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Saturday, May 31, 2008

Camping

Going camping for a week....hopefully I will be posting fish pictures when I return..lol

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday, May 4, 2008

My UDS so far...

This is my latest project....a Drum Smoker.
I started out with a barrel.







Added three 3/4" nipples with caps and a ball valve for air intake around the bottom of the barrel.....This system has been working great on my smokehouse.



The expanded metal coal grate sits on long bolts...above the air intake.
The grate is used to hold wood splits or the charcoal basket.

The cooking rack sits about 2 FT above the hot coal rack...it is supported by long bolts.




I burned the barrel and sanded it down, then added the thermometer.

Clean...


The exhaust holes.....I drilled 8 holes for the exhaust, the plugs just screw right in.


I painted it with some high heat grill paint. I need to add a few things, but it is usable right now.



I added a simple table by using shelf brackets...



I had a piece of wood on hand and just rounded the edges and cut the curve out with my little hand held jig saw. Then sanded, stained and coated it with a weather protectant. Added hooks for hanging things..




I also made a coal basket that sits on the hot coal grate in the bottom of the cooker... I can fill the basket with about 8lbs of lump charcoal and it lasts for hours. So far I have not had to add more coal during a smoke.
Here is how I made the basket.... Hot Coal Basket


It's final resting place...




Some apple/olive smoked cornish game hens and twice baked potatoes




Ribs and scalloped tatoes on the drum...



Some homegrown bacon wrapped shrimp....




Surf and turf...crab legs, ribeye and corn....



More pictures of the drum.. My Drum in Action


I'm getting a lot of use out of the drum. :)
Wanted to add......
I've had a lot of inquiries as to where to find a food grade drum. One place to check might be Craigslist if you have that in your area.
Orchards are another option....
A friend from Michigan contacted me with info about his source. He has found good food grade barrels at an orchard. They were used for cherry concentrate. (Thanks for the info Mark!:))
I'd love to hear about any smokers folks build. Please feel free to contact me.