Ugly Drum Smoker

[Trick Pony]

Anyone here ever build a 55-gallon drum smoker? My friend who has had a lot of experience cooking on all kinds of smokers sold me on them and I built one of my own. Compared to my horizontal offset, it requires very little fuel and almost no maintenance to hold temperature.
6 lbs of coals and a couple logs and this thing will hold steady for 16 hours to cook a butt or a brisket.
It cooks things a little faster than other smokers due to some direct heat but I haven't noticed any difference in how tender and juicy meat comes out on it.
There are a lot of threads on them on different bbq sites if you search. Here is a 500 pg one.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23436

[Trick Pony]

Here is a video that shows an example of one if you've never seen them before. Mine is pretty much the same except I just use fridge magnets to control the intake air on the bottom holes instead of a ball valve or threaded caps. I also use a pizza pan hooked to the charcoal basket so the ashes come out when I pull the basket.
You would think these things wouldn't hold temp very well since a drum is very thin metal and most of the good smokers you see are very thick but you'd be surprised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UXEAoIOPKE

[Brandon-k]

Fuck...now I have to build one. Thanks man....thanks a lot.

[Trick Pony]

Fuck...now I have to build one. Thanks man....thanks a lot.

They are really fun and easy to build and they cook awesome. Getting ready to throw a 12 lb brisket on at midnight.

[Brandon-k]

They are really fun and easy to build and they cook awesome. Getting ready to throw a 12 lb brisket on at midnight.

Very nice. I'm definitely in the market to build one since we're back in a house. Where'd you get your drum from?

[Trick Pony]

My buddy had a few that he had already burned out and used a wire wheel on so he gave me one.
The main thing is you don't want one that had hazardous chemicals in it and most people stay away from ones that had food in them because they usually have a plastic liner that is hard to get out and makes toxic fumes when you burn it.
Here is another (much shorter) thread on building one:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43943

[momo]

jesus christ. those two threads annoyed the shit outta me. i just wanted a simple picture of how it opens and how you load charcoal.

this guy did a good job:

http://www.pbase.com/jerrykneupper/ugly_drum_smoker

[bcoop]

Neat, but upright smokers (aka direct heat smokers) suck donkey testicles.

[Trick Pony]

Neat, but upright smokers (aka direct heat smokers) suck donkey testicles.

That's what I thought too until I built this thing. Do you have any experience with an actual ugly drum or are you talking about Weber Smoky Mountain type upright smokers?
Things do cook slightly faster in the drum than an indirect cooker due to getting some direct heat but as long as you keep the fire basket far enough below the lowest grate there is no issue with the meat being tougher or dryer. In fact the drum doesn't even use a water pan like a lot of direct heat smokers and all of the drippings off the meat make the smoke taste even better.
I put 6-8 lbs of charcoal in the fire basket and make a hole in the middle, then start 12-14 coals in a chimney smoker and drop them in the middle (Minion method) . I top it off with a couple oak logs and the thing holds the same temp within 10 degrees or so (I shoot for 220' at the edge and 250' in the middle) for 10 hours without having to make any adjustment to the amount of air coming in the bottom. At that point I just have to open the bottom up a tiny bit and it goes for a few more hours with no changes.
I usually cook briskets and butts unwrapped until about 160 then wrap them in foil and finish them off to 195 or so.
I cooked a brisket and 2 butts this weekend on it and they came out perfect. I hardly even use my big offset firebox smoker any more because of it.
Hell, I even know a guy that does competition barbecue and he has won multiple times in blind tastings using one of these drum smokers and nothing but Kingsford hickory charcoal.

[Trick Pony]

jesus christ. those two threads annoyed the shit outta me. i just wanted a simple picture of how it opens and how you load charcoal.

this guy did a good job:
http://www.pbase.com/jerrykneupper/ugly_drum_smoker

I like his except the fire basket. I like to use a round charcoal grate with a ring of expanded metal welded to it so it's more open at the bottom and doesn't get choked up with ashes. I also put a big metal loop on mine that I can catch with a hook to pull it out easier.

