FalconerRods
New member
Hello All -
First of all, thanks for the great site and all the wonderful info. Built my first UDS recently and am delighted with the results. This thing cooks FAST. Not a bad thing but definitely noticeable. Still can't believe how well food cooked on the drum turns out.
That being said, my drum seems to rock and roll temperature wise for a while and then settles in and is very steady. I typically am looking for 225 to 255. Did a pork butt Saturday - and it turned out great - but in the first three hours i got as low as 210 and as high as 299. And it is moving the whole time...either up or down. I'm making adjustments constantly trying to correct it with an eye on not letting it get too high. Then about hour three it just locks down (this time it was at 242) and doesn't move for HOURS. That makes me very happy. This time I left the drum running after I took off the butt at 203 IT (took 7:42...fast) and it went for 8 hours with less than 10 degrees variation until I finally choked it out. So, the drum is capable of holding like a champ...just having trouble getting there quickly.
I typically start my fire with 10 - 12 KF briquettes in a chimney. Then I put that into the basket with 3 or 4 fist sized chunks of wood and a 50 / 50 mix of lump and briquettes. I start controlling temp on the way up and as soon as I get to target I quickly open the lid, put the food on, stick it with the Maverick food probe, and get the lid closed back quickly. I also have the Maverick barbecue probe in the center near the meat. I do NOT open the lid to turn or spritz or anything.
I am trying to understand why the fluctuations are happening and if there is anything I am doing to cause it. Am I putting the meat on too soon? Is it my fire building or lighting technique? Am I just hovering too much and making too many adjsutemnts? Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks!
First of all, thanks for the great site and all the wonderful info. Built my first UDS recently and am delighted with the results. This thing cooks FAST. Not a bad thing but definitely noticeable. Still can't believe how well food cooked on the drum turns out.
That being said, my drum seems to rock and roll temperature wise for a while and then settles in and is very steady. I typically am looking for 225 to 255. Did a pork butt Saturday - and it turned out great - but in the first three hours i got as low as 210 and as high as 299. And it is moving the whole time...either up or down. I'm making adjustments constantly trying to correct it with an eye on not letting it get too high. Then about hour three it just locks down (this time it was at 242) and doesn't move for HOURS. That makes me very happy. This time I left the drum running after I took off the butt at 203 IT (took 7:42...fast) and it went for 8 hours with less than 10 degrees variation until I finally choked it out. So, the drum is capable of holding like a champ...just having trouble getting there quickly.
I typically start my fire with 10 - 12 KF briquettes in a chimney. Then I put that into the basket with 3 or 4 fist sized chunks of wood and a 50 / 50 mix of lump and briquettes. I start controlling temp on the way up and as soon as I get to target I quickly open the lid, put the food on, stick it with the Maverick food probe, and get the lid closed back quickly. I also have the Maverick barbecue probe in the center near the meat. I do NOT open the lid to turn or spritz or anything.
I am trying to understand why the fluctuations are happening and if there is anything I am doing to cause it. Am I putting the meat on too soon? Is it my fire building or lighting technique? Am I just hovering too much and making too many adjsutemnts? Any thoughts or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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