1st cooks on the almost done UDS

[forqueran]

Here are some pictures of my almost done UDS and 1st cooks.


As you can see its not finished yet but I couldn't wait any longer I had to fire it up.

Here's today's cook.
Everything tasted great,but the cooker wanted to run at about 300 with the valve open.Today towards the end of the cook I closed the valve completly and it settled at about 275. Looks like I will need some more practice, Gosh I really hate that

[Tombigbeeriverdawg]

Man that chicken looks good.
I'm going to start on a UDS as soon as I can find a barrell.
Can not afford a WSM.
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KCBS CBJ

[killswitch505]

dang man that looks good you should enter that in the throwdown
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[Uncle John]

[BigPhil32]

it looks great...going to have to build me a uds one day...
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[k.a.m.]

forqueran, that yard bird looks awesome. And so does that Butt. Mighty fine looking plate up. Nicely done my man.
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Hybrid Cooker

[Paul B]

Start shutting down the valves as the temp comes up. Your exhaust should be fully open and you should only need to use your ball valve to control temp. I start with only 8 to 10 lit coals and start closing down the intake as the temp comes up to where I want it.

You should never shut your intake completely while cooking.

Just some thoughts......

Paul B
SS UDS
SS Auspit
SS ROL

[forqueran]

Thanks for the help.I pretty much ran the ball valve open both days. Exhaust was fully open the whole time.I think the next time I will only crack the ball valve 1/4 or 1/2 and see how it runs then. Saturday I started with 10 lit coals,Sunday I started with 5 lit coals. Another thing that didn't help was me peeking at the oven therm i had on the grate. Habit I guess,Although I didn't trust either therm. there was a 45 degree difference between each.Even though I could not maintain the temps that I wanted these thing are awesome. Rock solid at holding temp. and very efficient fuel consumption.

[sparks58]

Hey Forque. As Paul B said it's all about temp control. Big air...big temp...small air...small temp. Yer yard bird looks aw some!!
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[KSims1868]

Excellent looking chicken. We love those leg quarters and we've traditionally cooked them once a week on the gasser. From now on...it's UDS smokin.

Great job - you'll get the hang of the temp controls.

[forqueran]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. they tasted awesome. I ate them for lunch and dinner for 3 days. Heck of a deal only .49 lbs. Wish I would have bought a couple of more bags.

We are going to make another trial run at work tomorrow. Cooking up 4 racks of ribs and some deer loin.

I am getting a little nervous, I have to cook for my daughters prom on Saturday. I am pretty confident that the food will turn out good. but I am worried about my timeline of cooking. I don't want to be serving cold food if I cant keep the temps under control and the food gets done too early.

I will be cooking about 50 lbs of pork loin and about 20 lbs. of chicken breast.

I know I can make good Q, but this will only be the second time I have cooked for a big crowd. I have been making Q for over 15 years.I just get a little nervous when I have to cook for someone other than my family.

[BluzQue]

forqueran Your chicken looks Top Notch!



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[BRBBQ]

That is some good looking Q

[whitey]

Yummy..
Rock on..Nice Job on the Bird.
Whitey..
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[MemphisHog]

[zysmith]

The chicken looks great (and, IMHO, should be cooked at a higher temp anyway for crispy skin)
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Chris from Uxbridge,MA
Kingsford barrel grill with offset smoker
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[Beertooth]

forqueran that is some great looking grub! The chicken looks awesome!
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[KSims1868]

1 thing I will say is that it looks like you used WAY to much coal / wood in that fire basket. That looks like enough to do an 8-hour smoke (or more). You probably could have cut that down in half and saved the rest for a future cook.

Having said that...did you notice a lot of left-over (unburned) coal in your basket after the cook?

[forqueran]

MEMPHISHOG I actually have two drums I will be cooking on. But with that being said,neither one are performing very well. Temps want to stay at about 300. I have some leaks around the lid I need to get sealed up.

KSISM1868The 1st time I ran my drum I ran it for 3 days straight for a total of about 14 hrs. and I only used about 7-8 lbs. of fuel.

Thanks for everyone's kind words. I will not give up I have read too many good things about these, I know I will get the bugs all worked out.

[Mrs. K.A.M.]

WoW Looks delicious
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