Ribs On UDS - BB or Spare ?

[BRBBQ]

Here's Super Smokers from you tube, it's not UDs cooked but should give you an idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwiTjWBgUy8

[BeaverValleySmoker]

The best advise I can give you on the UDS is really what not to do rather than what to do.

I think the easiest mistake to make is adding too many "lit" coals to start with. It is easy to get the heat up when its low but it is very hard to bring it back down if you get it too hot too fast. The worst thing you can do is shut down most or all of the airflow to bring the heat down. Choking a fire off creates some nasty smelling smoke, creosote and bad flavor if you have already added your food. A UDS temp can sore quickly when you take the lid off, so when you do add your meat, get it in there quickly and close the lid back down as quickly as you can to keep temps from spiking up.

Start your coals or wood early and only light a few so you are not rushed and give your cooker time to get up to temp before you throw the meat on. I am not a big fan of the minion method, but if you use that method, only light a few coals and let them gradually bring the heat up. Keep your exhaust wide open (especially if using the minion method) to keep clean air moving through the cooker so you don't get any of that nasty charcoal flavor as new coals light up. If you want to cook at a temp of say 225-250 then I like to start closing off some of the air intakes when the temps hit 190-200 and let them climb slowly (gradually adjusting airflow as needed) until I get up to the desired temp. That way you are not making and drastic adjustments. The great thing about the UDS (especially if you use a good quality lump or briquette charcoal) is that once you get the temp where you want it, you really should never have to touch the air intake again for the entire duration of a rib cook.

With the UDS keep in mind that since you are cooking directly over the heat, the center of your cooking grate can be as much as 25-50 degrees hotter than the outer edges of the cooking grade (where most folks have there temp gauge). Use this to your advantage, this gives you two heat zones, the center for faster cooking and the outer edges for slower cooking without adjust the heat.

The more you use it and get to know its characteristics the better your cooks will be.

Happy Cooking, a UDS is great for a set-it-and-forget-it cook