UDS vs. 22.5" Kettle - what do you use?


 
K

K Sims

New member
I built a UDS several years ago. It's what I learned to BBQ on. After grilling for many, many years (gas mainly with some charcoal mixed in occassionally) I decided to learn the difference and found instructions on building a UDS online...which led me to learning about how to really BBQ.

Now...to my question...
What do you use your Weber Kettle for and would you ever choose to use the Kettle instead of a UDS for smoking things like brisket, ribs, pork butt, etc... And...why?

I'm new to my Kettle. I've cooked some steaks, hot dogs, sausage, onions/peppers, chicken, and fajitas on it. I love it for grilling over coals and it is a much better grill than my gas grill...which is covered in dust now not being used. But I can't seem to want to use it for smoking a brisket since I have the UDS.

Am I missing something by using the UDS instead of the Weber Kettle?

It's prob just that I'm comfortable with the UDS so I don't see the need to learn to smoke on the Kettle...but I'm curious what others choose and why.
 
i use my kettle with a smokenator when i am doing ribs or chicken. given that i have the somkenator the 22.5" WSM feels like overkill if it's 3 or fewer racks of ribs or just a couple chickens. actually one brisket or butt even feels sad and lonely all by itself in the WSM but i can't get 20 hours out of one load of charcoal in the smokenator, otherwise i'd probably use it for that too.
 
The kettle is not a smoker (although it can be used as one).

I can grill on my WSM but it's not a grill.

Keep smoking on your UDS.
Keep grilling on your 22.5 kettle.
 
What Russell said. I only use my kettle to smoke a fattie or a few pieces of chicken. Small smokes. I do all my pork, beef, and whole chicken smoking on the WSM. I suspect that we all just do what we're comfortable with.
 
I've smoked on a few different cookers, including a couple UDS cookers I made. Not going to go into why I don't use them anymore, though. Use what YOU like and what works for YOU. On the other hand, if you want to try something different, then go for it. That's how you learn, right?
 
I wouldn't use my kettle over my BDS for smoking a brisket or butt anytime for any reason. Now using one of the WSM's over the BDS at times is a whole different story tough.
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I do butts and briskets and ribs on my kettle all the time.It's easy to control and from what I've seen charcoal wise I use much less than in a WSM or UDS. That being said now that I have been forcibly retired I plan on making a UDS and giving it a try.
 
Bob Sample - I've yet to try smoking on the Kettle, and I want to try just to say "I can".
As for fuel consumption on the UDS I'll say it's extremely efficient. I can get 12+ hours out of half a bag of lump coal with 4-6 wood chunks mixed in. I've gone 18+ hours on a whole bag of lump (yes...ONE bag) so I can attest to the efficiency.

I think I'm going to start with a chicken (spatchcock) this weekend on the Kettle to practice holding a temp, etc...
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Sims:
Bob Sample - I've yet to try smoking on the Kettle, and I want to try just to say "I can".
As for fuel consumption on the UDS I'll say it's extremely efficient. I can get 12+ hours out of half a bag of lump coal with 4-6 wood chunks mixed in. I've gone 18+ hours on a whole bag of lump (yes...ONE bag) so I can attest to the efficiency.

I think I'm going to start with a chicken (spatchcock) this weekend on the Kettle to practice holding a temp, etc... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I use about 1 1/2-2 chimneys of unlit lump to do a 8-12 hr cook. You have to reload once maybe depending on temp and time. Here is my set up. That is a 7lb butt on there.

100_2511.jpg


I just light a few of the chunks at one end with a blow torch to get things going
 
In Florida I have a WM and a couple kettles. In Nevada just a kettle. (Still haven't gotten around to getting a smoker.) I do briskets and ribs all the time in the kettle. I see no advantage to smoking a brisket at low temps for numerous hours - I see disadvantages - so I don't. Ditto for ribs. So setting up for lengthy cooks - for me - is neither necessary nor desirable.

I don't cook butts much in either location but when I do want to do one or two and only have a kettle I just run it at ~300. It's a longer cook then a brisket but not so long that it is a big deal. I don't bother with firebricks, water or whatnot when smoking on a kettle.
 
I see - so is it typical for smoking on the kettle to use the hot & fast method rather than low & slow as on traditional smokers? That would make sense...I could see it being difficult to maintain a temp in the 225-250* range on a kettle.
 
Actually it is very easy to maintain low and slow temperatures on a kettle. I do butts at 225-250 all the time. The picture above was a l&s cook that took about 13 hours if my memory serves me correctly.
 
Yes, it is not all that difficult to maintain low temps. I cook neither ribs nor brisket at low temps so not an issue for me.
 
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