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Anyone use a Pit Barrel Cooker?

Interesting concept......but I bet over time you'd have some issues with it. If you ever get it really hot like you would to cook steaks or burgers, that paint on the outside of the barrel will likely start to deteriorate and if exposed to the weather will rust over time. I don't know what kind of paint they use, but even the high temp stuff fails after a while. I'd be curious to see if this is just a standard 50 gallon drum...if so the wall thickness isn't very thick. Watching the video my guess is that it would work really good for hanging chicken where the shape/size of the meat is more located at the top and not hanging down into the coals. It will no doubt be hotter down by the coals and if you do ribs, unless you're able to switch em around mid cook, the ends will probably burn. Also in the video, the ribs coming out with the sauce all over them is misleading. They way they are hung the sauce would drip down off of them. or, just put sauce on when you take them off but not ideal. I'm also not sure how you'd work around the ribs being hung and getting them cooked right. Typically when you cook ribs, they are just starting to pull apart easily when they are considered done. I'd hate to go out and check on your progress and see half the racks have torn apart and are sizziling in the coals. Last thing I see is the location of that grill grate for cooking burgers. The way its located down inside the barrel will make for a hell of an effort to flip the burgers. You'll be cramped for space and if its hot enough for cooking burgers you'll have a bunch of heat in your face.

I don't mean to be a pessimist..but with as much cooking as I have done, these are the things that jump out at me when I watched the video.
 
Interesting concept......but I bet over time you'd have some issues with it. If you ever get it really hot like you would to cook steaks or burgers, that paint on the outside of the barrel will likely start to deteriorate and if exposed to the weather will rust over time. I don't know what kind of paint they use, but even the high temp stuff fails after a while. I'd be curious to see if this is just a standard 50 gallon drum...if so the wall thickness isn't very thick. Watching the video my guess is that it would work really good for hanging chicken where the shape/size of the meat is more located at the top and not hanging down into the coals. It will no doubt be hotter down by the coals and if you do ribs, unless you're able to switch em around mid cook, the ends will probably burn. Also in the video, the ribs coming out with the sauce all over them is misleading. They way they are hung the sauce would drip down off of them. or, just put sauce on when you take them off but not ideal. I'm also not sure how you'd work around the ribs being hung and getting them cooked right. Typically when you cook ribs, they are just starting to pull apart easily when they are considered done. I'd hate to go out and check on your progress and see half the racks have torn apart and are sizziling in the coals. Last thing I see is the location of that grill grate for cooking burgers. The way its located down inside the barrel will make for a hell of an effort to flip the burgers. You'll be cramped for space and if its hot enough for cooking burgers you'll have a bunch of heat in your face.

I don't mean to be a pessimist..but with as much cooking as I have done, these are the things that jump out at me when I watched the video.

Pessimists are allowed, LOL. Just doing research on various cookers and I have a buddy here in the building, who swears by his pit barrel cooker. I've watched a lot of videos on the concept and once the lid is on, they say it cooks evenly and while the pieces closest to the coals might be prone to overcooking, it doesn't happen often or it's not that big of an issue. There is a video of him cooking burgers and you're right, there isn't much room to flip anything, which could be a pain, especially when/if you have to cook multiple batches.
 
Maybe it would work better if it came with a heat deflector between the meat and the coals but I'm sure that they probably offer something like that. Have ever looked into getting a Kamado style cooker?
 
Maybe it would work better if it came with a heat deflector between the meat and the coals but I'm sure that they probably offer something like that. Have ever looked into getting a Kamado style cooker?

Like a BGE? I've looked at them, but I don't like the price point.
 
I have a chargriller brand. Barrel sized on its side with a side smoker. Used it for smoking pork butts to grilling for parties and love it.
chargriller.com

ETA: I have the smoking champ 1624
 
Like a BGE? I've looked at them, but I don't like the price point.

Yes, the best grill that I've ever owned and it comes with a lifetime warranty if purchased from an authorize dealer, very versatile. There are other brands like the Kamado Joe which are cheaper and based on the reviews, it's great. I might purchase the Kamado Jr. at some point.

I just checked the price of the barrel and $299 with free shipping isn't bad but you still need to consider what Hillbilly said.
 
Hey Freakburn - with the design of the pit barrel requiring you to lean over to pull out the finished product, wouldn't you be at risk of getting soot on the tiara?
 
Hey Freakburn - with the design of the pit barrel requiring you to lean over to pull out the finished product, wouldn't you be at risk of getting soot on the tiara?

Soot adds character. I doubt the soot would be any more noticeable, than a regular weber grill, for instance.
 
It is a upgraded #ulgy drum smoker# already built for you. You could build your own for less than half that cost if you desired to. Ugly drum smokers or UDS cook great, hold good temps, are fuel efficient, and cheap. You can find plans-o-plenty on the Internet. I learned how to rub my meat (then smoke it!) on The smoke ring.com forum. The Pit barell smoker is a top of the line model for sure. This is the first time I have heard of it, but I am sure that it will cook some great Q.
 
My Wife and I bought one back in May and could not be happier. The chicken cooked on it is awesome :) plus it is a Colorado company as well!
 
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