T-Shirt Designs v3

I made a few modifications to the design. I'm pleased with the results.

Kasson Festival in the Park Cook-off 2013 pt. 1

Thought I'd post a couple pictures from last years competition. It was my first competitive cook-off. I took 2nd place for my ribs.

 I was surprised when I picked up my meat from Erdman's Country Market. I just expected to pick up some ribs. Jon Christensen (Meat Manager) handed me this huge package of meat! So for this competition, I smoked:

•  St Louis Style Pork Spare Ribs
• Chicken Thighs
• Pork Butt

I'll post some details about the competition later. For now I wanted to get these pix up.

Plan for Weather

I've been looking for competitions in Southestern Minnesota that I might like to participate in. There are a few advertised and I'm sure there are a few others that I'll find along the way.

I was really lucky last year for the Festival in the Park Cook-Off in that it didn't rain. Knowing I wanted my Boston Butt to cook >12 hours, I started around midnight for a 2pm turn-in. But that is a topic for another story.

My point to make here is I came pretty prepared for anything to my first competition; bringing a popup cover (like an E-Z UP) and a tent. If it rains, my smoker doesn't do well with water running down the lid and down the inside of my smoker cooling the metal and internal temperatures. So in the event of rain, I planned to move the smoker under my popup.

Looking to up-my-game this year, I've been thinking about adding some other competitions to my curriculum vitae. So I started looking at alternative shelter with a VENT in the top.

...which led me to this:

Z-Shade Instant Gazebo - 13' x 13' $130

Available from SamsClub, it looks like a pretty nice product. A respectable size of 13x13' and most importantly, that necessary 'chimney' in the center of the gazebo. At first I thought the sides could close, but I see those are decorative pieces to hide the metal leg supports.

Electronics

Throwing K.I.S.S. to the wind, I've found some interesting geek-toys for smoking. 

CyberQ Wi-Fi $295

Wireless temperature monitoring and alerting

http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/CyberQ%20WiFi

This product is kinda out-there. I can't find a homepage for the product which is a little troublesome. I did find some interesting videos describing the features on youtube here and here. Essentially, it has 3 temperature probes (2x meat, 1x pit) and a fan controller port. Based on how you've programmed it, the fan turns on or off depending on temperature of the pit. A basic temperature controlled fan controller with some wifi bells and whistles.

Additional software available by a developer group at wedonet.net. Nice information recording including historic graphs:

DigiQ DX2 $185

Wired temperature probe
http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/DigiQ%20DX2 

A less expensive, less complicated solution with 1 probe for pit and one probe for meat.

Pit Viper Blower $72

Blower kit for CyberQ/DigiQ
http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/Pit%20Viper%20%2810%20CFM%20Fan%29

For CyberQ or DigiQ a blower is needed. Looks like the Pit Viper (10 CFM FAN) $72 is the beast to use.

Of particular interest is the replacement fan can be purchased for $15 on ebay. AD7512HX

PitmasterIQ IQ120 Kit $200

Wired temperature driven fan controller (with built in fan @ 5-15CFM)

http://www.pitmasteriq.com/

This one has a lot fewer bells and whistles, but its simplified design is appealing. Probably the best (and least expensive) compromise between manual and automated airflow control.

Well, besides the IQ110 Kit $140. This is probably what I'll go with on the first build. Should be able to power it from a couple of 6V batteries (or a JumpStart)

QMaster-Senior $138

This is an interesting one. It's clearly made in China, but the guy is soliciting on bbq-brethren.com and not getting slammed for being a spammer. Sounds like its still a little buggy, but the guy (inventor) seems sincere.

For $138 plus $20 shipping, it includes the controller which has 4 programmable temp stages, variable blower control, pit and meat temperature monitoring and the blower with adapter! The adapter has a shutter inside that closes when the fan is off.

There are some options available. For $10 more you can get a 50 CFM fan (adjustable from 5-50 CFM)

There are 9 left on ebay... Really tempted to pull the trigger.

Temperature Probe Ports

Saw this interesting post at www.bbq-brethren.com regarding temperature probe ports. It uses some electrical connectors to allow airtight pass-through of the wires for the temperature probes.

Parts List:
Halex 1/2 clamp connector Home Depot 90661 $2.05ea
Halex 1/2"lock nut Home Depot 26190 bag of 6 $.73
Halex/Rigid 3/4-1/2 reducers (washers for thermo clamps)Home Depot 26820

Barrels Purchase!

I purchased 4 barrels today from barrelcountry.com. Not sure I need that many but the guy is in Annandale, MN so I'm going to make the trip worth while.


Hello TJL, Inc.,

You sent a payment of $66.27 USD to Hedglin Enterprises, LLC

(patrick@barrelcountry.com)

It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your account.

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Merchant Hedglin Enterprises, LLC patrick@barrelcountry.com	Instructions to merchant You haven't entered any instructions.

Description	Unit price	Qty	Amount
Lever Lock Barrel Item# Lever Lock Barrel , Convenient & Secure!: Lever Lock Barrel	$20.00 USD	1	$20.00 USD
Open Top Barrel Item# Open Top Barrel , Convenient & Secure!: Open Top Barrel	$15.00 USD	2	$30.00 USD
Sealed Barrels Item# Sealed Barrel , Convenient & Secure!: Sealed Barrel	$12.00 USD	1	$12.00 USD

Subtotal $62.00 USD Tax $4.27 USD Total $66.27 USD Payment $66.27 USD Payment sent to patrick@barrelcountry.com

First Post!

Finally getting started!

I'm documenting the build of my UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker). I've been working on design ideas for quite awhile. In its most basic form, a UDS is built from a recycled food-grade 55gal drum. All variations I've seen have some form of air control, fire basket and lid. A well designed UDS can keep the smoker at a consistent temperature for as much as 20 hours on as little as 6# of charcoal.

None of the designs I've seen use a water pan. I really like the protection a water pan gives the meat from direct exposure to the coals; otherwise searing the meat. I also like the idea of high humidity. I won't go into details right now, but I suspect a high humidity environment will help my pork butt break past "the stall" without wrapping in foil.

My plan is to build the smoker from modular rings cut from barrels. This has a couple of benefits:

1. Access to each level allowing adjustment in heat, refilling water pan, checking meat temperatures, etc.
2. Cooking more then 2 levels of food by adding rings (a UDS usually has only 1-2 grates)

There are some drawbacks I'm still contemplating.

1. Who can build it? I don't have a plasma torch or bead roller
2. Airtight. A UDS has control over temperature because it has control over air. Any air leaks will make the temperature harder to control.
3. Necessity. Are the added risks really worth it? Maybe K.I.S.S. is better.

I've also decided against investing in a Stainless Steel drum for the first build. Once I work out the kinks, I can decided if its worth it.

Deadline for a completed, tested and tweaked smoker is Kasson Festival in the Park which is August 4-10, 2014. Last year I placed 2nd for my ribs which is pretty impressive for my first competition! This year I'd like to improve that score and see if I can't place with the chicken thighs and Boston butt. I suspect my family and neighbors will benefit my multiple test-runs throughout the spring and summer leading up to the competition.

This blog is where I will record progress on the build, as well as record interesting parts and concepts I come across.