[bcoop]

That's what I thought too until I built this thing. Do you have any experience with an actual ugly drum or are you talking about Weber Smoky Mountain type upright smokers?
Things do cook slightly faster in the drum than an indirect cooker due to getting some direct heat but as long as you keep the fire basket far enough below the lowest grate there is no issue with the meat being tougher or dryer. In fact the drum doesn't even use a water pan like a lot of direct heat smokers and all of the drippings off the meat make the smoke taste even better.
I put 6-8 lbs of charcoal in the fire basket and make a hole in the middle, then start 12-14 coals in a chimney smoker and drop them in the middle (Minion method) . I top it off with a couple oak logs and the thing holds the same temp within 10 degrees or so (I shoot for 220' at the edge and 250' in the middle) for 10 hours without having to make any adjustment to the amount of air coming in the bottom. At that point I just have to open the bottom up a tiny bit and it goes for a few more hours with no changes.
I usually cook briskets and butts unwrapped until about 160 then wrap them in foil and finish them off to 195 or so.
I cooked a brisket and 2 butts this weekend on it and they came out perfect. I hardly even use my big offset firebox smoker any more because of it.
Hell, I even know a guy that does competition barbecue and he has won multiple times in blind tastings using one of these drum smokers and nothing but Kingsford hickory charcoal.

I've used the Weber types, and a UDS. Granted, the UDS wasn't the best built, but it's still a direct heat smoker and direct heat kills barbecue period. I'm a purist, traditionalist, etc. You'll pry my offset smoker from my cold, dead hands. lol

[Trick Pony]

I've used the Weber types, and a UDS. Granted, the UDS wasn't the best built, but it's still a direct heat smoker and direct heat kills barbecue period. I'm a purist, traditionalist, etc. You'll pry my offset smoker from my cold, dead hands. lol

Fair enough, LOL. Different folks have different taste in what they think perfect bbq is anyway.
One thing I did learn with my UDS is to cook things like butt and brisket with the fat side down to protect the meat from the direct heat.

[bcoop]

Different folks have different taste in what they think perfect bbq is anyway.

Yes, they do, and I'm a general food snob but I'm really snobby when it comes to bbq.

One thing I did learn with my UDS is to cook things like butt and brisket with the fat side down to protect the meat from the direct heat.

See, this is where the traditionalist/purist in me comes in to play. When smoking brisket, the fat cap is on top. Always always always. It's so deep in my brain, it's like second nature. And fat cap down is flat ass backwards! lmao

[Trick Pony]

See, this is where the traditionalist/purist in me comes in to play. When smoking brisket, the fat cap is on top. Always always always. It's so deep in my brain, it's like second nature. And fat cap down is flat ass backwards! lmao

Here is an interesting read on the fat cap up vs down argument. It also probably helps that I get USDA choice brisket from Costco, which tends to have more marbling. I also put it fat side up after I wrap it for the last few hours. Maybe we need to have a DFWMustangs bbq cookoff with blind taste testing. I would be a little scared though because I have read on here about how good your bbq is.

http://bbq.about.com/od/brisket/a/aa060207a.htm

[bcoop]

Here is an interesting read on the fat cap up vs down argument. It also probably helps that I get USDA choice brisket from Costco, which tends to have more marbling. I also put it fat side up after I wrap it for the last few hours. Maybe we need to have a DFWMustangs bbq cookoff with blind taste testing. I would be a little scared though because I have read on here about how good your bbq is.
http://bbq.about.com/od/brisket/a/aa060207a.htm

I've read it. I can dispute each pro he has on the fat side down, but his way is just a theory, as is mine. Best thing he says is if you don't get the results you want, experiment. Hell, even if you do, experiment. Each time I'm trying to top the last one. I've experimented with all kinds of things trying to get that perfect brisket/pork butt/ribs. Some things work, some don't, but a lot of the fun is figuring it out. You can come up with some crazy flavor profiles.


My brisket is forgettable. Its better than your average backyard bbq'r, but I've had a lot better. My pulled pork is almost lethal though. I've found a solid foundation, but I still think there is more in it.