Back in 1995 I need a vacation from the 70 hour week weeks of being a new line cook. A friend, quite strange actually, was an avid police car enthusiast and was heading in a convoy to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to the National Police Car Owners of America annual convention. With nothing else to do I decided to tag along.
Eureka Springs is not too far south into the state, but the geographic layout is stunning. There are lots of very narrow winding hilly roads that seem to tempt the driver to roll off into a deep gorge. As we approach the top of one hill on a particularly straight patch of road the smell of BBQ was overpowering, in a good way. As the headed down the other side of the hill, in the distance, you could see the source of the intoxicating hickory fumes.
Some foodie, from Chicago, relocated to Eureka Springs and opened a BBQ place. Instead of building his smoker near the restaurant as most sane people would do, he built his just off the road, about 300 feet from the front door. Why you ask, pure marketing brilliance. The smoke was carried up the hill by the breeze and every car that came down that road couldn’t help but stop. We happened to see the owner/chef rolling a large cart full of briskets, ribs, and pork shoulders as we pulled in. I don’t think it’s possible to drive past without stopping.
The smoker that he built was ugly, but huge, about the size of a tool shed. The whole key to smoking meat is to control the air flow. To much air flow within the vessel will fuel the fire and cause the temperature to rise, cooking tough cuts of meat too quickly to properly and thoroughly break down the tough collagen and connective tissues. To little air flow and the food will be kept in the “food danger zone” temperature-wise and risk harmful bacteria growth.
I wanted a smoker for a long time to make ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and sausages. Charcoal, electric, propane, or pellet fed? That was the million dollar question. Prices can vary from $150 for a small cheap electric model to many thousands for a well insulated pretty stainless steel wood burning model. Each fuel source has its advantages: efficiency, ease of use, temperature control, etc.
After going back and forth, driving my wife crazy, I decided on the cheapest and most proven smoker, the UDS. UDS stands for “ugly drum smoker” and is made from a steel drum. I made mine for about $60. I bought a new, unlined, open top 55 gallon steel drum from a local barrel company for $30. The cooking grate, a standard 22.5 inch Weber replacement grate, bought at the end of the season for about $7. The other needed hardware was a handful of bolts, nuts, and washers, a thermometer, a few metal handles, and a piece of expanded sheet metal to fabricate the charcoal basket onto a small cooking grate. To control the air flow I bought two 2” threaded metal “nipples” with caps and two 3/4” ball valves. By uncapping the nipples and tweaking the ball valves, the temperature can be easily controlled and held to a constant. My daughters helped to drill the holes and insert all of the bolts, washers, and nuts. A good time had by all.
After an initial burn of lump hardwood charcoal to season the grill, the initial BBQ test was beef brisket. I rubbed the brisket with a Texas inspired dry rub and smoked it for about 5 hours at 220 degrees. The result was incredible! The meat was absolutely juice and tender and was served with a thin tangy cider vinegar BBQ dipping sauce.
Life is good.
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