AZ Barbeque.com
Smokers, Grills, Pitts & More => BDS & UDS Smokers => Topic started by: Bill Bain on November 18, 2010, 08:54:54 pm
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I have been using blue bag and finally have that down so now it is time to experiment with lump. Since this is a UDS and not an offset and thus the fire is directly under the meat, are there any differences between the lump brands that I should know about that will make a difference or will any lump work just as well in one as the other. I have checked out Naket Wiz but nothing is noted about lump being used directy under meat.
What is your favorite and why, rated by best not cheapest.
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Ahh lump...did I ever tell you about the time............ ;)
Anyway, I have always had to be very careful with lump in the UDS. It works well but does burns hotter than briquettes so you must be careful with how long and how often the lid is removed.
With pork butts and brisket no problem but with ribs (especially at the end ie glazing) the lid is off so much its hard to keep the temps down. YMMV
I have used big green egg lump with success, mostly because I can get it up here.
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Thanks Kid, that is exactly the kind of answer I was looking for.
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I used lots of lump in my UDS bcause I'm of the opinion that K smells like roofers or road refinishers at work; but lately I've been buying K partly $, not much different, and size uniformity. I used lots of Best of the West, but the bags were either tree trunks or dust. And if you break up the tree trunks, its 4th of July in the Weber or UDS. Some of the better brands, Royal Oak from Wally World or BGE would likely be a better bet.
Thanks, Ralph, I wondered why my ribs got so overdone so quickly!!
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Reading what kitch said about lump size... It does help if you break the larger pieces into smaller chunks so you can pack it in the fire ring with some uniformity. Big gaps make for an uneven burn.
In regards to ribs...i find it hard to "finish" ribs in the uds even with briquettes. I've been playing with a diffuser idea just for ribs.
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What are you experiencing when finishing ribs? Since I got the draft controller I haven't had any trouble.
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Just temps too high because of removing the lid so often...mostly trying to do 6 racks of ribs at one time.
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have you tried removing the rib rack and doing your magic and then putting it back on? This should limit the time the lid if off the UDS.
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Just just finished my first Lump cook. I did two pork butts and they took 12 hours at 235 deg. I was amazed that there was almost no ash!! The only issue I have with the UDS is I have to be careful with how many and how big the wood chunks are. I used two double fist sized chunks of oak and they over smoked the butts, even though I panned and foiled the butts at 9 hours. I will only use one chunk next time and pan them earlier in the cook, probably at the 6 hour mark. Any UDS users find that it is easy to oversmoke?
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Never over smoked in my UDS......find that far easier in my wsm's.
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What size chunks are you using and how many?
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I've found the best results with dumping a bag of Royal Oak lump from wally world (10lbs) in my basket, shake off the dust, mix in a 1/2 dozen wood chunks at various levels and dump a full chimney of briquettes on top works great and will give me a 24 hour burn somewhere between 225 and 275 depending on the weather. I've never tried straight Kingsford, but I have used Stubb's with good results, just costs a bit more $. For the past 8 months of so I've been using Best of the West because it's so cheap from Sam's Club. It isn't as consisitent as the RO, but it's 1/2 the price.
Good luck,
Goose
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Forgot to mention that I added a 2nd grate approximately 8-10" below the top grate where I place a disposable big aluminum buffet pan (cheap multi packs @ sam's or costco).
This eliminates the oversmoking because it catches 75% of the drips and stops the flare-ups and the associated heavy smoke from the fat.
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Thanks Goose. I bought some chunks at HD yesterday and noticed that they were 1/4 the size of what I have been making. I guess that I have been making chunks that were too big and oversmoking.
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I too like the Royal Oak lump overe briquettes. Too much ash and filler with briquettes. I fill my basket with the lump but before I do, I use a ketchup can (coffee can would work) with the top and bottom out as a void form in the centre. Then I dump the hot coals in the can, then pull the can out (with a glove of course).
Never noticed the higher temps with the lump but thats a great point and I'll start watching for it.
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UDS's work well because of the air control, if you are getting big spikes when you open the lid here are a couple of things you can do about it:
1) Don't open the lid as long or as much! ;)
2) Close off the intakes 2 minutes before you open the lid, open the lid quickly, if you are running two racks and need to get to the bottom rack, have a table ready to put the top rack on quickly, then get out the bottom rack and relid the UDS, once you've done what you need to do, take off the lid and put the racks back in, relid and leave it alone for another 2 - 3 minutes to allow the O2 that's in there to burn off, then put the intakes back to maintain your burn.
3) Relax take another drink, but when you need to do something work quickly and efficiently and don't worry about the heat spikes... (not recommended, just one more way you can do it if you want to)! :D