Charcoal Cooker

[Sipsey]

Are there any Pit Barrels users amongst the posters? At 73 I have grilled on a variety of cooking devices over the years- Mostly Webers. I had always wanted to be able to cook ribs and Boston Butts and maybe a brisket. I was always intimidated by traditional wood smokers and not really sold on pellet grills.

 It's kinda like a cross between a grill and a smoker. It uses charcoal but adding wood chunks adds as much smokiness as one needs. The great thing is that I can cook up to 16 slabs of ribs in less than four hours on my larger one.
 

[doc henderson]

we used them in boy scouts.  an old scoutmaster made one from a 55-gallon barrel.  He had rebar at the top to hang ribs and stuff from and put the char in the bottom, with little air so it smokes.  not done in an hour if recall, but very good at the end of the day. he had a valve to control the air, and therefore the temp.

[doc henderson]

i would try to get a food safe barrel.  these often have lids with a ring lever clamp to seal and were lined with lacquer and held things like Honey.  I would burn the paint and all of before the first food.  you can use charcoal or make lump charcoal and add some wet or green wood for smoke.  you can buy a thermometer for a grill and add it for a bit of sophistication.  pull the op and check the meat temperature and you can add a bit of water in a container for humidity.

[Raider Bill]

I've cooked on and wore out several of them.
I figured out making the fire box offset worked the best.
I bought one that had a offset firebox, smoke chamber and a gas grill all in one for Tenn.
Worked great.

[aigheadish]

I use a smallish one fairly frequently as it's my grill and smoker, I have the little offset grill barrel thing that I can use for smaller meals but mostly it holds the charcoal and smoking wood when smoking stuff. My last run with some ribs I was able to maintain temperature pretty well through a 5-6 hour run. Granted the temp was a bit lower than I would have preferred but after my past attempts I'm finding that a slightly lower temperature is preferable, to me, than running up way over temp. I use a remote thermometer, it has probes for the food and for the grill and a little receiver that I can carry around with me to keep an eye on things. It also has over/under temp warnings you can set but I don't use that too much, I just keep an eye on it. I've considered a pellet smoker, as I imagine it'd be nice to set it and forget it but for the amount I actually grill or smoke stuff it'd probably not get enough use. I also really like the added flavor of real charcoal.

Mine is like this:

[Raider Bill]

I smoke at 225 mostly.

I've had 2 exactly like yours in the picture.

The one in tenn was the same thing but with an attached 4 burner gas barrel.
Thing was long.

I've had the same no frills electric cookshack smoker for 20 years.

Handful of chips or a 1.5x6" stick will put out smoke for 8 hours.

By that time your meat won't be taking smoke anymore anyway.

[aigheadish]

Yeah, I was trying to sneak up and stick around 225, but in the past my sneaking has turned into a shout "HEY! GET HOTTER!" then a "NO! Too hot!" I'm still very new to smoking stuff, so I need some practice. 

[doc henderson]

smaller units are harder to maintain.  the smoker I use is big, but it is slow to change or in other words, easier to maintain a temp.  It is controlled by the damper on the chimney, not by air in.  If you make one from a barrel, you need to control air in or smoke out, and then (if small) the heat/charcoal may get consumed and need to be added to.  I can see if the old scoutmaster can send me a pic.  He also did some catering.

[Raider Bill]

smaller units are harder to maintain.  the smoker I use is big, but it is slow to change or in other words, easier to maintain a temp.  It is controlled by the damper on the chimney, not by air in.  If you make one from a barrel, you need to control air in or smoke out, and then (if small) the heat/charcoal may get consumed and need to be added to.  I can see if the old scoutmaster can send me a pic.  He also did some catering.

As long as you're making it put a damper on both in and out.

[Mooseherder]

I've got a couple of those Oklahoma Joe's barrel style with side smokers that look like aigheadish's, been using this style for about 20 years now. I hardly use the side arm but use wood chunks with charcoal in the main barrel. I usually have a few more chunks drying in the chamber opposite of the fire.  Also use it more as a grill than a smoker but the wood imparts flavor at the same time. Great value grills that last a few years. If I buy charcoal it's on sale. Charcoal companies or retailers tried to hike prices and killed their sales. They've adjusted since then. 

[aigheadish]

Mine is leaky as can be. I should invest in some sealing rope. I haven't worried about it too much yet but I'd imagine more accurate venting would help. 

[Raider Bill]

That's how my 20 year old weber kettle is.
I keep stuffing foil in the holes as they appear.

[JD Guy]

The more the smokers leak the more difficult it will be to regulate the temperature. I used one of the cheaper lighter weight one for a few years and still made some dang good Boston Buts and ribs. BUT it was a constant watch on keeping the temperature steady and in general a PITA!

When I reached my tolerance limit I went on a hunt for a "real" smoker. Settled on a Yoder brand. Not one of the large ones but comfortably fits two large Buts just fine. Heavy gauge steel and built to last a lifetime with very little maintenance. I also now use meat probe thermometers and a separate one for the cook chamber as the dial thermometers are usually not super accurate.

I would have been wise to have "Bought once Cry once" earlier in life

Smoke On!

[doc henderson]

mine is a yoder too.  I can use lump charcoal (I make my own), and it heats up fast bit does not last long.  charcoal briquets are good and last longer as they are made with some ash to slow the burn time but are expensive.  I prefer bland wood like maple for the heat, and nut or fruit wood for the smoke.

[Magicman]

We have been "drum" cooking/smoking for years:


Sack of charcoal in the bottom.


Season the birds.


They are just hanging around.


Cover the top with plywood.


Looking mighty good.


Drop them in a foil lined styro cooler till da eatin'.

[doc henderson]

that looks right and good.

[JD Guy]

We have been "drum" cooking/smoking for years:


Sack of charcoal in the bottom.


Season the birds.


They are just hanging around.


Cover the top with plywood.


Looking mighty good.


Drop them in a foil lined styro cooler till da eatin'.

Mmmmmmmm! Smak ya mama good😜

[tule peak timber]

If that tastes as good as it looks, we'll be right over! Drooling all over my keyboard!