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Decided to put this in the UDS forum since it is more about lighting and getting to high heat than cooking the tri tip that I used for a test.
But first . . . the tri tip . . . here it is.
Trimmed it up a bit.
Then seasoned it with Pappy's. Put it in a shaker with smaller holes since the Pappy's shaker just has 3 big holes and it's hard to put it on without it getting too thick.
All seasoned and on it's way to the fridge.
Now on to lighting the drum. Usually when I try to use the drum for a high heat (350°+) cook I would put down a layer of unlit charcoal in the basket then light a chimney full of lit into the basket and let it come up to temp. But this seemed to take too long -- 20 minutes for the chimney to light, then another 20 minutes for the unlit charcoal in the drum to light and or stabilize and the temp to come up. So I figured if I were able to light the whole charcoal load while it was in the drum, it would work better.
So I grabbed the lighter fluid, put the basket in the drum, doused the charcoal, waited 10 minutes and tossed in a match.
Heh, just kidding.
You guys know I would never use lighter fluid. Although I'm sure that would have been fun to watch from the neighbor's yard. (Hold my beer and watch this. )
What I actually did was set the drum up like a big charcoal chimney.
I put the ash pan down with some paper towels in it . . .
Took the loaded charcoal basket . . .
Lowered it into the drum and lit the paper towels.
It worked GREAT!!
After about 20 minutes, the smoke cleared up and I slid the 12" deep fryer thermo into the drum for a temp.
YIKES! Ready to do some pizzas!! I slide the thermo back out and put the lid on leaving the vents open. I closed down the valve and left both caps off and it settled in at around 375°.
It seemed to cruise there pretty happily. I put the tri tip on and let it go for about 30 minutes. Then I checked it. It was about 115° but the outside texture was not the way I liked it so I opened the valve up a bit. The drum worked it's way up to 400° and seemed pretty happy there.
About 10 minutes before taking the tri tip off, I put some foil wrapped corn around the edges of the cook grate and let them go for 20 minutes. The drum was just cruising along at 400° with both caps off and the valve about 1/2 open. I figure that will be PERFECT for the next time I do chicken.
Here is the tri tip after about 40 - 45 minutes.
Didn't get any sliced pics of it.
Tasted fantastic but I let it go a little too long. Not much pink left. The corn came out good to but probably could have been on just a tad longer.
So . . . lighting the drum like a big charcoal chimney will work GREAT for high temp cooks. Looking forward to the next chicken run and trying a pizza on the stone one of these days.
Dave
But first . . . the tri tip . . . here it is.
Trimmed it up a bit.
Then seasoned it with Pappy's. Put it in a shaker with smaller holes since the Pappy's shaker just has 3 big holes and it's hard to put it on without it getting too thick.
All seasoned and on it's way to the fridge.
Now on to lighting the drum. Usually when I try to use the drum for a high heat (350°+) cook I would put down a layer of unlit charcoal in the basket then light a chimney full of lit into the basket and let it come up to temp. But this seemed to take too long -- 20 minutes for the chimney to light, then another 20 minutes for the unlit charcoal in the drum to light and or stabilize and the temp to come up. So I figured if I were able to light the whole charcoal load while it was in the drum, it would work better.
So I grabbed the lighter fluid, put the basket in the drum, doused the charcoal, waited 10 minutes and tossed in a match.
Heh, just kidding.
You guys know I would never use lighter fluid. Although I'm sure that would have been fun to watch from the neighbor's yard. (Hold my beer and watch this. )What I actually did was set the drum up like a big charcoal chimney.
I put the ash pan down with some paper towels in it . . .
Took the loaded charcoal basket . . .
Lowered it into the drum and lit the paper towels.
It worked GREAT!!
After about 20 minutes, the smoke cleared up and I slid the 12" deep fryer thermo into the drum for a temp.
YIKES! Ready to do some pizzas!! I slide the thermo back out and put the lid on leaving the vents open. I closed down the valve and left both caps off and it settled in at around 375°.
It seemed to cruise there pretty happily. I put the tri tip on and let it go for about 30 minutes. Then I checked it. It was about 115° but the outside texture was not the way I liked it so I opened the valve up a bit. The drum worked it's way up to 400° and seemed pretty happy there.
About 10 minutes before taking the tri tip off, I put some foil wrapped corn around the edges of the cook grate and let them go for 20 minutes. The drum was just cruising along at 400° with both caps off and the valve about 1/2 open. I figure that will be PERFECT for the next time I do chicken.
Here is the tri tip after about 40 - 45 minutes.
Didn't get any sliced pics of it.
Tasted fantastic but I let it go a little too long. Not much pink left. The corn came out good to but probably could have been on just a tad longer.So . . . lighting the drum like a big charcoal chimney will work GREAT for high temp cooks. Looking forward to the next chicken run and trying a pizza on the stone one of these days.
Dave
" -- 
. How is that Pappy's Rub?
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