green Egg.  The Dragon Fire King Kamado is a relative newcomer to the Kamado scene, but I think you’ll find it a very impressive way to achieve to quality smoked BBQ.

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Somebody across the street threw out a gas barbecue grill, and I decided to take it since it’s in nice condition. However, I already have two gas grills so I was wondering if I could use charcoal in it. Is there any way to make it work safely, or would I just end up melting the thing? - Mike from Tennessee

Well Mike, I don’t know exactly how to go about it.  However, you could use a few different options on that gas grill so that you can still create great smoked BBQ goodness.   I’ve successfully used Sam’s Smoker Pro on our gas grill.  It does the trick when you want a hint of smoked BBQ flavor.

UsingSam’s Smoker Pro

Here’s a video I found on Youtube showing how Sam’s Smoker Pro is used. 

To the readers of this blog, I’ll put the conversion test to you!  If you’ve successfully converted a gas BBQ to charcoal, drop a line here and let us know what you did and how things came out!

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The Modern Kamado

Modern Kamado style ceramic barbecues are made of high fire ceramics and some such as the Big Green Egg use space age ceramics for heat retention performance and resistance from cracking during exposure to the elements.

Dragon Fire King Kamado Charcoal Grill Overall Rating:   Retail Price: Varies based on product options Amazon Price: View Sale Price

In addition, the original paint has now been replaced by a high gloss ceramic glaze.

Kamado Fuel Source

Kamado grills are lump wood charcoal burners.  However, there are some modern examples of electric and gas fired versions.

Just as one of the claims of the ceramic construction is that there is no flavor contamination such as a metallic taste to the cooked food, lump wood charcoal is the preferred choice for modern kamado because of the lack of additives typical of briquettes.

The Kamado Offers Versatility

Kamado style cooker manufacturers claim that they are extremely versatile in that one can do a pizza (on a pizza stone) or even bake bread as well as the usual grilling and smoking. This is by virtue of the excellent heat retention properties of the ceramic shell that mean temperatures of up to 750°F can be achieved.

The only drawback I have found so far is the price – they’re not cheap.  However, if they’re that good, maybe we don’t need to be too concerned with the price tag?

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Today, you can get barbecue meat smokers in a whole host of varied shapes, sizes, and power options. For most folks, it’s just too hard to decide. The purpose of this post is to provide some guidance as to what types of BBQ smokers are out there, what features they provide, and how you can go about finding them.

Some Key Factors in Choosing Your BBQ Smoker

Choosing Your Fuel Source: Charcoal, Gas Or Electric

A good number of folks who consider themselves hard core “smoker heads” will tell you there’s only one fuel source to use when smoking meat… the one they like.

Thing is, sometimes charcoal just isn’t practical, due to its time constraints – so gas is the option. For purists – who like the use real lump charcoal and real wood – then they’re going to be willing to take the time needed to stoke, tend, and maintain the proper heat and smoke levels. Gas offers much less in the way of clean up and temperature is a bit easier to maintain. If you want to just “set it and forget it,” then look for an electric smoker as your choice.

Determining the Proper Size: For Your Budget and Your Family

The size of your smoker will depend on how you plan to use it. Are you cooking for family meals and barbecues, or are you looking for something you can use to feed the crowd at your Church social? Maybe you’re looking for the starter rig for your first BBQ cook-off competition? In all cases, your size needs will differ.

Capacity and cooking surface size are the two biggest things to look at. For those family get togethers, you should go about 300 – 500 sq in. If you have bigger needs, you may want to go up to around 700 sq in.

Location, Location, Location – Where Will Your Smoker Be Used?

How you’re going to use your smoker plays into what type you’ll use, but where you’re using it matters just as much. For most of us, our grills and smokers are relegated to the back yard, the porch, or on our deck. If this is how you’ll use it, you can go bigger and stationary. But, if you’re short on space or want a more portable solution, you could opt for one of the many bullet style smokers on the market.

Obviously, if you’re going to competitions or larger cookout parties, you’ll need to be rollin’ on wheels, and there are many options for you in this category, too.

Paying to Play: How Much Should You Pay for Your Smoker?

If you plan to use your BBQ smoker on rare occasions, and you’re cramped for space, you can opt for a less expensive option. However, the key to good smoked barbecue is to cook it “low and slow.” For this reason, if you are going to smoke meat frequently, you should go with a good quality product. Look for things like warranties, read reviews, and check out customer service, too. All of these things should help you make a choice that will keep you smoking barbecue for years on end.

Great. So, Where Do I Get My BBQ Smoker?

For instant hands-on shopping, you may want to check out your local home store or department store. However, there’s a good chance that these stores will only cary a limited selection of BBQ smokers. If you want to maximize your selection of choices, then you need to look online as well.

Deciding what online store to buy from can be confusing. I tend to look for the following while sizing up an online BBQ smoker sales site:

• Is their site easy to navigate, does it provide good choices, and does it have product reviews?
• Do they offer easy to reach customer service to both help me make my selection and provide service after I buy?
• What are the prices like?
• How do they handle sales tax?
• What are the shipping charges? Note: Make sure the shipping charges aren’t inflated – as this is becoming a common practice.

Online Stores We Like

Two of the best places to start your online BBQ smoker search are Amazon.com and GrillsDirect.com.

Amazon.com: Amazon provides access to Weber, Brinkman, Charbroil, and some others. While the selection of smokers isn’t the widest, they really do provide a great number of accessories. If you like Amazon already, this is a great place to start your search.

Shopper’s Choice: If you’re looking for wide selection, Shoppers Choice is the store for you. They provide a handy comparison capability so you can match up grills you find there head to head.

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